Tasty Cereals!

At first, we thought it was the colour that grabbed his attention. 

The strawberries, ripe and crimson, were set into brilliant contrast by a white bowl and our white bed sheets (eating in bed rocks!). 

But Hudson's eyes weren't only fixed on the fruit. They were trailing the berries as they moved to our mouths.

"Oh look Ted - how cute is that? He's watching us eat!" I said. "Let's give him one!"

In total ignorance of strawberries' allergenic potential, we held one to Huds' mouth. As if by gravitational pull, his tiny hands reached out, grabbed the berry and forced it closer to his outstretched tongue. The boy was in full gumming mode before either of us knew exactly what was happening. 

Bits of red berry flesh flew everywhere, ricocheting off his legs and bouncing onto us, the rest of him and of course, the white sheets. Huds had a hungry, possessed look in his eyes. 

"Give him another one!" I cried. "Let's try some nectarine!"

And that was our unconventional start to solid foods more than a month ago.

Since then - ignoring my husband's anxiety, my mother's advice to "start slow" and all the wisdom I've read in baby cook books - Hudson, like the Very Hungry Caterpillar, has eaten his way through fruits and veggies all the colours of the rainbow, mush-ified beets, curried squash, cheeses, and a variety of pureed meats - excluding that nice green leaf, of course.

All to messy satisfaction and in no specific order.

"He eats meat?!" another new mom friend said recently. "Wow. I can't believe you're already feeding him meat."

Call me crazy, nuts, a daredevil or just plain irresponsible, but I refuse to follow any rules when it comes to introducing my bouncing, growing bundle of joy to the culinary pleasures of real people food. 

I tried to adhere to the "one new food every three day rule" but that flew out the window the first week - once I discovered how fun it is to cook baby food (bake, add water, puree).

(note: I rely heavily on Mother Gerber to do a lot of the cooking too. While feeding the boy nothing other than home-cooked slop was appealing... what am I perfect?! Who has that kinda time?!). 

"So I can feed him anything I want? Anything at all? Even turmeric, the mushy pork in dim sum? Curry?" my eyes widened to see what our pediatrician would say. "Yup. Curry. What do you think babies in India eat?"

A few restrictions: no nuts, egg whites, or honey before Huds' celebrates his first birthday. And he needs grain cereal twice a day (we call this Tasty Cereals! said in a loud, high-pitched voice). 

I can live with that. 

Growing up, food was never held over me as a reward. It was never kept away from me in hard-to-reach cupboards and everything - even cookies and diet coke, in tiny minuscule amounts, were permissible in my diet if I expressed an interest in consuming them. And today, I love food. Any and all types of it. 

And I want the same for Hudson. 

(note: I realize the boy may exert his will at any time and what I want will fly clear out the car window) 

"Strange that you don't seem nervous," a family friend said, when I divulged my non-plan plan for introducing the boy to what his mom and dad put in their mouths at least three times a day. 

"But it's good," the friend added. "We were really anxious about feeding our daughter different foods and today, she'll only eat macaroni and cheese." 

Mmmm macaroni and cheese..... 

mmmmmmm....

Back to my point: So far, Huds has happily (and luckily for me) consumed everything I've prepared for him. He also uses it to soil me, himself, and the floor around us at every meal (will this stop at some point?!). 

And so solid foods begins...... and so does it's companion: constipation. Argh.

Comments

[snakecharmer]

LOL!
That's totally the way I plan on introducing solids to our sprout! I just love the way you guys went with your instincts and are having fun with it. Parenting is an adventure and the 'Solids-land' ride sounds like it's a good ride.

[Carolyn]

My little boy is 6 months old now and I love your food philosophy! I am going with my gut as well, with a little help from "Better Baby Foods" which actually encourages parents to introduce spices i.e curry to their children at an early age. After living 2 years in Asia (where mac n' cheese isn't even an option) I realize that children can eat (and love) a whole variety of foods! Thanks for the blog. I've been following it for a while now. You have a gorgeous boy!

[Carrie]

You are lucky! My son is six months and does not show the least interest in eating anything other then his formula. He does not even watch us eat.

[Jen F]

Good on you and your husband Michelle - this is absolutely the best approach to introducing solid food to a baby in my opinion. Relaxed, open-minded and adventurous. My husband and I had a similar approach for our now 2 year old son (still do) and while he has become a wee bit pickier in his obstinate terrible twos, he eats just about everything - all kinds of veggies, curries, hot and spicy salsas and other sauces, pickled veggies and olives etc. etc. Like you, we took the basic precautions, but didn't over-agonize about it. We even introduced peanut butter to him at about 10 months (gasp!!). We started out giving him a tiny schmear to see if he had a reaction (a friend's pediatrician cautioned her not to give her son nuts until he was 7 - what!?). On top of letting your kid try *everything*, I also think it's really important to instil, right from the beginning, the concept that everybody eats the same thing - no special meals (like nuggets and mac and cheese) cooked for the kids. If our son doesn't like what's for dinner (we encourage him to at least try it), if he's hungry he can have some fruit or yogurt or something - but I *do not* prepare him anything special. Sooner or later they get it. Good luck and have fun!

[T. Quist]

What a fantastic read. I lovelovelove your relaxed approach - it's very refreshing.

[Sharon]

Wow. That's awesome. I'm a first time mom-to-be and it's so refreshing to see that you're not anal when it comes to introducing solids. So many new mothers are. I want to try your approach!!!

[sarahz]

I totally agree with you- when your baby loves eating (as mine does) it is so much fun watching them explore and discover food and all of the sensory elements it brings.

[B. Reynolds]

Woo hoo! Tethered to the bottle no more!

As Max might say, let the wild rumpus start...

[B. Reynolds]

... and as for the constipation, two words: prune juice. Mix it with the Tasty Cereal, and stand back.

[Lindsay]

Your non-plan actually has a name - it's called 'Baby-led Solids', and it's a great way to go!

[IR, the mom of two perfect girls =)]

Well, I wouldn't risk it this way, the constipation is the very minor thing (and managable) to worry about after going so wild about baby's liver...Hopefully this baby will be fine in six months and will not develop any allergic reaction to something else. The allergy doesn't start immediatelly after consuming the food for the first time. It may trigger the reaction after the third or fourth time, it may trigger the reaction to new food in the future - any new food! The baby's liver is not ready for these experiments and the more preassure you put on it at this age the more risk to have an allergic reactions in the future. Also you are playing with your baby's immune system. Ask your doctor why it is not recommended to give new food to the baby three days before or after vaccination or when the baby is sick or why it is not recommended to introduce two or three different foods at the same time. Babies are not toys that parents have fun to play with. Our games are impacting their future life. I wouldn't recommend new moms to follow this food adventure without consulting with the doctor.