I'm sure we'll discuss solid food at little one's 4 month appointment with his doctor on the 22nd, but I've already been researching as best I can to figure out where we should start and go from. My sister gave me 6 boxes of rice cereal from the mother of a 1 year old she babysits that they had left over, but I really don't plan on starting with grains. I plan on keeping one box in case Uriah doesn't take well to other textures, and using the cereal then to slowly intro texture until he's okay with it enough to try other foods. Otherwise, I plan on skipping grains all together, and giving away the other 5 boxes.
1st food: Bone Broth. My husband hunts deer, and he'll be able to kill a doe right around the time the baby is 6 months old (we don't plan on starting solids before then). We are going to use 4lbs of the venison marrow and knuckle bones (the ankle or hock), and 3lbs of ribs or neck bones to make the stock. We'll be using the distilled water we use to mix his formula to cook it in and 1/2 cup vinegar. You place the bones in a pot of the water and vinegar for an hour, then take out the rib bones and roast the meat at 350 for 20 minutes a side in a roasting pan. Add them back to the pot after browning. Remove fat from the roasting pan and add a little cold water to the pan. Heat over a burner using a wood spatula to loosen the dried juices off the pan. Add that to the pot of bones. Bring pot to a boil, skimming off foam and grease as it rises to the top. Reduce heat and simmer at least 12 hours. Remove from heat and strain. Freeze any you don't plan to use within 5 days. (Recipe Source: http://www.westonaprice.org/beginner-videos/stocks-and-soups-video-by-sarah-pope/)
2nd food: Green veggies. I plan on changing the taste profile up so he gets used to trying various things. The first green veggie we are going with is zucchini. It has a high water content and isn't sweet. It is also very easy to digest. I have already cut, boiled, and frozen some zucchini from my father in law's garden for Uriah's food. When the time comes, I'll simply thaw it in the fridge and puree it in the Baby bullet. Other foods in this category would be peas and green beans.
3rd food: Avocado. One of the safest first foods, avocado has a very low allergy risk. It also has more protein than any other fruit (4 grams). Not to mention it's monounsaturated fats which help baby's brain develop. This is another change, away from bone broth or green veggies. I plan on buying this one fresh since no one grows avocado themselves that I know of here, and just cutting it into slices for little one to bite off himself and chew, since the fruit is so soft and not fibrous.
4th food: Egg Yolk. Eggs are a known allergen, and keep many people from getting the flu shot (although the CDC has said even those with an egg allergy can now receive the shot). But the allergen is actually the white of the egg, not the nutrient dense yolk. We plan on hard boiling our eggs and scooping out the yolk, blending it with some formula and spoon feeding it to little man. (For more about the nutrients in an egg yolk, check out this site)
5th food: Yellow/orange veggies. Yep, we're getting all the veggies out of the way before most of the fruits. It makes sense to me that sweet fruits before veggies make the baby less likely to take to the veggies. I know I prefer fruit over vegetables! His first yellow/orange veggie will probably be yellow squash, since it's easy to digest. Other foods in this category would be carrots and sweet potatoes.
6th food: Organ meats. Nope, still not to fruits! I plan on having hubby save the livers from his deer kills so I can make Uriah some liver puree. With liver, you can cut it into chunks, cook in some of the bone broth from earlier, and blend it up in the Baby bullet (or any blender really). Then it can be fed directly or frozen in serving sizes to thaw later. Liver is also nutrient dense and great for baby.
7th food: Fruits. Ah ha we're finally here. The exception to all of this list is if Uriah gets constipated. This we will introduce pears at any time. So, if we haven't already, we'll begin with pears here. Then move on to bananas, apples, and peaches. I'm sure he'll love these flavors but we'll be going back and forth with some of these and the previous foods introduced, so fruit will be kind of like a treat. Although we will always follow the one food every 4 days rule to make sure he doesn't have any allergies.
Additional notes: I have yet to discuss this plan with his doctor. I also don't plan on dairy or grains before 1, and when he gets dairy it'll likely be through yogurt or a toddler formula, and grains will be gluten free.
What was your child's first food? Or your first food? I asked my mother and she said mine was oatmeal, then oatmeal with peaches!
1st food: Bone Broth. My husband hunts deer, and he'll be able to kill a doe right around the time the baby is 6 months old (we don't plan on starting solids before then). We are going to use 4lbs of the venison marrow and knuckle bones (the ankle or hock), and 3lbs of ribs or neck bones to make the stock. We'll be using the distilled water we use to mix his formula to cook it in and 1/2 cup vinegar. You place the bones in a pot of the water and vinegar for an hour, then take out the rib bones and roast the meat at 350 for 20 minutes a side in a roasting pan. Add them back to the pot after browning. Remove fat from the roasting pan and add a little cold water to the pan. Heat over a burner using a wood spatula to loosen the dried juices off the pan. Add that to the pot of bones. Bring pot to a boil, skimming off foam and grease as it rises to the top. Reduce heat and simmer at least 12 hours. Remove from heat and strain. Freeze any you don't plan to use within 5 days. (Recipe Source: http://www.westonaprice.org/beginner-videos/stocks-and-soups-video-by-sarah-pope/)
2nd food: Green veggies. I plan on changing the taste profile up so he gets used to trying various things. The first green veggie we are going with is zucchini. It has a high water content and isn't sweet. It is also very easy to digest. I have already cut, boiled, and frozen some zucchini from my father in law's garden for Uriah's food. When the time comes, I'll simply thaw it in the fridge and puree it in the Baby bullet. Other foods in this category would be peas and green beans.
3rd food: Avocado. One of the safest first foods, avocado has a very low allergy risk. It also has more protein than any other fruit (4 grams). Not to mention it's monounsaturated fats which help baby's brain develop. This is another change, away from bone broth or green veggies. I plan on buying this one fresh since no one grows avocado themselves that I know of here, and just cutting it into slices for little one to bite off himself and chew, since the fruit is so soft and not fibrous.
4th food: Egg Yolk. Eggs are a known allergen, and keep many people from getting the flu shot (although the CDC has said even those with an egg allergy can now receive the shot). But the allergen is actually the white of the egg, not the nutrient dense yolk. We plan on hard boiling our eggs and scooping out the yolk, blending it with some formula and spoon feeding it to little man. (For more about the nutrients in an egg yolk, check out this site)
5th food: Yellow/orange veggies. Yep, we're getting all the veggies out of the way before most of the fruits. It makes sense to me that sweet fruits before veggies make the baby less likely to take to the veggies. I know I prefer fruit over vegetables! His first yellow/orange veggie will probably be yellow squash, since it's easy to digest. Other foods in this category would be carrots and sweet potatoes.
6th food: Organ meats. Nope, still not to fruits! I plan on having hubby save the livers from his deer kills so I can make Uriah some liver puree. With liver, you can cut it into chunks, cook in some of the bone broth from earlier, and blend it up in the Baby bullet (or any blender really). Then it can be fed directly or frozen in serving sizes to thaw later. Liver is also nutrient dense and great for baby.
7th food: Fruits. Ah ha we're finally here. The exception to all of this list is if Uriah gets constipated. This we will introduce pears at any time. So, if we haven't already, we'll begin with pears here. Then move on to bananas, apples, and peaches. I'm sure he'll love these flavors but we'll be going back and forth with some of these and the previous foods introduced, so fruit will be kind of like a treat. Although we will always follow the one food every 4 days rule to make sure he doesn't have any allergies.
Additional notes: I have yet to discuss this plan with his doctor. I also don't plan on dairy or grains before 1, and when he gets dairy it'll likely be through yogurt or a toddler formula, and grains will be gluten free.
What was your child's first food? Or your first food? I asked my mother and she said mine was oatmeal, then oatmeal with peaches!