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.

The Baby Food Mash-Up

Most babies like routine and structure, so it comes as no surprise that Isla lost all enthusiasm for solid food after a week without - I just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly and completely. In an effort to travel light, I opted to breastfeed exclusively while we were away from home, but upon our return I paid the price for my culinary laziness. Isla wouldn't have anything to do with solid food, throwing a (very dramatic) fit at the very sight of her bib, let alone the food.

In a bid to have her resume her consumption of solids, I pulled out all the stops, abandoning my new-food-introduction agenda and offering her favourites. I served up banana. I sweetened the deal with sweet potato. I even mixed the two. Nothing but more cries for the boob. Then I figured, just for the hell of it, I’d throw a spanner in the works and try something altogether new and different – broccoli. I alternated broccoli with banana and sweet potato in the same sitting. Her interest was not piqued. Not to be outdone, I introduced fresh, steamed, pureed organic blueberries. Who could resist? Not Isla! After several days of disgruntled and occasionally tear-filled mealtimes, Isla once again took to the spoon, and enthusiastically. The winning combination? Blueberries and sweet potato.

Throughout this mini drama, I debated the merits of my persistence. Should I just let sleeping dogs lie and let Isla continue to breastfeed to her content? How then would I know when to reintroduce solids? In the end, I figured that if I consistently offered her food she could decide whether or not she wanted it, but at least the message would be sent that exclusive breastfeeding wasn’t (necessarily), the name of the game.

Saved by the Smock

When Isla does decide to eat solids, she does so messily. She likes to pull up her bib and lick whatever goodness has fallen onto it. Often, she’ll excitedly “clap” her hands, expertly knocking the spoon and its contents out of my hand and onto her/the floor/the counter. If she’s quick and lucky enough, she’ll even manage to get her little fingers into the food itself. So blueberries are a risky endeavour, to say the least. As such, I was thanking my lucky stars I had recently bought a smock bib to cover her in. It wasn’t an easy search. Most smock bibs are made of plastic, polyester or some other synthetic material that can be easily wiped off or thrown in the wash. However, I’m not interested in draping my child in such fabric, so I searched for a material I could live with and found Mimi the Sardine, a Californian company that produces organic cotton bibs with a non-toxic, water-based acrylic coating that is water and stain resistant, but not so stiff that Isla can’t move her arms when she eats. Aside from the blueberries that ended up on her legs, it works a charm – especially when she’s actually eating...

The (Second) Demise of the Carrot

Like most rational people, Isla likes fruit a whole lot more than veggies. But the mother in me was stubbornly determined to have her eat more veggies. So it was time to try carrots again. This time, I was going to get it right – the perfect carrot-to-water ratio, followed by the creation of a silky smooth consistency, rounded out with an infusion of organic coconut oil. I whipped up a batch and while still warm from the steaming, offered them to Isla. Resolute rejection. Well, I don’t like warm carrots either. The next day, I pulled out the carrots from the fridge, only to discover they resembled something close to frozen (orange) cottage cheese. No baby could eat those, nor would one want to.

Of course, Isla doesn’t have to eat solids, but following a few days without, I wanted to reintroduce them to her. After Isla experienced her first-ever runny nose (well, nostril), I decided to abandon the solids for a few days and just breastfeed her to ensure she was getting all the nutrients she needs. Her nose dried up in a day, but I continued breastfeeding for a few more. Now, as I mournfully stabbed the solid carrots, something in the corner of the kitchen caught my eye. The fruit bowl – with a soft, browning banana in it. So it was that Isla was joyfully reunited with her old friend, which she lovingly and enthusiastically embraced.

Today, we tried the carrots again, this time at room temperature. And as Isla pushed my hand away, I finally conceded defeat. Now I just have to figure out what’s next on the menu...