Last weekend, we introduced solids to baby Ingrid who just turned six months, and is teething badly. These juicy Asian pears 🍐which are in season are an absolute delight when it comes to first foods at this stage. By no means did she swallow it, but it was great for her gums and be introduced to a new texture, apart from the boob!🤱🏻And of course we also started on rice porridge (aka congee 🥣) which I’d put in a few frozen scallops and a dash of breastmilk, otherwise I’d probably forget using it! Scallops of course are a type of shellfish which we as parents are cautioned about possible allergies. But we know the evidence is clear as @allergy_uk says when it comes to avoiding allergies, the best way is to introduce these early in babies – not to delay these – at six months of age 👶🏻🍴The problem with our risk-averse culture has changed the way we treat food, as a source of danger instead of nourishment. Even government guidelines on weaning focus way too heavily on identifying possible allergens, rather than practical ways to encourage parents to introduce a wide variety from the food groups. To nurture future adventurous eaters, we often need to be adventurous eaters to start with. 🙌🏻
She loved the bowl more than anything, and seems to enjoy getting her fingers tasty 👋🏻.
Just when I thought she might need a little more time before she’s ready for food, this just happened 🙃. It was a tart green apple cut into slices that I placed near her high chair, and she slowly took it and placed it in her month. I know when we introduced solids the first time round with Audrey nearly six years ago, many other parents were talking about and trying baby-led weaning, but spoonfeeding 🥣was more realistic in practice especially for younger babies 👶🏻 . However, I do find baby-led weaning a wonderful way to explore new foods. To a baby, if she could place something so foreign and new to her mouth which is an extremely private space, then she is more likely to repeat this in the future. Succeeding this was a big bowel movement 💩 which seems to happen every time at the table – still pretty much the case of my six year old. Eating, after all, is the beginning of all things wonderful. It’s all very exciting as she can finally join in to eat but it’s not more work, plus all the cleaning up… At least the weather is still warm in this part of the world (Hong Kong), so we could still strip her off after each meal to clean up…