Continuing Solids

I posted a week or so ago that we were starting solids with Juliet.  I don't feel like there's been a tremendous amount of progress since we started, but we're still working on it.  She really has no interest at all in the puree, no matter how coarse or fine it is.  She doesn't seem to care, either, whether it's carrots or sweet potato.  She just kind of holds it in her mouth. 

In trying to figure out what we could do differently, I realized something.  Juliet already appears to be one of those children who wants to do it herself.  She doesn't want us to put the spoon in her mouth.  She wants to put the spoon in her own mouth.  It's even to the point now where when we hold out her pacifier to her, she will take it from us and then put it in her mouth.  A month ago, she would just open her mouth really wide and let you stick the paci in like a plug. 

While it may an inconvenient trait later on when I'm in a hurry, for now, I kind of find this aspect of her personality endearing.  I want my daughter to be independent.  I want her to think independently; I want her to make choices independently (especially of her peers).  While she is an extension of me and of Ray, she is her own person.  Now I'm not going all crunchie here and going to be one of those parents who's all "It's her journey.  Let her beautiful spirit guide her where it may."  I just mean that while we will give her left and right limits, we will both encourage her to be herself and to do for herself.  When I think about what I want most for Juliet as an adult woman, high on the list is a sense of independence.  But I digress...  (By the way, I find it hilarious that thinking about how my daughter eats/doesn't eat solids can lead me to a whole train of thought about her adulthood.  This is what I mean when I say, "Being a parent makes you crazy.")

Back to solids and the problem with her not eating very well / very much.  After I realized that she was very into doing it herself, I handed the spoon over to her.  She put it in her mouth every time, but she mainly spent time chewing on it.  (See the post about teeth!)  So I theorized that she might do better if she could just grab a piece of sweet potato or a carrot and try to eat it.  I was making sweet potato fries for mine and Ray's dinner, so I just set a handful aside and cooked them with no seasoning.

Success!  While I wouldn't say she actually ate all of the fries, she certainly did a lot better with them than she did with purees and with little bite-sized pieces of carrot.  So, from now on, we'll be giving her larger pieces (cooked, of course) for her to feed herself.

"I can do it myself, Mama and Dad!"

Sweet potatoes are kind of messy.

"I'm not sure why you guys are so excited right now, but I'm going to smile like I know what's going on."

Interesting tidbit about starting solids.  I have had more than one person (and multiple family members) from the generation before me suggest that Juliet would enjoy sweet potatoes and carrots much more if I'd just add some sugar to them.  I find this suggestion fascinating.  I don't know if these people gave their infants sweetened veggies, but based on what I know (ahem, remember, Mom) from what they allowed their middle- and high school-aged children to eat, my guess is no.  But what if they did feed their children sugar?  Was it a cultural thing 30 years ago?  I know that most people my age were given some sort of rice/oatmeal cereal as a first solid.  And then we were given baby food out of jars.  My choice to give Juliet the same foods Ray and I eat comes from my research into the impact of cereals on a baby's digestive system, immune system, and metabolism.  It just made more sense to me to give her something completely natural and fresh with no artificial additives.  And I am by no means a health food nut.  I love a Coca Cola.  But I wouldn't give one to Juliet at this point.

I wonder what Juliet will feed her babies... (See?  Being a parent makes you crazy!)