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...

The Apple Of My Eye

It was a sad day for Isla when we said goodbye to her much-loved fruit. After six days of banana, it was time to introduce a new food, but how does one top something that is the baby equivalent of chocolate? There are very few foods on the 6-9-month introduction list that are as appealing as bananas (cauliflower, broccoli, mung bean sprouts), but Isla can't eat bananas forever. So, goodbye banana, hello apple.

Out came the baby food maker in which I lovingly steamed and pureed the peeled, cored and chopped organic Gala apple, only to have Isla turn her nose up at it. However, I persevered. Come on! It’s a nice sweet apple! It’s not going to get any better than this!

Isla would open her mouth for more, but then appeared a little surprised and dis-appointed with each bite. Breakfast and lunch were an exercise in patience, occurring in fits and starts, complete with grimaces and a few complaints, open mouth and closed until she got used to the different texture and taste of the apple. In the end, Isla ate a cube’s worth, or half a large apple, pureed. Now, along with her apple (sauce) a day, she’s getting her fill of vitamins A, C and K, fibre, potassium, calcium, folate and lots of good carbohydrates.


Wean Cubes
To add a little bit of interest to Isla’s food – at least in appearance and storage – I bought Wean Cubes, great little glass jars that are made by Wean Green, a Canadian company founded by a mother of two. Each cube comes with a brightly coloured silicone lid that is free of BPA, PVC and phthalates, and can be heated or frozen. And we all know that 
everything tastes better when it’s beautifully packaged...

Little Monkey

My child is bananas for bananas. She simply can’t get enough. ­­She will happily eat an entire (relatively) large banana and then some. There is a very real possibility that she will float away on a banana boat.

But, in an exquisite interplay between practice and her newly-discovered favourite food, Isla has learned to eat. She opens her mouth wide to receive the spoon, closes it, swallows and then repeats. No more awkward tongue thrusts or trying to suck the food off the spoon or closing her mouth too early. She has mastered the mechanics of eating. Thank you, banana.

If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again...

A friend of mine told me that her daughter just could not get enough of peas when she was Isla’s age, so I was hopeful my fancily-pureed peas would be a hit. My optimism was short-lived. The peas were a spectacular failure. First Isla grimaced, then shuddered, then spit them out and gagged in an impressive show of distaste. And who can blame her? I don’t find pureed peas appealing in the least. But I persisted. After several tries, at different times of day and at varying temperatures (cold, tepid, room temperature...), we moved onto something more palatable: organic carrots. Alas, another failed experiment. Isla rejected the carrots almost as fully as the peas.

There’s a (minor) debate about whether fruit or veggies should be introduced as a baby’s first food. Some say babies should experience veggies before creating a taste for sweeter food (fruit), while others counter that breastmilk itself is sweet, so why not start with something along the same lines?

I was interested in trying veggies first to see how they would go down, and out of the four we’ve tried, she’s enjoyed two: sweet potato and avocado (coincidentally, two of my favourite, although avocado is technically a fruit). But it's time to mix it up a bit. Because the peas and carrots were barely ingested, I thought it was safe to forgo the one-food/six-day food sensitivity rule and explore a new culinary experience for Isla.

So banana it is! As it turns out, Isla was as keen on banana as she was with sweet potato, eating an entire banana (about 70 ml pureed) in one sitting. And thank God for that. I was beginning to think she had given up on solids entirely....