Feeding Westley

Feeding your baby can be confusing business. Especially when you first start with solid baby food and your baby isn't taking to it. And people start asking if he is self-feeding yet when he is like 6 month and you're like, "Um he is still nursing 8 times a day and gags on smooshed bananas." And then you see the split second judgey glint in their eyes because we Americans want our babies to be INDEPENDENT ASAP and you feel like a failure because you have a sneaking suspicion your baby will be independent soon enough and don't mind nursing 8 times a day when he's 6 months old thankyouverymuch.

So naturally I casually asked the doctor about it at a check up. I say casually because he is quick to tell me to relax about everything. I AM RELAXED YOU RELAX.

He really helped me though, he said in his matter-of-fact way, "Don't over think it. When he is hungry he will eat. Just keep offering it and eventually he'll want it."

Truth. Total truth. So if you are having a hard time getting your baby to eat solid foods, RELAX. Now feel free to comment, "NO YOU RELAX".  I understand.

We are beyond pureed baby food now and on to little diced up regular food. Which seems like it would be easier, and in some ways it is. But to be real with you, I definitely googled "what do you feed your baby after pureed food". I am not really that great at googling, clearly. Of course the BabyCenter site came up, but didn't really help a lot. I wanted clear answers. I wanted brand names and food items listed and times and schedules. Didn't get it. So I just had to figure it out myself, like the olden days before magical wonderful google. I am posting this now though, so other people can use google magic and get a bit of help. 

Okay, on with it.

Westley is 1 year old and eats:
3 meals
1-2 snacks
& nurses 4 times
a day.

Here is our schedule:
7am - wake and nurse
8am - breakfast
9am - nap
10:30am - wake
11am - snack
12pm - lunch
1:30pm - nurse and nap
3pm  - wake
3:30pm - snack
5pm - dinner
6pm - bath
6:30pm - nurse and sleep for the night*

Yes most of my days are spent preparing food, serving food, cleaning up food and being food. The bits of time inbetween all the fooding is spent on walks, running quick errands and playing.

*quick note on naps and sleep* I know to some of ya'll this might seem like an early bedtime. We found it to be better for Westley though. We found the details of when to nap and sleep through the book, Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. I know everyone has a book they try to push on you when you are trying to navigate parenthood so I guess this is mine. This one helped us a lot and it is worth a look if you are interested, but no pushy-ness. Just there if you're looking.

And now for what we feed Westley:

Breakfast foods (these can also be used in any other meal category):

-Those snack pack sizes of Dole pears, peaches and other fruit. I get the ones with no sugar added in their own juice. I cut them up a little smaller than they are already but they are nice because they are already soft and cut up a little and easy to transport.

- Greek Yogurt - You can get it with fruit in it or vanilla flavored or whatever. This stuff is PACKED with good fat and protein so I'm all about it. Yes, it also has sugar in it so go sparingly if you are worried about that.

- Diced Banana - Yep.

- Veggie Pancakes - I have found that I can put anything in pancakes and Westley will eat them. I just saute whatever it is I want to put in the pancake first to soften in and warm it a bit. Then I mix up regular old Bisquick, add a crap ton of veggies and make like a regular pancake on the stove. I make a bunch at the beginning of the week and have them in a tupperware in the fridge. He eats them cold most of the time. I just tear them up into strips and he takes bites of them. He loves it because he feels like a big boy holding a big piece of food instead of his usually diced up bits. But the pancakes are so soft and thin that it is safe and he doesn't choke. I have done spinach and yellow and green zuchinni and carrot so far. I have started experimenting with seasoning as well. Just have fun with it! And if you want to use organic or whole wheat bisquick type stuff then go for it. I am just using what I have in my pantry until it runs out and then I will look around at different pancake mix options.

- Cheerios - Classic. Also used at snack time sometimes.

- Oatmeal - Usually babies want whatever YOU are having to eat. So have oatmeal and share. Maybe not the way Alicia Silverstone shares, but you know just normal type sharing.

Lunch and Dinner foods:

- Morning Star Veggie Burgers -  Westley loves em' and I feel good giving them to him. Also super easy to make. Just throw one in the microwave for 1.5 minutes, let it cool and its good to cut up and give him.

- Avocado - is like manna from heaven and Westley loves it. He can eat a half of one in one sitting. I just cut it open, dice it while it is still in the skin and then scoop it out onto his tray.

- Cottage Cheese - Easy and loved by babies everywhere.

- Frozen vegetables are your friend - Heat em' up, let em cool dice em' smaller if needed and serve. Easy and good.

- Rice - I found these packets of rice the you just microwave and serve. I get the whole grain ones and add some small veggies (like peas, carrots) to those and he eats it most days.

- Whole grain kraft mac n cheese - Not the most nutritious option, but the kid loves it and I always serve it with something else that is green. And its whole grain so I don't feel terrible about it. Its more of a treat meal really. I don't do this a lot. You can add steamed chopped spinach or peas to it to nutrient it up a bit. If the packet of yellow kraft cheese seasoning scares you just make your own whole grain mac with the pasta, butter, little milk and shredded cheddar.

- Food from your own meal just cut up small - Just make sure it isn't too spicy. Common sense.

- Flavored black beans, corn and rice - Just drain some black beans and throw them on a skillet with corn. Add some seasoning, sprinkle a little cheese on it and serve with rice. Lots of little bits for little baby mouth.

- Grilled Marinated Chicken cut in little bits - Yum.

- Hotdogs - Before you gasp (too late?), YES I KNOW THEY ARE A CHOKING HAZARD. I also know that they are made out of the grossest parts ever. Stay with me. I only buy Hebrew National or Nathan's Brand. They use the best cuts of all beef and no gross parts. I cook them and cut them up reaaaaaaal tiny so that choking isn't an issue.

- Diced Roasted Vegetables - I diced up some sweet potatoes this week, tossed em' in some olive oil and baked them at 450 for 10 minutes. He'll eat them cold or warmed up and I can store them and use them through the week.

 - Quinoa - Truth is, Westley gagged on this. But it is really healthy and high in protein so I am throwing it out there for you in case your baby likes it better. Worth a try!

- Scrambled Egg - Again, gag city for Westley, but could work for you.

- Snacks/Treats -

- Ritz Crackers - I know they are worthless calories. I KNOW. HE LOVES THEM THOUGH. And this kid eats friggen' avacado and spinach pancakes for breakfast. Give us a break. 

- Gerber Puffs - Look I know it's not like kale chips or something but you don't have to worry about them choking. Good practice in the beggining stages of eating of picking up little things and no worry is a good thing.

 - Bits of cut up cheese - I've mentioned a lot of dairy items on this post. I need to say that I usually give Westley ONE dairy item per day. Otherwise he gets stopped up pretty bad. 

 - Cut Fruit in his chewy mesh thing - That invention is genius. Just make sure you wash it out good.

Tips and tricks:

- Timing - Give the healthy stuff that some babies refuse at the beginning of the meal when they are most hungry. And if that fails then just put it in a pancake like me.

- Clean Up - We have a Scoutie dog who doubles a vacuum under Westley's high chair. If you don't have one of these then consider rolling your highchair outside onto a patio or porch in nice weather if you have that option and make the squirrels and birds happy.

- Fruit and Veggies in a pouch - For some reason slurping pureed food out of a pouch is more fun then being spoon fed. So when we are on the go of if Westley isn't feeling like eating his veggies I bust out one of these. He claps and eats and we live happily ever after.

- Babies are little people -  Babies are hungrier some days than others just like us, so don't freak out too much if yesterday they ate a huge lunch and today they aren't that interested. Also - they get tired of eating the same things sometimes. For awhile all Westley would eat is peas, then he wouldn't touch them other than to throw them on the floor for Scout. So I stopped serving them for awhile, brought them back a month later and he is loving them again.

- Make it look good - Like I said earlier, babies usually want whatever you are having. So humor them and pretend to be be indulging in whatever you want them to eat. It has to look really real though, like put it in a bowl you eat from and use a regular spoon. Babies are smart.

Now give me some tips! What did I miss? What do you feed your baby?