On the whole food thing...

Can I just say that it is so odd to follow the "new guidelines" for feeding an infant? It's amazing how new studies and research can change mass thinking so quickly. Elijah is only three years old. It wasn't terribly long ago that I went through the baby food process with him. And in just the short time since then, it's all changed. Where once you had to spend at least a week introducing a new food to check for reactions, now you only have to wait 3 days. Where once you had to make sure to introduce every single ingredient before you could mash up a casserole or main dish, now you can go straight to feeding your baby exactly what you are having for dinner after you and baby master the basics of solid food feeding. Simply mind bending. Disclaimer: If you do your own internet research, you can find all opinions represented. I really like Wholesome Baby Food as well as my own pediatrician's advice.

Granted, I'm sure "they" are not saying to grind up some spicy (read: burn your mouth off) curry chicken for your 6 month old or popping a few whole peanuts on the high chair tray. I'm gonna call it "Cautious Freedom." That's what it seems like after reading into it. And I like the thought. But it's a little scary because it's just different from how things were with Judah and Elijah. What was especially scary (though our pediatrician approved it) was giving Eden a mix of sweet potato, rice cereal, and ALMOND milk tonight. I gave my 6 month old a nut product. Every spoonful was given with frightening thoughts in my head: "What are the signs of anaphylaxis? Would I call 911 for an epi-pen? How soon would she break out into hives if she's allergic? ... " So, why did I do it if I was scared? Because there is no reason to be afraid. There is no known nut allergy in either of our families. Matter of fact, I'm pretty sure life as we know it would cease without peanut butter. ;-) I consulted Dr. L, and he said sure. I wanted to give her something yummy-creamy, and water can't do what a milk texture can. Trust me. I know. (6 months down and less than 6 months to go on this dairy free...with occasional slips...diet.)

I'm treating Eden as an experiment. Since I plan to make more of her food homemade than I did with either of my boys AND because she has not reacted to any foods yet, I'm going to introduce her to more foods than I did the boys. She's already had sweet potatoes, red potatoes, zucchini, and yellow squash -- things the boys never had or to which they reacted. Maybe by doing this, she will have wider food horizons than the boys. Maybe not. We'll see! (Though, the boys seem to have broadened their horizons as of late. I think Elijah at least THREE times this week told me over and over how delicious dinner was...wow!!) Also, because I have recently realized that perhaps I do like avocado... I'm going to buy my very first avocado this week and feed it to my baby. NEVER thought I would say or do that. Watch me!

And now that I've totally rambled about baby food, I offer an adorable Elijah food-ism. Tonight, he and I had a Mexican layer dip with tortilla chips for dinner (see above statement about the dairy diet slip...but just a leetle bit...::sigh:: I know I'll be cleaning up a bit more spit-up tomorrow for that...). As I was building Elijah's layers, he kept telling me what he wanted. He'd think through the list as he said it:

"I want, uh, cheese. Aaaaand....cream [sour cream]. And sauce [no salsa]. And, uh...uuuum...::thinking very hard and long::.... SELL-US! I want sell-us, too."

You mean lettuce? "Yeah! Sell-us!" Too cute to correct. He's putting "salad" and "lettuce" together. That just makes me smile and love his adorableness even more.