First Foods & Beyond

YES, FOOD. IT'S ABOUT TIME!

Our food adventure is bursting with rich natural flavors, textures, and variety.

So far, I’ve made a variety of delicious foods and my daughter has enjoyed every one. I started keeping track of what she has had by writing everything down but found that it was time-consuming. So, I went online and found several weaning charts and combined them with the schedule below. Oh, way quicker! These charts are easy, quick and currently serve as crutches for my postpartum dementia. My new brain 'mommy brain' is far from perfect but with a tool like this, all I could say was hallelujah. Running my household and working 36 hours a week (daycare) takes a lot. So, I'll continue to embrace these super helpful first food charts and other tools:).

Seconds later…what was I talking about? Oh, yes food!

Anyway, Sophia’s first foods were given to her in stages. I started her on these foods (see grid)and now I'm gradually working my way up. Trying all kinds of deliciousness. From squash to quinoa to eggplant and I really wanted to get my hands on some passion fruit. Unfortunately, I'm a very picky eater but I am introducing her to all foods so she doesn't end up like me:)

Single – Ingredient Purees 6 months old

Fruits	Apples, pears, mangoes & avocados.	Slightly sweet, smooth and creamy; loaded with nutrients & easy to digest.
Vegetables	Carrots, green peas, pumpkin, spinach, beets & cauliflower.	Smooth creamy loaded with vitamins A, C, iron & nutrients
Grains	Rice cereal, brown rice, quinoa	gluten-free, high in protein, fiber, iron, magnesium, B vitamins and more.

So, how much does she eat?
I want to start off by saying that most of her calories still come from breastfeeding or formula. Please don't substitute milk for baby food. The goal is to not overwhelm your little one. But it's more to help his/her get used to a variety of foods so baby will get all nutrients. Sophia at six months had two meals a day 30 ml each along with breastfeeding on demand. 

Like I mentioned in my previous post ‘Weaning baby’ I simply followed tips, guidelines, and recipes from this book. Apart from the book we chose to begin with veggies then fruits. We introduced each food one at a time. Whenever we offered a new food, we waited for four days before trying another variety. We wanted to make sure that our daughter was not allergic to the first foods before combining. This way it would be easier to pinpoint the fruit or vegetable that wasn't agreeing with her.

Now at eight months, she has three meals, two snacks and yes, the boob/formula. I've also started to add some spices and herbs to her meals to enhance the natural flavors. This schedule has definitely helped and allowed me to enjoy the process of watching my daughter experience new flavors and textures. 

I'm looking forward to stage 3: chunky combination purees; the remaining soft purees in my freezer I'll add small chunks of fruits, veggies, beans or peas to the mix. I can't wait to experiment with different ways of presenting food. So, if you're feeling stuck, my tip for you is do search the internet, download apps or buy a recipe book. Use whatever tools you need to get the job done and don't forget to have fun!

XOXO, Niki