by Gin from Michigan
You’re ready for this! For months you’ve been planning.
You stood in the produce section for 2 hours, picked up an avocado, then put it back down. Next you threw six green beans in a plastic bag, only to dump them back into the bin. You went organic because...that’s good, right? You read that somewhere.
You made it home...eventually, with the original avocado and after getting the all clear from the pediatrician, you’re ready to get your blend on!
Now whether you are starting at six months or a year is beside the point. You just noticed that your baby was watching you binge eat chips and salsa during a dramedy marathon with the interest and attitude of a FOMO teenager.
So here we are. You have your pureed avocado on the rubber-covered spoon and you plug it past the baby’s bird-like lips only to receive a spattering of regurged muck you didn’t even have time to dodge, full frontal. Yuck.
Also...quite discouraging.
Now, if you have the unicorn baby that eats everything you give them, never spits up or out, doesn’t lean heavily on one food and doesn’t refuse everything...you Lucky Duck you!
But for those of us who have come face to food with the exorcist baby, I have a couple of tricks I’ve successfully implemented and I’d like to share them with you in case they help.
The taste test
Rub a little on the nipple of a bottle. A preview, if you will, and watch for signs of aversion. You know the ones.
The gradual bet
Feed baby the smallest amount possible by dipping the spoon in the food without scooping anything on the curve just yet. Then, if no signs of aversion are present, gradually increase the amount, but keep the first few feedings light to avoid the after eating vomit comet disaster. Not. Fun.
The milk bath
After a bite of a food that you suspect might not be a winner, don’t give up just yet. Try the two techniques above but have a nice warm bottle nearby to chase it with. That familiar flavor bathes the tongue and gets baby back to happy much faster.
The happy couple
As your baby gets older, you might find you have a growing list of foods the baby didn’t like and none of the techniques myself or anyone else has given you has worked. Try mixing foods on a 90/10 ratio. Take 90% of a food the child loves, and add a minute amount of food that was met with less enthusiasm. This is easier if the food the baby likes is a fruit and the dislike is a veggie. However, I would suggest you avoid fruits at first, and here’s why...
They’re AWESOME!
Of course the baby is gonna wanna eat the blueberry pear puree. It’s full of sweet flavors.
What baby wouldn’t strike the second you switch a fruit for a veg? So best to set good habits first and then treat fruits as...well...a treat!
There you have it my dear mothers and fathers. A couple of tricks that I’ve found work to keep MY face food free.
This blog was written by one of our guest bloggers, Gin.
About Gin
An author of young adult and women's fiction novels, Gin Price writes in between diaper changes these days after having child number four. Growing up babysitting and nannying never dimmed her passion for raising children and teaching them health and wellness for themselves and the planet they share with all living things.
Want more information on feeding your baby their first pureed foods? wichealth.org has a free online lesson called Feeding Your Infant Solid Foods. Find it on wichealth.org in the Infants category!
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