Iris Eats!
When it came to eating, we jumped the gun. What sounds like a good starter food, something soft and easy and yummy? Why a banana, of course!!
What I haven't admitted yet is that we scandalously introduced bananas to Iris's diet just three days ahead of the 6-month doctor's visit in which it was recommended that she "start" eating cereal and "the orange" foods. We didn't tell the doctor about the bananas..
Iris loved the bananas, which we were very excited about. We thought this whole food thing was going to be a breeze! Since then, however, we've learned that once a sweet tooth is established, the unsweet foods are a slightly tougher sell. Even a sweet potato was a no-go!!
The night of Iris's 6-month doctor visit, we came home and baked a sweet potato and pureed the hell out of it. The next day, Iris wasn't so hot on the whole thing. Despite otherwise being a fast learner, after 4 days of rejection, we moved on to carrots.. At least we proved that she wasn't allergic!
Fortunately, carrots are sweeter that sweet potatoes (go figure) and our confidence was restored when Iris gulped them down, spoonful after spoonful, opening her mouth ready for more. She did the same thing with rice cereal, but was less open to the less tasty oatmeal and multi-grain cereal..
With two good foods and one bad food behind us, the next attempt was something we considered avant garde, yet was highly touted by the books we were now reading for their nutritional value: avocado. Iris hated avocado. Hated it! Her face would sneer and frown and sometimes shrivel up and cry. Her lips would pucker and seal up. I have to admit that the first avocado we tried was slightly bitter and not quite ripe. So we tried another one that was better- no luck.
After 4 days of that (again proving no allergy), with the score even at 2 apeice, green beans stepped to the plate. Swing and a miss!
It seemed like no matter how much water we added, or how long we pureed it in the food processor, we still couldn't get all of the chunks out. More puckers, turning away, and general grumpiness in the high chair. After one marathon, monumental failed attempt, I took the above picture..
At least I was able to capture the moment of her victory, when I handed her the empty bowl and let her repeatedly smack it down on the tray in ecstasy. Empty not because she had eaten everything, or even anything. Empty because she had taken all of the beans into her mouth and spit them back out. Everywhere.
Since then, we fortunately have had more successes than failures. She's now eating pears, apples, tofu, peas, squash, and grapes with regularity in addition to carrots, bananas, and cereal. She'll eat sweet potatoes, but we have to mix it with something else.. Someday we'll try avocados again, that is after we've tried everything else in the book at least once!
What I haven't admitted yet is that we scandalously introduced bananas to Iris's diet just three days ahead of the 6-month doctor's visit in which it was recommended that she "start" eating cereal and "the orange" foods. We didn't tell the doctor about the bananas..
Iris loved the bananas, which we were very excited about. We thought this whole food thing was going to be a breeze! Since then, however, we've learned that once a sweet tooth is established, the unsweet foods are a slightly tougher sell. Even a sweet potato was a no-go!!
The night of Iris's 6-month doctor visit, we came home and baked a sweet potato and pureed the hell out of it. The next day, Iris wasn't so hot on the whole thing. Despite otherwise being a fast learner, after 4 days of rejection, we moved on to carrots.. At least we proved that she wasn't allergic!
Fortunately, carrots are sweeter that sweet potatoes (go figure) and our confidence was restored when Iris gulped them down, spoonful after spoonful, opening her mouth ready for more. She did the same thing with rice cereal, but was less open to the less tasty oatmeal and multi-grain cereal..
With two good foods and one bad food behind us, the next attempt was something we considered avant garde, yet was highly touted by the books we were now reading for their nutritional value: avocado. Iris hated avocado. Hated it! Her face would sneer and frown and sometimes shrivel up and cry. Her lips would pucker and seal up. I have to admit that the first avocado we tried was slightly bitter and not quite ripe. So we tried another one that was better- no luck.
After 4 days of that (again proving no allergy), with the score even at 2 apeice, green beans stepped to the plate. Swing and a miss!
It seemed like no matter how much water we added, or how long we pureed it in the food processor, we still couldn't get all of the chunks out. More puckers, turning away, and general grumpiness in the high chair. After one marathon, monumental failed attempt, I took the above picture..At least I was able to capture the moment of her victory, when I handed her the empty bowl and let her repeatedly smack it down on the tray in ecstasy. Empty not because she had eaten everything, or even anything. Empty because she had taken all of the beans into her mouth and spit them back out. Everywhere.
Since then, we fortunately have had more successes than failures. She's now eating pears, apples, tofu, peas, squash, and grapes with regularity in addition to carrots, bananas, and cereal. She'll eat sweet potatoes, but we have to mix it with something else.. Someday we'll try avocados again, that is after we've tried everything else in the book at least once!
posted by naM modnaR at 9:43 PM
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