Feeding Frenzy!

No matter what research I have done, and what resources I have read, nothing has really been able to accurately prepare me for the challenge that is converting Emerson to "people food".

This. Kid. Loves. Food.

Squash goodness...

Chik-Fil-A is the most kid-friendly place to get fast food!

I am so happy to sit in big-boy chairs!

I am eternally grateful that he hasn't had any obvious food aversions, allergies, or digestion issues. However, nothing is more nerve-wracking than trying to figure out "what to try next".

At first, we had some fun making baby food with our Beaba baby food maker. Vegetables were almost always perfectly pureed, but fruit was sometimes too watery. The trick was the thicken it up with some baby cereal.

Although I truly felt like the healthiest route was to be making food without preservatives and without additives, for full disclosure, if you are considering going this route, keep these things I learned in mind:
1. Preparation in a baby food maker is easy. Preparation to PUT food in a baby food maker, is not.
2. Gerber will not kill your child.
3. Baby foods will dye their containers, so I suggest using glass for longevity, even if they are a bigger up-front expense.
4. The 4-day rule is probably a good rule to follow (try 1 food for 4 days before introducing a new one).
5. Get ready for smelly poos.

I want to share this experience because it was one of the moments when I felt like this was much more than I was anticipating as far as work load is concerned. When making Emerson some peach puree, I learned just why we don't normally peel peaches. Peeling the peach, pitting it, and then cutting it, times 3, took about 45 minutes. That is a 45 minute prep time, 15 minutes to cook, and then, what did I have, 4 servings (about). 1 hour for barely 1 day's worth of baby food. And that was just the FRUIT. Once Emerson got started, we were doing 1 fruit and 1 vegetable per meal. Then, with 2 of those meals a day, adding up the time spent preparing anything beyond green beans (no cutting or pealing required), it became a sort of second job just making food. We managed this by tag-teaming the preparation and making food in large quantities on Sundays or one evening a week.

The good news, however, was that the pureed baby food stage was short lived- we moved onto roasted veggies and steamed fruits soon after, because Emerson quickly realized that he wanted independence during feeding, and stopped cooperating when being spoon fed.

Now, feeding time is still a chore. We cut the foods up in tiny pieces, because he doesn't chew much, and we prepare more food than I believe any 1-year-old could consume in a single setting. He has never turned down food, however, sometimes in recent feedings he is actually slowing down enough that we can recognize that he is full. A good sign is him trying to crawl out of his chair or spitting his food back onto his tray. He also starts to play with the food in his fingers and letting it fall onto his lap. With all the extra work each meal time requires, it is still entertaining to watch as Emerson gets super excited for his next bite, and how he likes to talk to himself when eating because he is just so happy. He squeals in glee!

I will say that our best friends are Happy Baby puffs and Happy Yogi bites. While we prepare his meals, we can keep him occupied with these and he is really good at picking them up himself and staying content, even if not patient.

Also, we have learned recently that even if we feed him a full meal, if we eat after him and he is still with us, he wants more food, too. So we have already learned the purpose of and value of family meal time.

Things have progressed well in the feeding world, and now we feel comfortable taking Emerson to restaurants and ordering him food. Most places have at least some chicken or turkey for kids. We have ordered salads with extra chicken to give to him, noodles without sauce, and plenty of different types of seasonings to expose him to multiple flavors.

And, oh yea, one more note on feedings, today Emerson ate his first inedible object, part of his mobile. He is tall enough to reach it when standing in bed. We should have known something was up when we put him in bed and he was pleasantly quiet for awhile. When he cried a bit later and I checked on him, part of the mobile was on the floor with a bead bitten off...

We'll see how that one turns out tomorrow, I hope... :)