Breastfeeding Blog Hop: To Eat or not to Eat

Week 11 of the Breastfeeding Blog Hop

Topic: Introducing Solids

The age old question... okay not really but you get where I am going - When do you give that baby food???

Hosts:

Life With Levi

The Slacker Mom & Diary Of A Devil Dog Wife

This Week’s Guest Host:

My Life With Bug

Food is always such a touchy matter and like EVERYTHING else when it comes to babies and children everybody knows the best way and you are wrong.

What works for one child will inevitably not work with the other child(ren) and in the case of our baby girl, our Jamba Mama, that was certainly true.  Goofy has a love hate relationship with food.  In fact, until he was about 2 1/2 he would rather drink his meals, so to speak.  He was a milk drinker.  He would rather have his sippy of milk then sit down and eat.  It was not until he went to a sitter that he started to really eat.  I use to call her the "Food Whisper" because she could get him to eat.  She was more determined.  I was/am way more laid back.  "He'll eat when he's hungry" has always been my attitude.  I would make it... if he didn't eat, then he didn't eat.

I also have always practiced baby led feeding or baby led weaning.  He tried most things, once and rejected it the next 15 times.  He has always been a big fan of veggies and fruit; he hates meat.  He tolerates chicken and turkey, barely.  He would never eat traditional things liked mashed potatoes (too messy) or meatloaf (too meaty) and would eat, on occasion, Daddy's (only, Daddy's) spaghetti and only if he could not see the meat.  He loved veggie burger (not any more), turkey smokies (still does), cheese (eats this still, too) and yogurt (yep).  He would even eat hummus (no more).  Oh... and bread.  I have never known a kid to eat as much bread as this kid does.  It is ridiculous.  He will still eat bread like it is going out of style.

Jamba Mama - total opposite!  She has been trying to eat since she was four months.  She would do all the actions and get so excited just to sit at the table with us.  Our sitter was chomping at the bit to give her food and what does she give her... a cookie!  It was just a nibble but I swear this baby has not looked back.  One of her favorite snacks, you ask?  Frozen corn!  She eats chili for goodness sakes.

 

I held out till about six months to start introducing solids and her first baby food was from Earth's Best.  I am big Diapers.com fan and the variety packs were great (btw... coupon code SFEARTH $5 off $25)!  When it was time to move up I tried Sprout, Happy Baby, and Plum. I love all of these products and bebe will never be a Gerber baby.  It stemmed from a hormonal, anti-formula fueled rant against Nestle and makers of formula (and while on my rant - Target, please do not give me a coupon for formula when I buy breast milk storage bags, just saying) but I have cooled down (a bit) to just a conscious decision to buy something that I don't want to make and these companies embody ideals that I can respect.

Besides... who says Gerber has to have the biggest slice of the pie.  There is enough to go around.  Speaking of pie - back to my actual post...

When Jamba Mamba was ready to go on to the next level I switched to Alice.com to buy Plum, Happy Baby and Sprout because they sell in smaller quantities.

The food combinations and paring far exceed anything I would whip up in my kitchen so I am super grateful that these companies came along when thy did because I would be making my own baby food (I was really mad).  And...  I would on, occasion, finish off baby's dinner.  Ha!  Take that Gerber!  You don't have things like: Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese, Sweet potato, carrot, apple & cinnamon or Blueberry, Pear & Purple Carrot.

Now, that Jamba Mama is *sniff* a week away from being one, I don't really buy baby food, a side from the occasional Beech-Nut toddler meal and of course, Sprout's new meals with texture option (so freaking tasty!).

Baby likes food which may or may not be good considering my family's  history with food.  She has no problem trying things and some of the foods that she is eating:  black beans, mahi mahi, pineapple, mango, blueberries, hummus, smokies, turkey, chicken, broccoli... you get the idea.