Fresh Food and Baby-Led Weaning

We have been all about food around here lately.  Our big girl turned 6 months a little over a week ago and we decided she was ready to start some solids.  This timing is perfect because we are really starting to bring in a lot of fresh foods from our garden and we will be processing some of our meat animals in the next few weeks which means even more fresh food.

Here is our girl enjoying her very first food, sweet potatoes, these were from last years harvest as this years sweet potatoes will not be ready to dig for a little while.  She has been eating broccoli and carrots from our garden as well and will soon be able to try some peas and maybe some fresh pesto on some noodles.

She has also enjoyed some foods that we cannot or do not grow around here.  She has had avacado which she heard is good for a facial, bananas (she obviously can't eat a whole banana so I have been taking some of the left overs and freezing it with a little milk in ice cube trays for banana popsicles which her little teething gums appreciate), and watermelon which is just not something I grow due to lack of space.

Madeline is getting table food not purees or traditional food.  Some people call this method of feeding baby-led weaning.  We just look at it as her eating food.  She doesn't ingest much of what she is given so far, it is a learning process and oh is she learning.  She has had so much fun exploring the tastes and textures of each food.  She gags somethings (not to be confused with choking) when the food gets on her tongue and this is helping her understand how to manage food in her mouth.  We attempt to eat only organic and locally grown food.  Our garden and a lot of the local food we buy is not necessarily organic, but it is from people and places we trust to raise our food without too much unnecessary chemical interventions.  While we do not have a super strict rule about our food, we just try to make good healthy food choices, not all foods need to be organic for us to feel they are healthy and we eat unhealthy foods sometimes too (watch for coming post on cookie dough cupcakes).  However we are trying to instill an appreciation for good food in our child and we want her to be aware of where her food comes from, particularly if we did not grow the food ourselves.  We are a little more strict with what she eats then we are for ourselves.

a note on baby-led weaning:  If you choose this method of food introduction for your baby remember to never leave your baby unattended when eating.  Give your baby big pieces that he or she can handle easily and soft foods they can gum to start.  There are a lot of websites and even books about baby-led weaning.  Baby-led weaning is not recommended until the baby has reached at least 6 months and met some developmental milestones, such as sitting unassisted.  Do your research before you make choices for your child, every baby is different.