making the earth greener one tiny baby at a time

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Eat It!

I suddenly find it so hilarious that I am doling out any parental advice when I haven’t had eight hours of sleep since January 24th of this year.  I might look back on this blog in a few years and see all the signs of how truly sleep-deprived I am.  But for now, you will have to forgive any nonsense in these posts!

Pictured: A photo my friend Deanne sent me.  Not sure who this baby is, but she seems pretty happy!

Two weeks ago Phoebe, my husband, and I entered into the frightening world of…SOLID FOODS!  This has been perhaps the most intimidating step in our little one's life.  Most milestones a baby will reach on their own, but eating is one that you guide them thru.  The majority of books and doctors will tell you to begin solids between four and six months.  They also tell you babies will give you signs they are ready for food.  They will carefully watch you eat, reach for your food, etc.  Month four came and went and Phoebe gave no signs.  Month five had the same results.  Finally a week before her sixth-month birthday I was on the set of a commercial talking to the make-up artists about my daughter.  When I mentioned to one of them I hadn’t given her food yet, she totally flipped her lid.  Ad an aside, these women were very nice and kind to me all day, but super opinionated.   And I should mention that every other word out of their mouths was “f-in."  “Your daughter is six-months old and you haven’t given her an f-in solids?!  You better get on that.  Like, f-in right away!” Their kids were eating solids at four months.  I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.  Phoebe is almost exclusively breastfed, which makes it real easy to be lazy about her feedings.  I was used to carrying all of her food on my body!  Or at least, in my body.  So that weekend we started Phoebe on solids.  Or should I say, “We f-in started Phoebe on f-in solids!”
Everyone will tell you that your baby’s first food should be rice cereal.  This just didn’t sit well with me.  I really thought her first food should be a whole food, a real food.  I have really specific views on food.  I am almost vegan ( I have my moments of dairy weakness) and I was adamant starting out Phoebe the same.  In reality this is kind of hilarious that I am such a nazi about what she eats.  Since Phoebe’s diet is my breast milk, she eats what I eat; which is 85% veggies, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds…and 15% Nerds Rope and Swedish Fish.  (I have an insane sweet tooth. I really don’t want to advocate junk food, but have you tried Nerds Rope?  It’s the best!).  So I mortar and pestled some avocado and breast milk, broke out of all her new bowls and utensils  and put her in her high chair.  My husband turned on the "flip" and we got started.  With all of our preparation there was one vital element missing; Phoebe’s desire to open her mouth and eat.
She would have none of it!  She literally spit it all back out of her mouth.  I realized a few minutes into it that she still had her thrusting reflex (a reflex of pushing out the tongue that indicates your baby is not ready to eat).  I was right!  I wasn’t being lazy!  Phoebe had no interest in food.  Or at least no interest in avocado.  It was huge lesson.  Babies move at their own pace.  And trust your instincts.  They will give you indicators of everything they need.  The key is just to figure out what the indicators mean.  
It’s been a few weeks and Phoebe is finally starting to get into eating.  I didn’t want food to go away 100% because I wanted her to warm up to the idea.  So every morning I put her in her high chair and offer the food.  Sometimes she laps it up and sometimes she rejects it all together.  I let her call the shots because I don't want  her to develop a bad relationship to food or eating.  Now, a few weeks later, she eats twice a day and enjoys banana, sweet potatoes, zucchini, and multi-grain cereal.  Maybe it was just the avocado!
Here are some tips for green eating (and just some tips in general):
  1. Of course, the most Earth-friendly foods are the ones you make yourself.  It is not nearly as time-consuming as I thought, but if you can't do this Earth's Best is organic and Gerber has an organic line of solids.  Tasty Baby and Plum Organics are also great brands
  2. I heavily relied on the book “Super Foods,” by Ruth Yaron.  It is a really fantastic resource.  The cheapest place to get it is Amazon.com
  3. Making the food as soupy as possible was a huge help
  4. Mixing the food with breast milk or formula was imperative
  5. People will give you mixed opinions about giving your baby water.  Make up your own mind, but after Phoebe started eating food we gave her a sippy cup with water that she could drink from whenever she got the urge.  Some experts will tell you the more water they drink the less they will want breast milk or formula.  My pediatrician disagrees with this and I have not experienced that problem.  Read my last blog entry for some green H2O solutions
  6. If you are anti-dairy there have been a few scary reports that soy has damaging effects on babies and children.  When I consulted with my pediatrician she said that no study has been conclusive and in her opinion if soy was an issue for babies then all of Asia would be suffering the problems
  7. I occasionally give Phoebe formula.  I had been giving her a soy-based one until I realized that the first ingredient on soy-based formulas is CORN SYRUP SOLIDS!  Disgusting.  My friend Kim helped me do some research and she found a brand called “Baby’s Only” that makes an organic soy formula with rice syrup in stead of corn syrup
  8. Many books that teach you how to make baby food will tell you to freeze it in ice cube trays.  I would just make sure they are BPA free.  I have a few containers specially  made to freeze baby food in that I love from “Beaba”(thank you Karen!) and “Baby Cubes” that are BPA, PVC, and Phthalate free.  I dare you to pronounce that last one.
  9. Look for Farmer's Market's in your area and purchase your food there.  Everyone knows that buying local is better for the environment, but you also support your local economy, meet the people growing your food, and give your kids the chance to see all of these delicious foods beautifully displayed!  www.localharvest.org can show you where to get locally grown produce in your area, and www.farmersmarket.com can give you a directory of farmer's markets near your home
  10. If you can afford it, make sure your baby's fruits and vegetables are organic.  There was one sentence in "Super Baby Foods" that had a profound effect on me: "Pesticides kill living things."  I went totally organic after reading that.  If you are on a tight budget, here is a list of the "dirty dozen" foods that are best to be organic:
12 Most Contaminated
  • Peaches
  • Apples
  • Sweet Bell Peppers
  • Celery
  • Nectarines
  • Strawberries
  • Cherries
  • Pears
  • Grapes (Imported)
  • Spinach
  • Lettuce
  • Potatoes
 
12 Least Contaminated
  • Onions
  • Avocado
  • Sweet Corn (Frozen)
  • Pineapples
  • Mango
  • Asparagus
  • Sweet Peas (Frozen)
  • Kiwi Fruit
  • Bananas
  • Cabbage
  • Broccoli
  • Papaya
happy eating!!

totally depressing environmental fact:
a mercer island, WA study found that the urine and saliva of children eating a variety of conventional foods from area groceries contained biological markers of organophosphates, the family of pesticides spawned by the creation of nerve gas agents in World War II.
When the same children ate organic fruits, vegetables and juices, signs of pesticides were not found.

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