From Fear to Feasts: A journey in introducing solids

The first day we put Lily in her high chair, she was just six months old, and we were all smiles and excited anticipation. Yes, the chair straps were so huge that they couldn't even tighten on her shoulders (they still don't!), and her chin was nearly at the level of the tray, but this newest adventure sparkled on the horizon.

And then came the first round: Avocado.

Fairly certain we were poisoning her, Lily rejected each yummy chunk we proffered her. Without a pincer grip of her own, food got smashed everywhere, and I was in tears. All the stories I'd heard of introducing solids sounded so fun and delightful--babies giggling as they stuffed fistfuls of food into their mouths with glee, moms laughing delightedly as they swung their shiny hair back and forth, untouched by smashed peas. And so I was convinced I had failed.

Lily, however, had other ideas.

Within a few days, she'd started to find the fun in food (and we'd started to find that these awesome bibs were mandatory!). The process was slow--some foods were huge hits (butternut squash, sweet potatoes) while others were rather suspect (peas, carrots). A few weeks later, we started trying out purees and whole-grain hot cereals, which meant introducing a spoon. 

Not always a hit, and not always aimed the right way, we learned pretty fast to let Lily take the lead and just play. As we watched her interest grow, we started working on making our own purees for her. We'd simply steam some veggies or bake a squash or potatoes, then use the immersion blender (and a little water) to puree them. An ice cube tray turned out to be the perfect portion size, so we'd freeze cubes in batches, then pop them into ziploc bags. Suddenly, mealtime was becoming less of a production!

Of course, being away from home required a bit more creativity at this stage; hence, her hotel "breakfast in bed" (which she felt was questionable at best).

By the time Lily reached 7-8 months, her pincer grip was getting a lot better--happily so, as her stubborn desire to do things on her own was also growing. At this point, we began putting chunks of soft food on her tray. Many times, it was things she'd already had in puree form, but we also began introducing long toast fingers and chunks of chicken or ground hamburger.

With the blessing of our pediatrician, we also added in peanut butter on those toast fingers or stuffed into a pita pocket, which meant that the next necessary addition was a sippy cup to help the sticky goodness go down. Happily, Lily took to one of the first sippies we gave her--a Gerber graduates with a soft spout--quite well. (Jeff gets all the credit for finding it--he felt like it was important for her to have the two handles to grip so she could do it by herself.) Once again, we let her take the lead; the cup was always on the tray during meals, and she gradually learned to reach for it regularly as she ate.

As the months went on, Lily became more and more relaxed about her eating--so much so that she often makes us laugh with her poses!

No longer were meals a battle; Lily was just part of our family dinners--family dinners that no longer involved the TV or the coffee table. Instead, we made a concerted effort to have every meal at the table with Lily, whether we were together or alone with her. Some early days were fights; one particularly memorable one left me in tears when Jeff refused to let a whiny Lily out of her high chair after five minutes of whimpering. But Jeff was adamant: Lily needed to associate meals not just with eating but also with interacting as a family.

By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, 9-month-old Lily enjoyed several courses and nearly 45 minutes at the dinner table with the family!

Acclimating Lily to mealtimes--not just to eating--has also allowed us to enjoy meals out with friends and family, or simply a Saturday afternoon lunch with the three of us. What amuses us most now is that Lily often refuses carbs and dairy in favor of vegetables and fruit. In just the last month, she's turned down mashed potatoes in favor of salmon and asparagus, a cheese quesadilla in favor of carrots, and scrambled eggs in favor of a frittata made with mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and spinach.

Her current favorite breakfast / snack has been affectionately nicknamed "crack muffins" in our house; they're these delicious fruit and veggie packed muffins that she shovels in by the fistful.

We've come a long way in 5 months, so I write this post as an encouragement to any mama who might be anticipating / starting / struggling with solids. As a friend often reminds me, "food before 1 is just for fun!" And you know what? It's finally starting to be a whole lot of fun!