Adventures in Eating

Now that Nixon has passed the six-month mark, we've started incorporating some solids into his diet.  It's been so much fun watching him discover new tastes and textures and experience food, although sometimes that experience is consuming the food and other times it's squishing it and watching it fall on the floor.  He's slowly getting the hang of chewing (although he has no teeth yet, so it's more like sucking) and swallowing.

As with most things pertaining to parenting, I went into this with a pretty clear idea of how I wanted to do it, only to have that dissolve within a few days as we figured out what works best for Nixon as an individual.  I've planned all along to follow baby-led weaning, which basically means we skip the traditional baby food and offer him pieces of soft foods that he can easily hold, and he'll eat at his own pace.  He's still getting all the nutrition he needs from nursing, so right now food is simply a learning experience.  I like this method for multiple reasons, mostly that we're not spending extra money on baby food or taking the time to make our own.  And while we've been able to follow this plan pretty well, we've also been feeding him some foods with a spoon instead of strictly letting him feed himself.  For one, some foods are just easier to eat with a spoon, such as applesauce, and I'm not thrilled about wiping the applesauce off the wall if he were to attempt to feed it to himself.  Secondly, there are times when he just really wants to eat, and he gets frustrated at his inability to get the food in his mouth fast enough.  So, it turns out that a hybrid of baby-led weaning and traditional baby food is what works best for our little guy.

So far, some of his favorites include bananas, sweet potato, avocado, and peaches.  The other day, we gave him a puree consisting of blueberries, plums, and spinach, which he gobbled up surprisingly fast.  One thing he's tried that he doesn't seem to be a fan of is carrots.  Baby cereal wasn't a huge hit either, even with applesauce mixed in, but I can't say I blame him.  Other than those two things, everything we've offered him has been a hit.  Mealtimes are definitely a lot more fun (and a lot more messy) now that he can join in!