When Makayla was around 4-5 months old, I started her on baby food. Some people think that 4 months old is too young..but she seemed ready so I gave it a shot. I was not expecting the transition to be so hard!! She took to baby food rather well..it was..well..her diapers that did the transitioning if you know what I mean!! But..give it time..because if your there right now with your baby..they do eventually get normal again! But for me..it was scary. And a bit of advice on this subject..remember your "P's"..peas, pears, peaches, prunes..etc..they are 'go' foods!! Just so you know..your not alone!
I started out giving her organic baby foods like Ella's Kitchen. They had fantastic variety and Makayla loved the broccoli, pears, and peas combo they had. Shortly after she started eating baby food, Christmas was upon us and my sweet hubby bought me a Baby Bullet! So I started making my own homemade baby food after that and only bought store bought for when we'd be traveling. I made alot of the combos she liked when I was buying her food and came up with some as well (which included alot of blueberries!). The one go to website that helped me the most when I started out on my homemade baby food adventure was Wholesome Homemade Baby Food. I actually still visit their website from time to time to get more advice on toddler foods, recipes, and look up nutritional values on fruits and veggies to make sure she's getting what she needs!
Of course, now we are in full on feeding herself mode. She eats mostly what we eat unless its something I know she won't touch. Which leads me to my first question for all you mom's out there...
How do you get your toddler to try something new?
Makayla is pretty good about trying new foods..but not always. And most of the time I feel like more gets left on the floor or her plate than what goes into her mouth. That's frustrating sometimes because when she was eating baby food she ate like a total pro. She still prefers fruits over veggies though I feel like she's trying a little better on that part. As far as eating meats go, we're still working on that. I feel like all she eats are chicken nuggets. She will try meats (sometimes)..but there are some days that I won't get any into her. That's when I discovered something that makes me feel a little better on those days when we struggle with protein intake.
I'll give her a bottle of one of Main Street Cafe's protein smoothies on the days when we're not doing so great, eating wise. I know its not as good as getting 'real' protein into her..but its better than none the way I look at it!
So..I thought y'all might want to take a look at some things Makayla will eat (and not!) on a daily basis now that she's 16 months old. Maybe it'll give you a chance to rediscover some foods you've maybe not thought of or try some new things with your toddler/baby!
- Breakfast usually consists of some type of cereal (right now we're eating Good MOREnings berry loops) and diced fruit (kiwi (her favorite!), strawberries, pears, peaches, bananas)
- Snack like goldfish or something in that line
- Dinner would be a chicken nugget or peanut butter and jelly sandwich (if I can't get her to eat whatever we are having) and a fruit and veggie.
- Another snack before bed
Now..for the really interesting part! Here is a list of things Makayla enjoys eating....
- black eyed peas
- green beans
- pinto beans or refried beans (pretty much the same thing only one is mashed up)
- guacamole
- any type of fruit
- corn meal mush (its an Amish/southern food..but you can make your own!)
- tator tots
- chicken nuggets
- and the not-so-good-for-you potato chips..though she does eat veggie straws 95% of the time she's eating chips
Some things she won't touch are...
- 'Gooey' things..she's a total girly-girl and doesn't like her hands to get all yucky! I'm hoping this changes!
- Spaghetti..also something I'm hoping changes! She did try a little a couple weeks ago..so that was a step in the right direction!
I thought you may also like to know what my little one is drinking in her sippy cup now at 16 months of age as well! She is still breastfeeding in the morning when she first gets up (Yay me! I never thought I could go a year..let alone several months past that 12 month mark!) but this I know won't last much longer. And that's ok by me..whenever she'd done with it..she'll be done. Of course I'll probably be in a blue mood for a few days following..but that's another story for another time! She drinks ALOT of whole milk. But the kicker is its gotta be strawberry. Nesquick has been a huge help in this department! She never was real crazy about drinking plain white milk..I think she thought it should of tasted like breast milk and when it didn't she didn't want anything to do with it. So we make it strawberry for her...but that's ok..at least she's drinking her milk!! Also right now she's loving V8 Splashers juice in the cherry pomegranate blend. She normally drinks milk in the morning/early afternoon before naptime..and juice in the evening. But its never the same each and every day (as most of you moms out there know!).
All in all we're doing 'ok' with the eating thing. Some days (and weeks) are better than others..but I feel like we struggle more now than we ever have. I'd LOVE to hear your comments, suggestions, menu ideas, and anything in between to help us out a bit and get some more creative ideas that maybe just aren't coming to mind right now! Please be sure to link up and share with us in your own post how your eating adventures are going with your little (or not so little) one at the moment! After all..we love to hear them say...
"More Peas, Please!"
Thanks for hosting this linkup with Callie! It is so interesting to see what other kids eat/get new ideas! We started solids early too because our Little Bug was always trying to grab food at the table! When they're ready, they're ready I think.
ReplyDeleteAs far as getting them to eat new foods, I tend to set her at the table a little early and set ONLY that food on the tray in front of her and then go about my business cooking/plating the rest of dinner. She tends to be pretty hungry at that time and is more likely to try it if she's hungry and that's the only option!