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Jamisen’s First Food

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

My parents fed me ice cream at 3 weeks old for my first food so in keeping with the inappropriate dairy choices for children, we are keeping that magic alive with Jamisen’s first food taste.

Behold … whipped cream!

Sept 2011

Sept 2011

Sept 2011

Sept 2011
PS – Don’t worry, we’re also going with more traditional foods like organic baby rice cereal, pureed organic peas and today (!) a freshly pureed avocado. He loved the peas, can’t get enough of the rice cereal but wasn’t a fan of the avocado. We’ll start on fruits after we introduce just a few more veggies. Despite the whipped cream first food taste, I don’t want him to decide he likes the delicious (sugar …. yum yum!) fruit concoctions over the greens and veggies. =) And, as always, it takes a village so if you have any thoughts on baby food (especially mixtures your baby loved!), I want to hear it. Learning from experienced Moms and Dads is definitely the way to go!

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59 Comments

  1. My mum used to blend up steak, carrots, potato and broccoli and feed it to me. You’d be surprised at some things we ate as kids in our house lol!!

    • All together? Love that your Mom was so diligent about the proteins and the greens but that is one interesting concoction! =) Jamisen has been really loving the fruits this summer. I swear, he eats $8 worth of blueberries every two days. =)

  2. I was told by our pedi that really for the allergies you can go by veggie families, same as gardeners do for better crop rotation. This is an easy way to spot potential problem foods because it’s normally not a specific veggie they are allergic to but a type. This site has a good listing of the familys. http://www.greatstems.com/images/veggiefamilies.html This doesn’t work for such things as gluten but if one causes problems others in the same line might too and you’ll know to keep a close eye.

    • Ah ha – that is genius! Thank you for sharing that. It makes total sense =) He has been LOVING his winter veggies – squash and gourd family is definitely a go! =)

  4. He is so cute! Our baby is 13 months now but at this age we started with some mushed foods first. Pretty much whatever you are eating, just in the blender. We have been very fortunate to not have a picky eater, she will eat anything and everything we give her. I think the avocado may just not have been mushed enough, try giving guac instead and see if he will eat it. Banana is also a big baby hit, and they like it mixed in the cereal with some milk or formula.

    • Mushed foods of what you ate? Did you worry about allergies? That’s the main reason I’m not doing that yet because of all the ‘feed them one thing at a time so that you can figure out if there’s allergies’ stuff so I’ve been pretty careful but it would be much easier to do that! =)

  5. My daughter was milk allergic and still is as a grownup. But her eating habits then and now are wonderful. Only candy ever that she liked was peppermint candy.
    We started her off on baby cereal and then on to maltomeal, unsweetened. Homemade mashed potato with baby liver as gravy. It was amazing. Once she started eating she started sleeping the whole night. We made her the same healthy food we ate, just ground it up and her belly tolerated it well. Never a weight problem, never a picky eater problem and always goes for healthy over junk food. Her first finger food was cubed canned rutabagers, then on to diced peaches and pears. We always treated the fruit as desert not as part of the meal. No sugared cereals in the house or as snacks. At 3 we would go out to the garden and she would pick out her lunch. Loved it and at 8 her friends thought it was fun to go to the garden with a salt shaker and pocket knife and eat their way through the garden. Often came in the house smelling like green onions, cucumbers and strawberries. We never obsessed about her food. Whatever we ate, well that was for dinner and that was that. If she didn’t want what was served she knew that there was peanut butter in the pantry. Even my sisters picky eaters would eat stuff at our house they never ate at their house. Sometimes I think it’s the matter of attitude or lack of it that sets the stage for kids eating patterns. I have seen kids use food to manipulate their parents and it just doesnt have to be like that. I used to tell my daughter that most of the vitamins were in the peelings. With bread it was in the crust. When she was little we would play a game. When she asked what was for dinner I would tell her what vitamins and colors and she would guess. It was fun. Now she also knows what she is getting from the food she eats. We would also correlate her food with colors. There are times she would actually tell me that she needed some more red in her salad etc. Sorry to go on and on but kids eat so poorly nowadays and parents seem to not care or care too much. Fat kids, malnourished kids, junk food junkie kids turning into obese malnourished adults. I think that if we start out making it fun to make good choices then kids just naturally make good choices and when they op out for the occasional bad choice, they at least know that it is a bad choice.

    • You are genius with that fun game of telling what vitamins are in the different veggies. I think that is HUGE. I also really like the idea of fruit for dessert as opposed to the main course. I am going to start that now so we’ll do 2 veggies for his ‘solids’ and then give a serving of fruit as ‘dessert.’

      A garden. I long for a garden. We’re in an in-town situation right now but have a goal to move to a lovely yard and garden-optional area when Jamisen (and his planned but not yet happened sibling) are old enough to run and play.

      I agree, the state of some childrens’ food is so sad and I just feel badly for them. If they don’t learn from their parents, who can they learn from?

  6. How cute is he?! 🙂

    I would try again with the avocado, since it’s such a great food to give a little one – but this time, try adding a mashed up banana to it (if he’s had banana already and does ok with it). Both of my boys LOVED mashed up banana and avocado together (and now they love guacamole, too!)

    • He hasn’t tried banana yet but we’ll try that next and then mash it up with the avocado. Nice tip! I don’t want him to miss out on that great food =)

  7. Oh what fun! Whipped cream is also what we let my youngest daughter taste first too! The look on her face and the big smile that followed was priceless. 🙂

    As for the post above about allergies and waiting to start solids, yes I’m pretty sure as parents we all know what the expert recommendations are. My ex-husband fed my oldest daughter a taste of horseradish when she was two months old. Yes, you read that right…horseradish at two months old. I have no idea what he was thinking. Maybe he just wasn’t. But in any case she survived and is now a happy five year old who coincidentally LOVES spicy foods. That’s proof enough for me that a teeny tiny taste of something at a young age is most likely not going to cause any lasting issues.

    • Hilarious – horseradish at 2 months old. It’s only funny since she’s fine of course but still, sometimes, we just don’t think things through =) Jamisen is LOVING his pumpkin, peas and carrots right now and at almost six months old and going through his bottles with alarming speed, he definitely seemed ready for them. And judging from the way he chomps his food down, he is going to be a champion eater =)

    • Thanks! Can’t wait to read it. We’re making all of Jamisen’s food from scratch so this will be great.

  11. Hello, to the post on children, food, age and alergy my kids were all brest fed until the first year of life and they are allergic to everything.

    First foods: my kids all loved pumpkin, sweet pot, yams, broccoli, spinach,i always puree green veg it with an orange veg for a smoother blend. Ground brown rice, gluten free rolled oats, avacado, banana, prunes

    Have fun with it! Enjoy his food as much as he does

    Go organic and local whenever possible

    And always wash

    • Ground brown rice sounds like a great addition starting this week. He’s doing organic rice cereal, and a few select veggies (including pumpkin) right now but I want to start introducing heartier foods soon.

      He’s game for everything but when he doesn’t like something, he definitely lets us know! =)

  12. I hate to be Debbie Downer, but at 3 weeks old, a baby’s gut is not ready for any solid foods. Just because he likes something, does not mean that he should have it. It’s recommended to wait AT LEAST 6 months and a baby doesn’t actually need solid foods for their first year of life. The longer the wait, the better. I’m not commenting to preach, but out of concern, so I hope you don’t take offense.

    I understand the little taste (generally still much later than 3 weeks, though), which wouldn’t harm (so long as it isn’t honey or nuts or other allergy offenders) but full on feeding any solids this early could cause problems with the gut now or even later in life. I hope that isn’t the case for Jamisen.

    That being said- avocado, banana, peas, squash, carrots are all great first foods, introduced one at a time for several days each before moving on to the next to rule out any problems that could be seen right away.

    • I think the original post said it was Anne-Marie’s parents who fed HER ice cream at three weeks…not that anyone fed Jamisen anything at three weeks?

    • Totally right – Jamisen’s almost 6 months so we’re trying him out on solid foods because he’s been really interested in our foods AND we cannot keep him satisfied with just milk =) And so far, so good! He really loves his peas, carrots and today, pumpkin. It was adorable to watch him eat it. =) He just would lunge at it and couldn’t get enough.

      He wasn’t a fan of avocados but we’ll definitely be trying that again for him. =)

  13. Anything in the squash family was usually a hit for Hayden. I worried he would quit eating his veggies when he got “the good stuff,” but he actually pushed ham and cheese aside the other day to shovel spinach in his mouth. I was not quick enough with the spoon, so spinach is now a finger food 🙂

    Tastes change so often, maybe he just needs to get used to the strong flavor of the avocado.

    Love the pics!

    • Thanks for the hint re: avocados. I’ll try again next week.

      We introduced pumpkin today and he LOVED it. So far, he’s done great with carrots, peas, pumpkin and pears. I can’t wait to introduce squash, hopefully this week =)

  14. Have you ever tasted the store bought baby foods? YUCK! We made our by cooking, pureeing and then freezing in ice trays. We popped cubes out, put in freezer bags, taking out what we needed for meals, thawing and reheating. As our son grew, we increased the number of cubes and increased the chunkiness too. Our little guy (now 5) loved it all, well almost. Yellow squash was not a big hit. However, he loved Peas, carrot, peas & carrots mixed, spinach, broccoli, broccoli w/cheese, green beans, sweet potatoes, lentils, beans of all kinds, vegetable soup (pureed with just a little soup base), vegetable medleys, pureed meats, poultry and even fish, pears, peaches, applesauce, pumpkin, low sugar custards and puddings, cream of wheat, oats and other grains, etc. Point being, Try it all! You won’t know until you try, whether your little guy will like it. Veggies firt before the fruits and sweet is a smart move. To this day, my son doesn’t like sweets, not even candy. He’ll do a few M & M’s or Hershey’s chocolate from time to time but only a little. Truth is, at your little guy’s age, the taste buds that are active & alert are the salty and the sweet, so of course that is what will dominate his likes until the rest kick into gear. Its best not to cater to those or they will become dominate later on as well.

    • Never tasted store bought foods and hopefully, won’t ever feed them to him! We’ve been making our own food thus far and it’s super easy. Lots of steaming and pureeing so far. Today was Pumpkin and he was a big fan of that. He’s had peas, carrots, and pears thus far but none of the other good foods that you mentioned. Interestingly enough, like your son, I’m not a fan of dessert either. Give me salty any day of the week! =)

  15. Butternut squash was a huge hit with my little man and when we were ready for more texture ho loved couscous! Mixed with the squash or carrot puree was perfect! None of my bunch (I have 3) ever went for spinach. Its fun to watch their little faces with each new experience, enjoy.

    On a separate note soaping becomes harder when potty training…

    • We did Pumpkin for the first time today, he loved it! Couscous sounds amazing. I’m sure he’ll love that one. We mix rice cereal with his veggies now to get him to eat his rice cereal (not a fan – too bland?) so he has some food to stick to his tummy for nighttime! =)

  16. Awww, he’s so photogenic! Love how each pic tells the story:) When he really gets into it, will you post a video for us? It’s so much fun to feed them. Then when they start feeding themselves… hilarious! Thanks for sharing!

    • I can’t imagine him feeding himself. But I know, that’s coming! Right now, he’s very interested in the food and lunges for it. And, boy, does he get mad if I’m not there fast enough for him (ha ha).

  17. My experience…3 boys.
    My first son I had a ton of fun giving him new fruits and veggies. My mistake…giving more fruit then veggies. My oldest is now the pickiest eater out of all of them.
    Son #2, I only started veggies and grains first. Now that boy eats everything, but cheese! LOL Go figure.
    With son #3 we found out right after birth he is allergic to ALL Dairy. So I had to adjust everything to work that into our meals.
    My only advice is to take it Slow. One new food per week, is what I did.
    Food is the never ending battle, our love for our children is what keeps us going in the quest for the perfect foods. Congrats on your little guy 🙂

    • Thanks Stephanie! That’s why we’re just doing veggies, veggies, veggies right now. My Dad, a Doctor, said not to introduce fruits too early or else Jamisen might not want the veggies. Other Mother’s have said that’s hooey and didn’t happen with them but with my baby boy’s stubborn streak, it might! LOL! =) Thanks for the experience sharing. I appreciate it.

  18. I will try to keep this short. (Mine is eighteen months old and there is a long list.)

    – Rice cereal with homemade applesauce and cinnamon
    – Butternut squash with cinnamon
    Sweet potatoes with a touch of brown sugar or maple syrup
    – Barley, oatmeal mix with fruit, pears (beware the poop from this!)

    Fruit smoothies are now her morning food. She will not drink regular milk any other way, not even soy or almond. I am also having the problem, I guess it is a problem, that she is not a large meat eater. I just Googled baby food and got a ton of suggestions. The big thing is have fun! And, another freezer!

    • Ha! I know what you mean about another freezer. We already have the pureed pees and carrots in there and it really takes up some serious space. =)

      Love the idea of mixing the Rice Cereal with homemade applesauce. I was telling another commenter that he’s started refusing his rice cereal in favor of the carrots and peas (go figure) so I’m trying to find ways to get him to take that hearty food (please, please, right before bed so he sleeps longer? LOL!). Thanks for the suggestions!

  19. With his gas and belly problems i would stay away from squash and sweet potato, in my experiance they cause lots of gas.
    Also try not to introduce to many things at once in case he does start having belly issues or an allergic reaction, it will be easier to pin down the source. (specialy when you start with more fruits.)

    • Ooooooh! Good to know. He was a little gas machine today! Like …. well, it was intense. It was probably the food (peas, carrots and rice cereal!).

  20. With our boys we were…well behaved and avoided giving them anything other than baby food until the doctors told us otherwise. With our princess we were bad and gave her a little taste of ice cream before she had even tried anything other than rice cereal. Then we tried her on several veggies before trying her with fruits. Squash and sweet potatoes have always been a favorite with my babies. My daughter loves carrots! One of the great things about living in Florida is that there are a lot of avocado trees. My husband’s boss just gave him two huge avocados from her tree today. I can not wait for them to ripen so I can give our princess her first taste of avocado!

    • Jamisen was NOT a fan of avocados but he adores his carrots and peas. We haven’t tried sweet potatoes yet but I’m excited to try that next. =)

  21. Both my kids loved rice cereal made with coconut milk, with a little applesauce for sweetness. Coconut milk is high in lauric acid which also happens to be the main fatty acid found in breast milk. (Coconut is considered a drupe, not a nut, even though the FDA does insist that it be listed it as a tree nut on food labels – so if you have any concerns there, you might want to run it by your Pedi first!)

    • Coconut Milk! Smart. He is really starting to not like his rice cereal (prefers his peas and carrots right now) and I’ve been trying to mix his carrots and peas with his rice cereal but that hasn’t been working (not that I blame him – that sounds ick doesn’t it?) I’ll try the Coconut Milk (after checking with his Ped of course). Thanks for the hint!

  22. It was pureed butternut squash for my son when he started on solids He loved them.
    Love those pictures. He’s clearly enjoying his first taste of sweetness, adorable xx

    • Thank you! Some of them look really great. Jamisen had carrots for the first time today. He wasn’t a fan until I mixed them with milk (go figure) =)

  24. He sure does look over the offering quite intent and then the smile with the cream and the finger all in his mouth! Priceless!

    I had a baby food grinder at the and what we ate for dinner the babies had a bit of it.

    We started out with the traditional to verify and introduce one at a time.

    The both were crazy about home made applesauce and loved the carrots and the peas.

    As children they also love the broccoli and called it trees for dinner.

    He is doing better now with the crying?

    Thank you for sharing!

    • We used a little hand grinder too. After introducing a variety of foods, our babies all just had a ground up version of what we were eating.

    • Did you ever worry about allergies? The baby books all say to introduce ONE new food per week (which means, he’ll be roughly 64 1/2 years old by the time his diet is fully integrated). My Dad thinks that’s all bunk but you know all the information that new moms are inundated with. =) How long did you do the 1 food at a time thing?

  25. Butternut squash & acorn squash were huge hits, easy to prepare at home, and in season right now! Instead of any kind of sweetener, we’d add just a dash of cinnamon.

  26. I tried mushed bananas in the rice cerea and Braiya loved it when she was 5 months! Also, they have Nuk food holders that have a soft net that let’s the juices from the foods go through and doesn’t let them choke on the food, like strawberries, grapes, lettuce, peas.. And she loved holding it herself!
    P.S.– super cute last picture!!

    • I got the Nuk food holders – I can’t wait to introduce those to him. Did you find out that trying fruit made your baby not want the vegetables? Or …? Mushed bananas in rice cereal sounds like a winning formula.