Baby's First Bites
I can’t believe that I am already writing a post about babies first bites. Siena is 6 months going on 7. She is still our tiny little princess pea, but she is growing quite well. This past month has been full of firsts. Of course, being the “DishItGirl” I have been looking forward to this milestone for quite some time.
Like many first-time moms, I had visions of her making a face at peas. While loving avocado and happily gobbling up her pears. I had a long list of recipes ready to try. I couldn’t wait to get us started! What I was not prepared for was the reality beyond those first few photo worthy moments of your baby’s first taste. Therefore, I am going to offer a real look into how it starts and some things that have helped us thus far.
First of all, manage your expectations. This new venture could very well take time. I thought we would start practicing and by the end of a couple of weeks we would be on our way to mashed macaroni and meatballs. We were very fortunate to begin with. Siena took her first bites of rice cereal and seemed to like it! I was so excited! Each day we “practiced” twice a day. Some feeding sessions were better than others. Then about a week and half into it, all of a sudden she was refusing to eat any of her solids. We had already tried mixing in pears and carrots, I thought we were progressing. Then she started crying after one or two bites, or not wanting anything but her bottle. I was discouraged, frustrated, and worried. Not to mention already worked up about wondering how many ounces she should take in a day now that she was taking bites of solids. It can get very overwhelming. It is a change for both of you!
Now Siena is back to taking her cereal, fruits, and veggies once or twice a day. Again, some feedings are better than others. I am definitely taking a different approach. She will most definitely eat when she is hungry and she tells me when she is done. There is still a lot of trial and error, but I know she is eating enough. Also, I can see that things like teething and digestive issues play a part in their willingness to participate. There are some days and weeks where her gums are bugging her, and she is less inclined to want to play around with eating. Also, with all the new foods being introduced it can give them some indigestion or tummy troubles just like it can adults!
What also helps is being prepared, having your feeding plan and gear together. First of all, having the highchair is super important. You want your baby to love sitting in that chair! We love the OXO Tot Sprout High Chair. The chair seat and back are cushioned, and the overall design promotes good posture. I love that you can adjust the height and depth. My husband loved the tool free assembly! The chair also comes in a lot of great colors. The grey and white matches our kitchen perfectly which is a bonus!
I noticed Siena loved playing with the bowl as I was feeding her. I started realizing it is a time for your baby to explore as well. I give her a bowl to play with while I am feeding her. Our favorite set is the OXO Tot Small and Large Bowl Set. I use the large one to feed her and she uses the small one to play! They also come with snap on lids which is great because most of the time I have leftover cereal. As you can tell from the pictures, Siena is in love with her spoon. We tried a couple and there is definitely a difference. I found the OXO Tot On-the-Go Feeding Spoon has unique curve to it instead of it being flat, which a lot of spoons are. It helps me get the food into her mouth and she has an easier time getting the food off the spoon. It is also very soft which makes it easier to wipe her mouth clean. She also loves to use it herself! It is so cute watching her lick the spoon clean haha!
We are still navigating this milestone day by day. We are celebrating when we finish everything in our bowl, as well as when we get in three bites. Eventually, she will move on from her bottle and I will miss those days. Hopefully, my next worry will be keeping up with her appetite!
This post has been done in partnership with OXO Tot all opinions are my own.