Baby Eoin (pronounced Owen) is now 8 months and getting stuck into all sorts of solids which he smears all over the place and even occasionally eats.
The last few weeks he has started really enjoying full meals where I find myself looking for something else to give him once the bowl is empty.
I’ve been asked a few times now what I feed him and the answer is almost anything I’m eating, with a few exceptions.
First he is still breastfeeding 4-5 times per day and a couple of times per night.
I don’t eat anything in particular to maintain my milk supply, I just feed him regularly. He doesn’t go to daycare at the moment and I admit I hate pumping milk. I’d rather try to shuffle my schedule so that I can be available to feed him. He might take 10 minutes to feed whereas it takes me 30 minutes to prepare the gear and get enough milk for one feed. I’d rather be doing something else!
His first solid food was actually watermelon which he hardly touched, just ‘explored’.
Now I give him a mixture of mashed up foods and larger chunks of food that he can eat himself – depending on what I’ve got in the house and how much mess I feel like clearing up afterward.
I don’t buy pre-prepared baby food right now as I cook or prepare food often enough to just do a bit extra for him.
Every couple of days when I’m making a meal I will boil up some veg for him – potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, beetroot or carrots for example and then use that on its own or as a base to combine with other things for the next 2 days.
I’ll mash these veg up with some butter or olive oil and add a splash of water to make a nice consistency.
I’ve done things like peas as well, anything with a skin I put through a sieve to make a smooth purée.
He gets egg yolks, sometimes a bit of liver (we eat it about once a week) and maybe a bit of beef mince.
I tried him with some Greek full fat yoghurt recently which he loved, but had some diarrhoea afterward. His dad doesn’t tolerate dairy well and I don’t believe it’s a necessary part of a nutrient dense diet (but handy if you do tolerate it) so I’ll probably try him again a few times over the next couple of months in small amounts and see if he begins to tolerate it better. I may have just given him too much excited that he was gulping it down!
I generally don’t get out the food processor because I can’t be bothered with assembling it, the loud noise and then cleaning all of the bits. I just mash the cooked veg or banana or avocado with a fork or if it’s firmer I smoosh it through a sieve to make a smooth puree (and I learnt that from Masterchef!)
The last couple of days he’s had some lamb and vegetable soup. I mashed the lumps of veg and then added some chia seeds to make it a bit thicker.
He often gets a chunk of peach or banana to eat on his own, a hard boiled egg or occasionally a meat bone to gnaw on.
He gets scrambled eggs or avocado off my plate if we’re out for breakfast.
And when we recently went out for dinner I gave him some potato from my plate and (gross alert) some pre-chewed steak from my mouth…
I’ll explain a bit more!
Pre-masticating food is nothing new… it’s what traditional cultures have done for thousands of years.
Chewing something up first is not only nature’s way of making a purée but it positively influences the baby’s immune system development as well.
Food also becomes easier to digest as the enzyme amylase is released into the mouth to break down starchy carbohydrates during chewing, plus the moisture and antibacterial compounds naturally secreted in saliva help to create an easy to swallow bolus of food.
Can’t argue with nature!
We haven’t fed him any grains as yet but will probably try him with some oats or rice soon. While he’s only eating small amounts I’d rather give him a variety of nutrient dense foods rather than processed grains or starches.
He’s certainly not struggling for energy to grow – he was full term and a big baby (9lb 5oz / 4.2kg) and shot to 10kg by about 6 months. He’s very active and I hope to breast feed him for another 12 months or so unless he or life tells us otherwise… we’ll see how we go!
Eating a real food diet extends to the rest of the family. The concept of ‘kids food’ might help sell sugary cereals and flavoured yoghurts but really food is just food and I intend to keep feeding him basically what we’re eating. Makes the thought process of what to give him a whole lot easier too!
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Kelly Moriarty is an online health & nutrition coach and founder of The Green Body Plan.
After 5 years as a veterinarian Kelly was unhealthy, stressed out and generally dissatisfied.
She now helps professional women make the same changes she did to beat burn out, lose weight, recover their energy and take back control of their health naturally.
kellyannmoriarty.com 