Finger Food Love

Today's breakfast did not go down as I had intended.  Mango puree + yogurt did not a happy baby make.  I think she has had it with being fed.  Little Miss Independent wants to do it herself or not at all.  She made that abundantly clear when she swatted the spoon as I was trying to feed her.  All the while thrashing her head from side to side in an angry protest.  I had a brief moment of panic as I tried to figure out what the heck I was gonna feed her give her to eat.  I decided to lightly toast some quinoa bread from Trader Joe's (yum!! 7g of protein in 2 slices!), cut them into strips and slop the puree that she wouldn't allow me to feed her on top.  Result= toast sticks=SUCCESS! She loved them!

Starting solids

Ok, so if you'd asked me a few months ago, even a few weeks ago, about starting Elena on solids, I would've assured you we were skipping over purees, foregoing cereals, and would not be partaking in the shelling of peas or pureeing of meat.  Oh hell no.  I was all about Baby Led Weaning.  Bought the book, did my homework, preached to the naysayers.  Ha.  No.  Silly me.  I forgot I was a first time mom and that, as such, any proclamation or declaration of definitively doing something or not do something is pretty much ridiculous.  I have quickly learned that you can't simply decide what you want to do and do it.  Oh no.  An open mind and experimentation are necessities.

The fact is, I chickened out.  I was really excited to start solids.  Until the day came to start.  But, I stuck to the plan, hid my apprehension, and offered girlfriend some avocado. Not only was it was too slimy for her to grasp, but she really wasn't all that interested.  That in itself deflated what little hope and confidence I still had left.  Then came the gagging.  I thought I'd prepared myself for it, after reading about it and knowing the difference between gagging and choking.  But what the hell could prepare me to see my little sunshine girl wretching with tears streaming down her face as she tried to get what little of the avocado she got in her mouth to the back of her throat and down the pipe?!   Scared. Me. To. Death.  I maintained my composure though, so as not to freak her out, and quickly realized she was all smiles, and indeed the gagging was a natural reflex, helping her get the food to where it needed to be.  Duh.  I know all of this but it still freaked me out.

I did offer her some banana a few days later--also too slimy to grasp, and also caused her to gag.  It was then that I realized maybe this whole BLW thing wasn't for us.  Or for me, at least.  Maybe down the road when she seems more interested I'll experiment with table foods, but for now, I think we'll do just what I hadn't intended---Purees.  I don't feel defeated as I thought I might.  Instead, I feel excited.  Elena still isn't what I'd call interested in food.  She doesn't try to grab what I am eating and doesn't necessarily mimic our actions when we are chewing.  And though I'd be happy to continue exclusively breast feeding, I know it's time to start expanding her palette. 

So today, during a rare 2 1/2 hour nap I decided to attack the 3 lb bag of organic sweet potatoes I had from Trader Joe's.  I freaking love that store!!!! Thank goodness there is one right near where we are moving in Ohio! Behold, sweet potato puree...

Bake for 1 hour in 350 degree oven

Once cooled, peel skin off

Put in blender

Adding water (can use breast milk or formula) to get desired thickness, puree in blender

I forgot to snap a pic of the last step---I used a spatula to spread the puree evenly into 2 ice cube trays and covered them with plastic wrap.  Tomorrow morning I'll transfer the cubes to a dated Ziploc bag.  I believe they last 6 months in the freezer.  I'm looking forward to making all sorts of pureed veggies and fruit and coming up with tasty combinations for Elena to enjoy.  I'm thinking pears and squash are next!