As I've mentioned a couple of times on this blog already, I have a bit of a food obsession. I love cook, to go restaurants, to talk about food, to think about what I'm going to eat, and pretty much every other activity surrounding food. And like all parents who have a kind of intense hobby, I wanted to groom my children to be into it too from the time they were born.
I had read the studies about babies learning to like the flavor of the food mom ate because it was reflected in the amniotic fluid. I knew that data showed that babies were most receptive to the taste of new foods between 4 and 8 months, and that items introduced at this time would feel like culinary home to them for the rest of their lives. I had seen the papers describing the fact that children who grew up in homes where adults consumed a varied diet would be far more
likely to grow into adults who did the same. I had done my reading and I was ready to raise little gourmands.
likely to grow into adults who did the same. I had done my reading and I was ready to raise little gourmands.
I ate a healthy, varied diet full of fruits and vegetables while pregnant and breastfeeding, I made all my own baby food, and we fearlessly fed our first born from our plates once she developed the pincer grip. When my daughter was a year old, she ate everything. I remember bragging about this to my boss at the time and him saying
"Oh yeah, my daughter ate everything too until the day she didn't."
"Obviously" I thought to myself, "this will not be MY precious snowflake of a child. I have read the studies and perfectly executed the plan. My child will continue to be an amazing eater forever!"Have I done enough foreshadowing here? Do you see where this is going? I think you do... At roughly 15 months of age, my daughter started dropping foods she previously ate with gusto. First it was a refusal to eat blueberries, then beans, then eggs, and so on. Foods previously eaten with joy were taken off the list of acceptable foods one by one until she was only willing to eat a handful of foods.
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| Eating what's for dinner - quinoa and tofu! |
Ms. Satter is a nutritionist and a compassionate writer. She talks at length about the separation of duties between parents and children. Parents have a responsibility to present their children with appealing nutritious food. Children have the responsibility to eat how ever much they would like to eat. This is exceptionally wise advice but very difficult for parents to internalize. It's hard to sit at the table, having rushed home from work and prioritized cooking above everything else, only to have your child whine at the mere sight of what you've produced. It's almost impossible not to feel like a monster when the toddler eats nothing at dinner. Though, of course, Ms. Satter is right that no child has ever starved in a house with a full refrigerator.
It took awhile for our family to go "full Satter." Once we did, it took about a month for our child to accept that the food on the table was all that was on offer. However, in the last month we've had a real breakthrough. My daughter is trying (AND EATING!!!) new foods right and left - mangoes! green beans! horseradish cheddar! quinoa! This is a child who refused white rice a year ago. This method has not only been incredibly successful in getting our daughter to eat, but it has also reduced much of the stress around food in our house. I plan and cook meals without obsessing about whether they'll be eaten. After all, that's not my job. If you're struggling with this, I very much recommend her books. She is a kind-hearted lady that saved this Mom's sanity at dinner.
and the 
(I have also heard wonderful things about the “
” but it just looked too darn bulky for our space.) There are two key features that I love about our step stool. First, it has sides. During the brief period that we were using an ordinary step stool, Mabel nearly fell off the side repeatedly. She would step to the side to be closer to me and step off the edge or she would just lean farther and farther (again, to be closer to me and/or danger) and eventually lose her balance. With the 
and, yes, we’re adorable.
in our bag (in the interim, 
. These bags were supplied by my insurance company last time around, but I've bought a set for this time as well. They kind of fail on most of the above criteria (don't stand up, have very inaccurate markings, only fit 5 ozs, and occasionally leak). I have a set because the adapters that come with these guys screw on to any pump that takes 
and let you pump directly into them. I keep the bags and the adapters at work for emergencies. I've also now used them enough that I can interpret their markings into much more accurate guesses at the volume. Oh and the fields to fill out on them are great. 
. These are frankly the worst bags I've tried. Originally I was optimistic because they advertised that they were made out of a thin plastic that heats quickly (
are a popular choice in this category). I tried to make this bra work for me, I really did. But after somewhere around 5 attempts I gave up and it stayed at the bottom of my pump bag for the rest of the year. The bra was then lent to a friend who I also believe used it pretty much never. It was just too hard to get in to it in a way that it was tight enough to hold the cones, and even then, the cones never felt secure.
. (Note: they also make the 
, but by now I am too loyal to my 
to give it a try). 
to be really useful because the lid over the main thermos part a) helps keep the whole thing relatively cool inside the diaper bag, b) contains spills if you have some leakage, which you shouldn't, and c) serves as a cup you can pour the water into to immerse your bottle and heat it! So for the size/weight of a normal thermos, you get all the stuff you need.
. 
, the 
, the 
, the 
, the 
And if you don't have some already, you may want to grab some 
while you're at it.
enough. I've always loved making blended soups and this thing has changed my life (I previously owned a $30 Cuisinart, it was fine, but not true love). You don't need a fancy blender to make baby food. Frankly a fork will probably do, but sometimes mama deserves something nice, right? 
. The food really does slide right out of these guys. The set comes with 2 trays so you fill 1 tray with the puree (or purees) of your choice and freeze. The next day you can pop all the cubes of baby food out and into a quart sized Ziploc bag (don't forget to label and date the bag so you're not guessing as to its content a month later). Then just throw the tray into your dishwasher. This way you can rotate one tray in the freezer and one in the wash.
. If you're less neurotic than me, then the solid foods chapter in 
will almost certainly do the trick. (Hint: you don't need to start with boring rice cereal - that's really old advice. You can pretty much start with whatever you want. We started with sweet potatoes.)
. It cleans easily (including in the dishwasher) and absolutely won't spill even if turned upside down. Also, I can say that after fully more than a year of use, the cups are still in good shape and for the inexpensive price that is quite something. You can also buy extra straws if you lose some or your toddler likes to chew on them a bit too much. 
(this has technically been discontinued but is still occasionally available on Amazon). Also, to properly clean out the straws by hand you're going to need some 
.
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