Henry has taken to eating the vegetable soups in his bottle
without any issues. But after a few weeks, it is time to think about the next
step. My latest question to answer is how we should feed Henry.
The most important food rule for how to feed a baby is not
to leave them unattended with food. A parent or caretaker should be with the
baby while they are eating just in case there is an emergency, such as choking.
Originally, I had planned to make homemade baby food purees
for Henry. Jarred baby foods are notoriously unappetizing, filled with
preservatives and expensive, so making my own healthy versions seemed like a
good idea. I know many moms don’t have time for this, but since I cook most of
our meals anyway it seemed like a natural extension. I have a very nice food
mill that works well for mushing up cooked fruits and vegetables. My mom and I
even canned applesauce last fall from the apples in our backyard. I was
planning to store them for the baby, but we’ve already eaten several jars.
If you’ve never tried it, homemade applesauce is delicious and easy to make. We used this recipe. It is the perfect accompaniment to pork chops, potato pancakes or spread on a toasted peanut butter sandwich. |
I must admit that I am not very excited about spoon-feeding
Henry after watching other parents spoon-feed their children. While some kids
take to spoon-feeding easily, other kids want to do anything but eat from a
spoon. Parents struggle to get them to open up and take just one more bite. The
airplane spoon distraction trick never works for long. And many babies just
spit the food right back out. Plus, the parents and children don’t eat together
with spoon-feeding. The parent feeds the baby, then cleans up the mess, and
then eats their own meal.
As a result, I have been wondering about alternatives to
spoon-feeding. Why not let Henry feed himself? Obviously he is not able to handle
a spoon yet, but he is becoming very skilled at grabbing things and putting
them in his own mouth. In fact, those are two of the developmental
milestones that demonstrate he is ready to start eating.
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