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Peel, chop, steam, puree, spit

Okay, so now that I’ve heard from a few of you about the joys of making your own baby food, I’m going to dig my heels in and say that yes, I know it’s easy, but still, I really wanted to use stuff right from the store. Just to show you that it’s perfectly fine. But cottage pie never was, nor never will be, an appropriate starter food. At least not to a kid with an American passport. So today I spent a few hours cleaning my new baby food maker. Then I did a bunch of peas and a sweet potato and carefully spooned little individual portions into freezer trays, all except the one tiny scoop I kept out for Eva’s afternoon snack. Then I woke my sweet baby girl, smoothed her little cheeks, lovingly placed her bib around her neck and gently offered her a tiny bite of what must be sweet, green heaven. She hated it.

Okay, so I know and I know you know (because I’ve told you) that little kids might need as many as 15 tries at a new food before they will willingly put it in their mouth and actually swallow it. Just because she hates it the first day doesn’t mean that she’ll hate it the second time. I really believe that the dinner table should not be a battleground nor should Mommy be a short-order cook. Therefore, my plan has been (and remains to be) to offer a variety of foods without comment and let my kids eat what they want without making a big fuss about it. Not to point where they only consume ice cream, mind you. But not to care if one week they only eat purple food. They’re kids. They have no power in life. Big people tell them when to get up, what to wear, where to go and when to sleep. If you were 2 and the only place you had any say was at the table, then you’d probably assert a little independence too.

But it still pained me a little when Eva showed such obvious and flagrant disdain for my little bowl of peas. Doesn’t she know that I am just trying to protect her and love her? I’m swallowing the hurt and we’ll try it again tomorrow. And the day after. She’s loving rice cereal, so at least I know it’s a taste issue and not all solids. If after 3 days, she still hates it, we’re on to carrots. And the peas will find their way into a nice minty broad bean puree on toast with a little goat cheese. Because at least one of us has taste.

Dr. Lara Zibners, Apr 07, 2010

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