Toast

We had our first real success yesterday! I toasted some whole wheat bread darker than normal and spread on unsweetened apple sauce like butter. I cut off the crust and cut it into three strips and Little Bear went crazy for it. I think he ate at least half of it. He had some again today for lunch and was just as happy! I even got a video of him munching away. 

Hmm I think I'll like this.

This is great!

Second day having toast, a pro! 

The toast was great because it doesn't stick to the roof of your mouth like fresh bread. It's crumbly and great to put new foods on as spreads. I think he will be having a lot of toast.

Up Next: Nectarine

Sweet Potato Fries

Papa Bear said he didn't see any banana in the diaper today. Hmm maybe there will be some later, or maybe he just didn't actually eat any. (Edited to say there WAS banana later.) Since everything so far has been a flop and bananas are such a rare allergy, we cheated and didn't leave any days between that and sweet potatoes.

Finally, something Little Bear likes! He bit of a big bite and realized it was too much, then pretty much sucked on the fries. There was a little choking when he took too big of a bite. He kept going back for more. Yay!

Checking out his fries.

Hey dad look at this!

Nom nom these are good.

Happy baby! 

I'd say sweet potatoes were a success! Since he liked the fries I think we'll keep going with solids. I'm going to wait a few days before introducing something else. I will have to figure out what he should try next.

Up Next: Toast

Banana

Since the last two foods didn't go over well, I thought I'd try something sweet and if he didn't want to eat it either, maybe he wasn't ready and I'd wait a while. Now I'm not so sure. He really couldn't pick up any banana and when we gave him a bite he seemed less than pleased. But then I put it in his mesh feeder and he sucked some down.

This feels messy.

Trying to take a bite. 

Getting some help from daddy. 

Yuck! 

Hmm. I guess it's okay in here. 

I think I'll just try something next that might be a little tastier for him and he can hold easier than a banana. We'll see how that goes, if we'll keep doing solids right now. 

Up next: Sweet Potato Fries 

And broccoli!

Based on diaper output, Little Bear got a few good bites of avocado the other day. So yesterday we decided to try broccoli. I steamed it until it was nice and squishy then ran it under cold water to cool it off. This time he was more interested in the bowl than the food but he finally got around to picking up the broccoli.

Dump it out! 

Chomp! 

Ugh what is this, baby torture? 

Gotta love that smile. 

No gagging on broccoli! I didn't think he ate any but diaper output proves otherwise. :) Going to go with a sweet fruit next, he's not liking this green stuff.

Next up: Banana

Avocado!

Avocados are loaded with good fats, vitamins and minerals. The fats are great for babes brain and physical development. They are also soft in texture and easy to gum. It made sense to us that avocado would be a great first food. Solids before one year are mostly for play and practice, but it's good to make sure it's nutritional too.

What's in here guys??

Gotta dump it out! 

What IS this??

Ew, why have I been trying to eat off your plates?

Look at my mess guys!! 

Well I think he ate a few little pieces. He gagged once but it was just a little hiccup. It worked itself out fine. He did have fun squishing it. It wasn't a huge hit but hey, it's the first time he's had food, it's all new. We will revisit avocado later. 

Next up: Broccoli 

Ready, Set, Eat!

Little Bear is almost 5.5 months old and we decided to start introducing solids!  He has so far only had breastmilk with some formula supplementing when he was 2 months. We are doing Baby Led Weaning which is skipping purees and going straight to the good stuff! BLW foods should be soft and large enough (think steak fry) for babe to get a good hold on. The general guidelines for doing BLW are:

Sitting unassisted

Shows interest in food (grabbing for it)

Can easily get things to their mouth

6 months old (we cheated a little)

This method lets your babe discover a greater variety of foods, you don't have to worry about pureeing or feeding the yucky stuff from the store that's full of preservaties, and you don't have to cook a separate meal. Having chicken and veggies for dinner? Cook some up real soft and give it to the babe!

You should wait 2-3 days or more between introducing new foods to make sure your babe doesn't have a reaction to a certain food. If you introduced avocado then sweet potato two days in a row and he had a reaction, you wouldn't know which it was from. You may want to avoid tougher foods if your babe has teeth so they don't chomp a big piece off. Your babe may gag, it's normal. Babies gag reflexes are in the middle of their mouth, rather than the back, to help prevent choking. 

Now, let's eat!