Your Green Baby

One of my favourite baby food introduction resources is Your Green Baby, a website and blog by Ontario mom and Nutritional Practitioner Kim Corrigan-Oliver. Now Kim also has a new book called Raising Happy Healthy Babies. I wanted to buy it not only for the information it contained, but also to support Kim. And boy am I ever glad I did.

Lately, I've felt like all I’ve been doing is battling it out with Isla at every mealtime. Some days, Isla eats so robustly, it’s all I can do to keep up with the spoonfuls. But more often than not, Isla doesn’t even want to even open her mouth, let alone swallow. This is nothing if not frustrating. Why won’t she eat?! Then, in the midst of all my hand wringing, Kim’s book arrived in the mail. In it, I read something that took all the stress out of Isla’s mealtimes for me:

“Food introduction is about getting your baby accustomed to food: it is not about providing nutrients. So breastfeed or bottle feed your baby as normal, and within 30 to 60 minutes of finishing, introduce some solids.”

She goes onto write: “How much your baby eats will vary from one baby to another. It may just be a taste off of your finger or it may be a tablespoon or two. Remember it is about learning to eat, tasting food and creating an experience – it is not about nourishment.”

These passages served as an excellent reminder for me to relax when it comes to feeding Isla. It’s about creating an experience, not getting as much food as possible down her gullet. Up until I read Kim’s new book, the fact Isla wasn’t ingesting what I was offering was proving more and more stressful. How on earth could I be consistent in her introduction to food if Isla refused to eat?

However, thanks to Raising Happy Healthy Babies, I’ve decided to worry less and enjoy feeding time more - whether Isla eats or not. Something I’m sure Isla will appreciate as much as I will.