This is Isabel's open letter to her friend Charlotte, who has some questions about starting solid foods.
Izzy dictated, I typed.
Dear Charley{my "bad-to-the-bone" girl-friend},
I hear you're going to be starting solid foods soon? This is kind of exciting, because it means that there are very yummy things on the horizon {or so I hear}. But don't get too excited. You will probably only get fruits and veggies in the beginning. {You're probably wondering, as did I, why do they assume that we want to be vegans? Well Charley, I think the answer is obvious: more burritos and ice cream for them.}
My mom uses a Beaba Babycook to make most of my food. {She found it on Craigslist, from a very nice mommy who used it for her baby. So as you can imagine, the price was slashed}
Apparently she loves the Babycook because she is busy and lazy and tired. It steams and purees in one fell swoop. Whoopee. But I guess this saves her time because all she has to do is turn a dial, and it is very easy to clean also. I will say, the food it makes tastes better than the prepared stuff she buys at the store when she is even more busy/lazy/tired than usual. In those cases, she buys organic baby foods. Also, she was very stingy with the fruits, so I got mostly veggies... because she didn't want me to expect sweets at mealtime..? {this, coming from the woman who can singlehandedly plow through a box of the little schoolboy cookies in less than 24-48 hours...}
Another thing that helps with the problem of being very busy and very tired {not lazy-- sorry mom, that was tongue in cheek humor! ha}is this Beaba silicone tray that she uses to freeze the food she makes, so that all she has to do is defrost it at meal time. It's also made by the Beaba company, and my mom has 2 of them. They look cute, have covers, and the food is stored in good sized portions.
So, in the beginning, she followed my doctor's directions, and just gave one new food at a time, sticking with each new food for a few days or so {just in case I was allergic to it, and also to give me a chance to get used to a new flavor.} She would often mix some breast milk in with whatever food it was {because I still drink that, haven't tried formula yet, but formula would work too and would be pretty yummy I'm sure}., Also, if she needs to thicken a puree, or if I haven't gone #2 in a day or so, she'll mix some oatmeal in with the food. Here's the oatmeal that I like, it's at Giant and Whole Foods and on Amazon too:
What else? Oh yeah, I started solids when I was around five months old, and for the first week or so, I'd have solid food once a day. Then, I started having it twice a day {which meant I would bring it with me to daycare in these OXO containers, pictured below}
Also, these are my favorite spoons fyi: {we get them at Target}
SO my favorite foods in the beginning were: butternut squash, broccoli, avocado, pear, sweet potato, oatmeal and eggplant. The veggies were just steamed in the Babycook, then pureed, no seasoning {aside from breastmilk}. Now, I eat 3 meals a day. Or I guess I should say, they try to feed me 3 meals a day, but I'm still not sold on this solid food thing. Sometimes I'm into it, and other times, I wish they'd just give up and let me drink my milk in peace. 24/7. Milk.
But I do love a good broccoli puree. Mmmm.
Let me know if you have any questions Charley! {or anyone else! :) }
Good luck, and keep being naughty. Bad to the bone. YOLO.
XO
Izzy
{and Cassie}
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| This was taken a couple of months ago...see how I'm opening my mouth willingly? It's also fun to keep your lips sealed tightly and just make a big huge mess. Helpful hint. - Izzy |
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