I think one of my most exciting milestones was when Aidan weaned from milk formula to solids. We were so keen to begin making homemade purées, that I went out and got a recipe book of them! I flipped through it for hours, popping post-its on all my favourite sweet and savoury recipes. We didn’t know which one to start with, so I asked the Antenatal WhatsApp group what everyone else had tried. Of the handful of answers, it seemed that our 6-month-old bubs had a marked preference for sweet potato! We decided to begin with a sweet potato and apple purée, and I got chopping and whizzing with great enthusiasm! Once it was cooked, cooled, and ready to serve, we got out our brand new Bumbo chair. These tabletop chairs deserve a blog post all of their own – they are just fabulous! They secure your baby into a comfortable seating position with straps and a slide-in tray for ease of access. They’re hardy, plastic, impossible to shift during feedings, and super easy to clean.
Aidan was completely thrilled to be sitting up high, and in fact his Bumbo began a near-obsession with being lifted up onto tables thereafter! He seemed so enthralled by all the drama and like an eager baby bird, opened his mouth wide for the incoming spoon, even though he’d never eaten a purée in his life before. He just seemed to know exactly what to do! Better still, he was finally able to sit and eat his meals at the same time we did, which he utterly adored.
Sweet potato and apple? An absolute winner! His eyes became huge as he rolled it around his mouth. He positively cooed as he saw another spoon on its way! It was absolutely adorable. He ate quite a bit of it that first attempt, and he slept far better that night, with something a bit more solid in his tummy. I couldn’t wait to see what else he’d like!
We tried puréed avocado which he liked but would only eat a little of, gem squash & apple, carrot & butternut, butternut & apple, apple & pear, broccoli-cauliflower & sweet potato, pea & mint, beetroot & plum, beetroot & apple, apple & plum, Nestlé baby cereal & peanut butter, and chocolate pudding. Aidan loved them all! Particularly his sweet potato, gem squash, apple and beetroot mixes. The only thing he had a huge aversion to was a mixture of leafy greens. No matter how much apple or pear I popped into that purée to sweeten it, he steadfastly refused to eat it!
We had some luck with the wonderfully creative and tasty Umatie range too. There were lots of Vegan options for our little man with his milk protein and egg allergies! When it came time to make his smooth purées a bit more chunky, we had some great successes with their pots for 6m+. Aidan also loved the Wooliesbabes Fresh pouches, and seemed captivated by the idea that he could feed himself his Oats, Coconut Brekkie mix with a single squeeze of his hand. The only thing he absolutely refused to eat at this stage, was meat.
I discovered early on that most of the meat purées and pouches available from our favourite ranges, also contained egg. So they simply weren’t an option for us. So we tried making our own, using mincemeat that we blended with other veggies. Unfortunately, Aidan just couldn’t and wouldn’t eat any of the recipes we tried. In fact, if ever you brought a meat option near him, he would begin to physically gag. It was a huge overreaction to a certain food group that really puzzled us. But I made sure to add legumes to his fruit and veggie mixtures to make up for the fact that he was struggling to get in enough protein and iron. Thankfully, the milk formula he still drank at night, was absolutely packed with all the nutrients he could need and more, so I wasn’t overly concerned at that point! In fact, Aidan was growing so rapidly, that he outgrew his beloved Bumbo chair within a few short months, and had to be moved into a freestanding high chair. But oh, that Bumbo… we have just so many happy mealtime memories in it! I miss it still! If you haven’t bought one for your little one yet, I can highly recommend them. They are amazing!
Aidan’s happiest and most exciting months of trying new foods were between 6 months and a year old. We all had an absolute ball with him, and I loved trying out new recipes at mealtimes! Thereafter, he sadly became a very picky eater. And it was around that time that we decided to have him evaluated for autism. It’s something I get quite emotional about because he was such a happy little eater at one point, and now food is a real battle of aversions for him. I will discuss more about his current appetite and food selectivity in upcoming blog, “Safe Foods”.
