Cooking for a baby

Baby D has been on solids for a solid two months now, and I can hardly believe the progress she's made. Her first meal was boring rice cereal, and very messy at that. I thought about making my own, but Registered Dietitian sister advised me that it's wise to stick to commercial cereals for their added nutrients, notably iron. The women in our family have anemic tendencies, anyway. We also made use of a few jars of store-bought baby food, which D just loved! She had squash, carrots, peas and sweet potato from jars.

Then I decided it was time to try making my own food for her. My first attempt involved steamed sweet potato (did you know it takes a really long time to steam sweet potato?) and about ten tiny Tupperware containers, two of which are still in the freezer. She hated it at first, because it was too watery and even though I pureed it as much as I could in the food processor, it was no match for Gerber. Every few days, I'll microwave it, dump it through a fine mesh strainer and see if she's up for it, and lately she's been fine. Next time, when I tackle carrots, I'll boil them and puree them without draining the water first. I was thinking that steaming would keep in more nutrients somehow.

D loves fruit almost as much as life itself! She's had mashed bananas and avocados (both of which are great nutritionally but stain like you wouldn't believe), and saucy apples and pears (which I peeled, chopped, boiled and pureed). She makes the cutest bird-mouth face when she wants more of any given thing! Applesauce and pear sauce are among the first foods she's eaten cold, and she gets a bit confused initially, then remembers how delicious they are. She's also had plain yogurt (cold), and without fail, she makes terrible faces between bites, temporarily forgetting that she likes what she's eating.

The costs of having a baby on solids haven't been too bad yet. A box of cereal lasts for three to four weeks, depending on how often she eats it, and they're only 3.50$-3.99$. I've also bought rice rusks for her, which are 2.99$ for a box of 24 (and she'll have one or two a day at most). It definitely helps that the produce I cook for her is what we would buy anyway, with a few exceptions. Believe it or not, I had never made anything with avocado before, so when I bought a bag of them, I decided to make guacamole from my trusty Clueless cookbook. It was unbelievably good, and I had it three days in a row! Did everyone else know that guacamole is just a bunch of scrumptious vegetables chopped up and thrown together?

Baby D still nurses a fair bit (including right now, which makes typing a bit awkward, as she is partially sprawled over my laptop), and that's fine by me. If it works out, I'd like to continue until she's around a year. There are all kinds of benefits for the immune system and such, plus it's pretty convenient and makes for some nice bonding time. Even if we're out, I pretty much always have a nursing cover with me, so there are no scandals.

Overall, I'm enjoying this feeding stage more now than I was at the start of it. Initially, it seemed like such a hassle to get her buckled into her seat, find a bib, prepare her food, make sure it was cool, and then proceed to let her smear it all over her face and clothes. She still makes a mess, but she's much more skilled at eating and, coincidentally, I'm more skilled at feeding her.

And now, a gratuitous shot of Baby D enjoying some juice at the cottage with Grampa. (Note to any parents: apparently you're not supposed to give babies citrus fruits or juices on account of their acidity. We were late getting the memo.)