Living to eat

Mountain boy is truly enjoying his solids experience. Before he started on solids 2 months ago he was at the 25th-50th percentile, now he has shot up to the 75th percentile!

Because he loves eating so much, i really enjoy cooking and preparing his meals daily. The freezer compartment that was used to keep my frozen milk has been replaced by cubes and cubes of multi-coloured frozen puree.

He is always cautious with the first bite, he'll never open his mouth too widely for that. If he likes what you're serving, he can wallop 3/4 cup in less than 10 minutes. But like any other kid, he constantly needs to be distracted especially towards the end of his meal.

So far he has tried the following in chronological order:

1. Carrot
2. Baby Rice
3. Pumpkin
4. Peas (which i have stopped because it gives him gas)
5. Sweet Potato
6. Apple
7. Pear
8. Oatmeal
9. Banana
10. Prunes (Organic and dried naturally)
11. Avocado
12. Potato
13. Wheat Flour
14. Cinnamon
15. Beetroot
16. Egg Yolk
17. Spinach (which gives him a rash, but don't know if it's a coincidence)
18. Millet
19. Papaya
20. Cauliflower
21. Brocoli
22. Butter
23. Beef loins
24. Rice
25. Tomato
26. Cheese (I use Chedder and made a yummy cheese sauce to drizzle over vegetables)

My SIL introduced the Rafferty's Garden series and we've been hooked ever since! The ingredients are MOSTLY organic, and the rice cereal has no added sucrose or sweetener. I've tried so many of their products and i think the packaging is great for travelling.

He is also in love with the vegetable puffs (top picture: far left) from Happy Baby. He gets crazy eyes when he sees the bottle. Only thing I don't quite like is the non-airtight packaging. I always have to transfer the puffs into another airtight container to preserve the shelf-life.

Anyway here's a video of a greedy Mountain Boy mastering his pincer grip (pinching things with fingers).

10 Tips i picked up from a recent baby nutrition course and some mommies:

1. Try to pick organic even though the books don't say so. Organic fruits have more absorbable nutrients. Especially apples and peaches because the skin is quite porous.
2. Carrots are more nutritous when cooked. Don't feed the water from steamed carrots because it contains nitrates (which apparently gives u the blue baby syndrome).
3. Iron is very important for baby after 6 months because the body only stores enough iron for 6 months. Beyond that it is necessary to supplement. Some common foods high in iron are egg yolk (only introduce if both sides of family don't have egg allergies), red meat and spinach (but vegetable iron needs to be supplemented with vitamin C).
4. Feed DHA as early as possible. It is very important from brain and nervous system growth. Reduced ADD.
5. Add 1tsp of vinegar to stock. It releases the calcium from the bones (i learnt this from the mommies).
6. When feeding your baby fish, try to select a different type of fish each time. Because fish are contaminated with different poisons, so by choosing a different type u are reducing the risk of over contamination with the same poison.
7. When feeding chicken choose the thighs because it is higher in iron. And also try to go for free-range chicken.
8. When feeding salmon, choose the tail because it is the most tender.
9. When feeding beef/pork, choose the smaller loins.
10. If your baby refuses to sit on the high chair, don't offer alternatives. They will eat if they are hungry.