Oh my cutie, what should I feed thee?

Breast is best, they said.
But others insisted formula must be fed.

Solids after 6 months, many were sure.
Others, after 3 months, raised a furor.

And how we sorted the first foods:
Rice cereal was empty carbs;
Fruits would encourage a sweet tooth;
Veggies too tasteless for those tiny buds;
Lentils on the new plumbing would be tough.

That was not all,
Organic or not,
Boiled or steamed
Blended, mashed, or bites.
Oh no end to the sugar, salt, n honey fights.

Then the stage was set at one -
Cow's milk to be fed to the hun.
Some claimed that was unnecessary;
Vegan upbringing was the best.
Others said fresh from the cow's shed.
Pasteurized milk had no good bacteria;
Raw milk had the good AND the bad bacteria.

Good lord, I had never imagined solid feeding
Would be a constant battle I'd be fighting.

So the question is, with all these confusions - this and that
What does my lovely daughter have for meals and snack?
Well, she's made my life fairly simple -
Her highness refuses to eat at all.

She thinks meals are a waste of time,
And she'd rather toss a ball outside.
And then on some days, she's under the weather,
Or it is the infamous teething monster.
If nothing else, my doc insists,
It is the fussy toddler phase!

(No, I haven't lost my sanity yet
Though I think I am tempting fate.)

Ice-creams: My self-righteous mommy soul be damned!

I still can't believe it happened but it did. 

M was napping peacefully, and it was the perfect noon for a chocobar. I had just opened the pack and her highness gave out a cry. There was no way I could leave my ice-cream at that crucial moment and there was no way I could let M cry it out while mommy was chomping away to god's glory. So, I took her in my lap and settled on a chair. She quietened and all seemed blissful - I finished the chocolate coating and was just about to start on the vanilla flesh, that in a fraction of a second I see M has already dived into it. 

I threw the bar on a plate on the table and looked at her in absolute horror - she had that trademark devil's grin on her face and about a teaspoon of ice-cream in her mouth, and she was lapping it as if it was the elixir of life. 

I panicked and called the nurse. My doc's office must have my number saved as a hyper-panicking mom, but WTH. The nurse was friendly and couldn't help laughing. She said - Just a bit of vanilla ice-cream won't do her any harm! I reiterated, my daughter is only 6 months old, and she had high fat, dairy (cow's milk), is that okay? The nurse was like, "Relax and go back to enjoying your ice-cream". 

I tried to salvage the remains of what was once a tempting treat but Manya was again restless - kept on clicking her tongue at the sight of my prize. So you know what I did? I took her on my lap, settled onto a chair, proceeded to finish off my ice-cream and gave her exactly two more licks in between. 

(So much for starting on healthy gourds/squash - recording M's first ice-cream rendezvous: Haagen-dazs vanilla milk chocolate bar (without the chocolate, ofcourse). Ouch! But you loved it baby!

Yes, here's my confession and I be damned. Why blame the summer heat?

Fruits and Veggies!

M had been only on cereal up until her half year mark. She has had rice and oats. While I guess both taste the same (actually, I needn't guess, I know as I did taste them ;)), I think oatmeal suits her digestive system better. She has also tasted juices of pears, apples and prunes. And now, we have started with mashed fruits and veggies. So, I guess this marks the beginning of solid feeding in a more holistic sense. I plan to start on everything else (proteins etc.) a month or so from now. According to the doc, yogurt and cheeses can wait till the 8th or the 9th month, and whole milk, citrus fruits, honey, nuts etc. till the one year mark. We will more-or-less stick to that.

Okay, so recording her first fruit and vegetable:

• First fruit: Malus domestica (lesser mortals know it as apple :P). If you are (and even if you are not) interested in the exact variety - it was the gala apple (organic) from California :D.

• First vegetable: Lagenaria siceraria. You know what this is? The boring bottle-gourd (from the squash family). For most of my life (and most Indians I know), have hated this vegetable. It is boring and one of the worst tasting ever. My brother actually thought I was making Manya pay for not letting me sleep at nights by forcing her to eat this. I swear that was not the point. My idea was, one, it is such a healthy veggie that goes so easy on the stomach, and two, whatever M tastes after this will definitely be better :P). 

Her Highness starts on cereal

As I mentioned in Manya's fourth month milestone post, the pediatrician recommended at her monthly checkup that I could start her on rice and/or oats cereal. And if you didn't already know, I could easily pass off as the poster girl for my doctors - I trust my docs implicitly and go by whatever they say. In the rare case, I am unable to place my faith in a doc, I find another one.

I am well aware of the ever changing first food trends and all the debates around "refined carbs" that make up baby cereal - also all the endless discussions on how introducing fruits or veggies is a better idea, or at what age to introduce solids etc. etc. Was I confused - well, Yes! But I was clear about one thing in my mind, I'd discuss with the doc and follow exactly what she said.

So, here's the game plan. I started her on rice cereal. In a couple of weeks, I plan to introduce oats. This will pretty much constitute her top feed till she is 6 months old. Except for the situation that she gets constipated - I then have been asked to give her diluted peach/prune/apple juice. At the half year mark, we start with fruits and vegetables - will post more when we reach there.

Meanwhile, the verdict on rice cereal. She has been tasting it without much fussing. Not sure if she likes it or not. Time shall tell how good or bad an eater the highness is.