Tasting Time

Friends and family kept asking when she would try solid food. Others moms of little ones shared their experiences with me, and it seemed that many babies are not that interested until they can chew on finger foods. I was not in a hurry to start feeding her because I value the pleasure and ease of our breastfeeding relationship and the not-so-bad smelling poop that 100% breastfed babies produce. After all, I never have to pack food when we leave the house; I never have to run to the store at the last minute; I can eat my own dinner in relative peace; and did I mention the poop? However, just as her face in the bath water indicated to me that she was ready for water, she let me know she might be ready for solid food. She bit a piece out of my magazine and before I got it all out of her mouth...cough...gulp...swallow.

So, last night I baked stuffed squash for our dinner and made acorn squash puree for Caterpillar Girl. We sat down to three plates instead of two.


She was pleased enough by the first bite but rolling it around in her mouth, she was not so sure. A few faces and a few mouthfuls later she had had enough. This was definitely not mommy's milk.

We let her play with the spoon while we ate our dinner. Then I tried giving her a tiny piece of my squash. She spit it right out, and Daddy tried to put it back in. That just made her cough, kicked off her gag reflex, and then she threw up. Yep, absolutely not ready for more than puree. We'll keep trying but at just over 7 months, I know she has plenty of time before she really needs to eat solid foods. For now, it will be a little of this and a little of that. To paraphrase one of my books, So Easy Baby Food, early eating is more about experiencing a variety of new flavors than nutrition. She will still nurse most of the time.