One of the things I really want to instill in my daughter is a good relationship with food and her own body. I want her to enjoy different flavours and cuisines and share our family joy of eating really good food. B and I love to eat. He's come a long way from the picky eater I married.
I was very fortunate that I had a great start to feeding. I didn't put any pressure on myself and I managed to push through the pain - the bout of mastitis, the worries if she was getting enough, if I was doing the right thing. And the pain. Oh the pain in the early weeks was something else. Once I told myself that everything was okay, I have managed to enjoy every minute of it and have done my utmost to look after myself and eat and drink plenty of water, to offer lots of feeds and rest well. Looking after Ari in my main priority. And I can't look after her if I'm not looking after myself. It gets better and easier every single day. There are too many horror stories out there about birthing and feeding and I'd love women to know that it CAN work. Trust yourself and look after yourself and take each feed and each day as it comes. Surround yourself with lots of support.
I have slowly started offering Ari puree and finger food, too. She has shown a great interest in eating and will often nibble on a crust of bread, a finger of banana or some avocado. I've read some books and blogs and scoped out the combinations of packaged baby food and ultimately decided to make my own. I made the decision to start her on organic fruit and vegetables. In the very beginning I offered her each new food on it's own for her little stomach to get used to solid food - zucchini, carrot, pumpkin, apple and pear were the early foods. About 30-40ml at midday.
Once I started to mix foods I increased the volume to around 50-60ml. Milk is still her primary source of nutrition and I'd like it to remain so for a while yet. Fruit and vegetables are for learning and exploring and aiding her to hopefully not grow to have any intolerances. I offer things repeatedly and never force her to eat and I hope to continue to follow that philosophy.
So I thought I'd share some of my combinations that we have made and enjoyed.
- zucchini & spinach
- pumpkin, zucchini & spinach
- sweet potato, carrot, zucchini & spinach
- pumpkin, parsnip & spinach
- pumpkin, squash & parsnip
- avocado
- zucchini, parsnip, squash... etc etc. Whatever I can find I combine.
- apple & pear
- peach & pear
- banana & kiwi fruit
