As noted in my last post, Grace Louise has started exploring foods and is quite the little explorer if I may say so! Since her first food, a pear, she has tried
avocado (her favorite), sweet potato, apple,
cantaloupe, strawberries, honeydew melon, squash, red potatoes, cucumber, celery,
hummus (
LaLa), and carrots. Whew! That's a lot! Ideally I just give her some of whatever Jimmy and I are eating, but if its not age appropriate, I have to fix her up something of her own. She is consistently eating once a day in the evenings and having fruit in the late morning. We'll add lunch time here in the next couple of weeks.
Giving finger foods and letting her feed herself is working really well! I like that this approach to introducing foods is gradual, allowing for a smooth adjustment, both in our schedule and for her body. Eating is just as much (if not more) an enrichment activity as it is for nourishment. Her face absolutely lights up when its time to eat! She loves the time in her highchair.
Now for the down-side of introducing solids... I walked into the nursery last week and smelled an unfamiliar stench. Her first "real" dirty diaper!!! For all the moms out there... avoiding this smell is enough reason to exclusively breastfeed for as long as humanly possible! And I must come clean about something... I mentioned diaper dunking a few posts back. I don't dunk diapers. I tried. Instead, I bought this great high-pressure sprayer that attaches to the water supply for the toilet. Technology at its finest.
Introducing the chum bag. Perfect for nibbling when I don't want to watch her like a hawk.
Squash. Do you think she likes it? Squash was actually not a great idea, because once I removed the seeds and peel there wasn't much left. We're learning as we go.
Apple was good. I ate most of what is gone on this apple. Raw apple is still a bit too hard for someone without teeth. We'll wait a while before trying this again.
Here, try some celery.
"
Mmmm. I like celery."
We took Grace Louise with us to the Symphony Under the Stars at Bok Tower. She thought the music was great. And the celery too.
I didn't have any plans of introducing her to silverware. She saw me with a spoon and insisted on having it.
AHHH! The green monster!
This picture doesn't do it justice. When she finishes with
avocado, she has green everywhere.
Eating Mama's scrap corn on the cob. This is her new favorite. I didn't think she was actually getting any off the cob... until I changed her diaper!
So allowing your child to totally feed herself definitely has some trade offs. Can you say messy?!
It's the effort that counts, right?
Step 1: Watch closely as you put the yummy fruit in your mouth.
Step 2: Insert entire piece into your mouth. Why take bites when you can enjoy it all at once?
Step 3: Keep a close look-out. Mom will certainly put a stop to this if she's sees you. (Or maybe she will just pick up her camera and take a picture!)
