The Art of Feeding Henri

I'm reposting the food blog I wrote about of feeding Henri on my other blog (http://sliceofpattie.blogspot.com/2010/03/art-of-feeding-henri.html) . He is now entering the stage 2 feeding phase and I've been cooking him some pretty good and mighty healthy meals ... Bon Appetit! I'll be sharing his favorite recipes very soon! :)

Our baby boy just turned 7 months last week and I've started getting extra creative with his diet (I now mix 2 fruits, or a vegetable plus fruit or rice cereal and fruit). We introduced him to his first rice cereal when he was 5 1/2 months and now he's been eating a variety of fruits and vegetables. I would highly recommend the moms our there to get the BEABA Baby Food Maker. It is a one-of-a-kind, patented compact countertop appliance that functions as a steamer, blender, warmer and defroster to prepare fresh, healthy meals for baby. It starts by steam cooking vegetables, fruits and meats in less than 15 minutes, while preserver their vitamins and flavors. It then purees and blends them to the desired consistency. The bowl is made from unbreakable Polysulfone (PSU) and the cooking basket from transparent polypropylene (PP). It comes with a 2½ - cup capacity bowl, cooking basket, spatula and recipe booklet. The bowl and basket are top-rack dishwasher safe. I have been using it for over a month now and I am highly satisfied.

Here are some additional tips I'd like to share:

Henri's Food Cubes Ready To Go :)

1. I've practiced "Food Cube Serving" - a food "cube" in this case means an ice cube which is equivalent to 1 oz. (At 7 months, Henri can actually finish up to 45 ml of food). I bought these really useful baby containers so I can store whatever I make in the freezer plus it allows me to measure how much food I'm giving him.

2. Follow the 4 day wait rule - introduce single ingredient food in the beginning and wait for 4 days to make sure he/she is not allergic to it.

3. Use a Comfy Spoon - I use a plastic one to ensure that it won't hurt his gums

4. Don't force him to eat - Don't force any food on your baby. If he doesn't open his mouth immediately, wait for baby to open his mouth. Let him eat at his own pace too. And when he turns away or stops opening his mouth, it likely means that he's had enough.

5. Gradually add variety to his diet. This is what I'm doing now...mixing fruits and vegetables to make his meal more "yummy" :) Right now, Henri enjoys banana-papaya and cereal-applesauce the most! And yesterday, I introduced him to avocado which he liked!

I hope to inspire the mothers like myself to use fresh fruits and vegetables instead of relying on canned ones that you can buy in your local grocery. Fresh is still BEST :) It is such a joy to be my baby's personal chef! Happy cooking!