how strict are you with introducing new foods?
Well, Zachary is 6 months old now, and he's pretty much eating everything.
After starting purees last month, I realized how slim the chances were that he would have any reactions since between me, my parents and grandparents, my husband, his parents and grandparents and sister, and all of our other relatives, there are no food allergies. So, I pretty much waited 1 or 2 days between foods and since he has no problem swallowing any of the thicker purees, he is now enjoying just about all of the stage 2 foods.
He has also tried other things, like a piece of a chocolate chip cookie (thanks to his Aunt!! lol), some cream cheese from my bagel a few days ago, and some of my lunch today which was cheesy rice.
I think that he really likes trying different foods, and I want him to start trying all kinds of things and getting used to new tastes so that he can enjoy having something to eat no matter where we are, since we hope to travel with him while he's young.
I see a lot of parents saying how their babies eat the same thing every day, day in day out. Cereal and fruit for breakfast, a veggie or fruit for lunch, a veggie and cereal for dinner. How BORING!! I vary Zachary's meals every day and try not to give him the same thing two days in a row (with the exception of breakfast - he usually gets oatmeal unless I feed him one of the premade jarred breakfasts- but that's just me being lazy!).
My husband told me how when he was a kid all he ate for dinner was peanut butter and honey sandwiches because his mom didn't know how to cook and that he was very unwilling to try new things until he was an adult. I don't ever want my kids to be like that!
Anyway, if food allergies DON'T run in your family and you don't need to follow a strict routine to rule them out... do you still follow one anyway or do you have fun experimenting with feeding your baby different foods? What is the craziest thing you have fed your baby so far? I want to start cooking for Zachary soon and I look forward to his reaction to all different types of meals.
Re: how strict are you with introducing new foods?
I'm pretty flexible at this point. When I started I would introduce foods for 3 days, but then when we moved into the stage 2's it got more complicated. Some of those Earth's Best have so many different ingredients that it's hard to follow the 3 day rule, so I just feed her and watch for reactions. So far the only thing she's had a reaction to is mangos- she broke out all over her body.
As far as having her try regular food (non-pureed), I have given her a few things to try and my sister fed her a piece of cupcake on her baptism with frosting and all. ;-) I do agree with you about wanting your baby to learn to eat everything- I want the same for Nadia.
we gave abby mangoes yesterday for the first time and she threw up! she hated it!!
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This was something I always worried about - Sophia being bored. So as soon as the 3 day wait was over per type I would mix them up - literally! One day she would have carrots and a fruit. Sometimes I would mix carrots and peas (etc...). I did not more so that her palate would continue to learn to appreciate new tastes.
We introduced mangoes to Sophia at 8 months. Gerber and real ones that we blended and put in a sippy cup.
The good thing is that even though we cannot imagine eating what they eat all day long, at that age as long as they are fed and full most don't care what they eat. Once we hit 9 months things really got interesting with the food and we would let her try a little of what we were eating in addition to her foods. Before 9 months she was not a fan of finger foods.
Actually you should be OK with mango. Most people get an allergy to the skin of the fruit, not the actual part you eat. So they puree stuff should be OK if your family is not prone to allergies. Its just a sugary fruit.
I'm not really strict since our pedi told me that there's been no concrete scientific evidence on the best way to introduce foods to babies.
I did wait to introduce solids until he was 6 months old because of the study that found introducing cereal prior to 6 months leads to an increase risk of developing type II diabetes and adult obesity. THAT runs in our families but food allergies do not.
Andrew is still mostly BF though and can remain that way until 9-12 months. We're just doing one solid meal a day at this point. I usually give him the same thing a couple of days in a row just because it's easier on me. LOL
I'm not worried about him getting bored on those days because the breast milk is affected by my diet. So he gets plenty of variety in taste that way!
I printed out the food charts from www.wholesomebabyfood.com so I can track what he's tried and be responsible if there is a reaction to something new.
That site also gives me tips on certain things like when it's okay to leave the skin on veggies. I'll probably stick close to their guidelines for introducing dairy and certain other foods. We may start meat sooner though since breat milk can be low in iron.
Maybe I am kind of strict after all?