So lately I have been worrying a lot about what I should feed George. I have found that most baby books I have read are not particularly helpful in providing specific details such as, "will I give my baby weird food issues when I clap after he eats?" etc.
My good friend Marci Anderson is a nutrition consultant (she's really good if you need nutrition advice and/or need ideas for healthy meals--check out her blog) and provided me with some really helpful material and recommended some good books.
I guess my end goal is that I want George to appreciate and enjoy good healthy food. Do any of you have any life changing advice for feeding a baby?
8 comments:
I think feeding a baby is the worst job in child rearing. Everybody complains about dirty diapers, but it doesn't take 30 minutes to change a diaper. Plus with diapers you don't have to clean off their whole body, the high chair, the floor, the dishes, and yourself.
As far as what you feed your kids, it is pretty easy when they are really little. It is when they or 2 or 3 that it can be a real challenge. My 3 year old Zack has recently got on a monochromatic kick (ie there cannot be any variation due to added sauce, herbs, meat, vegetables etc). We tried watching Ratatouille to teach him that those things are what makes food taste good. We will see how it goes.
This is great advice here...
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-avoid-making-meals-a-power-struggle_66882.bc?scid=mbtw_post6y_0m_3w:449&pe=4C0X3Z
None of which I have followed. My older two are the pickiest eaters on the planet. Hamburgers, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and popcorn are their main food groups. They don't even like pizza. The problem is that anywhere you go out to eat it will cater to one of these four things. So my BEST advice is eat at home as much as possible. Seriously this way you will be able to give them a variety of foods on a consistent basis. Don't cater, they eat what you eat. After a miserable and embarrassing Christmas (on my end) we are starting over with the Baby Center advice.
Of course this is more advice with older kids. My baby is a champ of an eater, he isn't aware yet that he is supposed to turn up his nose at anything with flavor or that is healthy. He LOVES table food. Stay away from eggs, fish, and peanut products, but don't be afraid to let him try the adult foods you are eating. Babies don't necessarily love bland foods like packaged baby food would have you believe. Although there are exceptions to this (ie my oldest).
wow. pass on what you know. I know I'm not even close to having a baby, but I've been thinking for awhile it's kinda like going on a mission, the better prepared you are pre-parenthood... the better!
No professional advice to give, just how it's worked with my kids. I've always wanted my kids to eat well, and maybe I just got lucky that my kids are pretty much game for anything. But I've always figured if I'm eating well, showing them that I'm not afraid to try new things and the choices I give them are healthy - they'll just be used to it. And now that they're older they know that I always like them to try things. I always remind them that maybe they won't like it, but maybe they will - and everyone likes different things. My kids like a lot of things some adults won't eat. My younger one eats octopus, for example, and will try anything under the sun without reservations. I also think it's important to remember that just because babies spit things out once, doesn't mean they won't like it later - sometimes you have to keep trying it so they can get used to the flavor or texture. By the way, have I told you yet how cute I think your boy is? Really cute. Really.
My advice...don't let him near Chad.
I agree to avoid "kid food" if you can - because then it becomes all they eat.
I just try to cover the categories protein, carbs, and fruit/veggies. I like to offer Ivan protein such as scrambled eggs and yogurt. carbs we don't even think about - he gets enough just from cereal, crackers, or whatever diaper bag snack food I have. Plus he loves stuff like rice. Fruit and veggies are harder, esp in winter here, but he loves apples and we eat a ton of them.
Keep it simple! Canned babyfood is a rip off!
Oh also don't obsess about choking hazards (like say apple slices) too much. 99% of the time when they start to cough while eating something it is a gag reflex and they just cough it up and spit it out.
I have seen people take power struggles to the extreme and fight over every forkful. Which I think sounds like a real nightmare. Actually, I've seen the two extremes:
a) parents who cater to their kids so much that they fix two separate dinners.
b) a scary lady who gave me the creeps, who would serve her children their dinner for breakfast if they didn't eat it. I personally thought this was abusive, but then I also was a picky child growing up. And am still fairly particular.
I don't think you should make your kids eat when they say they aren't hungry, or when they have tried something and know they dislike it. Usually a meal includes something they can choke down, and if not, there's always cereal. I guess in a nutshell my advice would be to offer a variety of choices...but don't sweat it if they are picky eaters, either. Most kids grow out of it.
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