Cheese, take 2

Well, I was going to do a post about how Buttercup still isn't a cheese fan, but she has been won over at long last. I have periodically offered little cubes of cheese to Buttercup along with her usual fruits, veggies,  chicken and fish, but she usually made a face similar to the one shown here. Not long ago I threw some cheese into her afternoon snack of dried fruit and...she ate it! Voila - suddenly she's a cheese girl! She has eaten cubes of cheddar and mozzarella, cheese shreds (cheddar), kefir cheese, string cheese, and of course we've continued giving her cheese mixed into entrées. It's a great way to increase her calcium intake now that she's over one, especially because she's not consistently excited about cow's milk yet. And, in case you're interested I am still breastfeeding Buttercup 3+ times a day. 


I don't know what her original hangup with cheese was, but it was definitely an acquired taste for Buttercup. Persistence ended up paying off in the end, though. 


PROS: good source of calcium and fat
CONS: an acquired taste for some babies

Spreads

Along with rice cakes, toast makes a good carrier for spreads. Other spreads worth trying are: smashed avocado, smashed banana, cream cheese, and thinly spread peanut butter. Interesting to note that the American Association of Pediatrics has changed their recommendations on delaying giving peanut butter to children under a year. That practice hasn't been shown to reduce peanut allergies in children so pediatricians have lifted the advice. The only thing to keep an eye out for with peanut butter is its consistency. If you put too much on, it can be too thick for your little one to safely manage without gagging and possibly choking.

By the way, we use Smucker's natural peanut butter. One ingredient = good. Although I think cream cheese is a good idea, we are waiting on that one because of the "cheese incident." Since discovering an easier way to serve bananas and avocados we haven't done as much of those as spreads, but I would recommend them to babies having issues with hand-mouth coordination.

PROS: a great way to boost nutritional value of grain foods and add variety

CONS: messy.

Cheese

While snacking in our hotel room, Hubby & I shared some cheese with Buttercup. I don't even know what kind it was, but I think it was a mild cheddar. Anyway, she seemed to like it, but I don't think it liked her. It made her smell like rotten cheese all day, even after her bath. I don't know what the deal was, but it seemed to be emanating from her pores (and she definitely had bad breath the rest of the day). I'm not sure what that means? Ewwww!

I know cheese is tasty and all, but really there isn't anything in it nutritionally that Buttercup can't get from yogurt or other foods (except tons of salt) so maybe I will just leave this one for now.

PROS: easy to chew and swallow
CONS: messy/slimy, made my baby STINKY!!!

Yogurt

Most mornings I make myself a smoothie for breakfast. I usually throw in a banana and some spinach, then throw in whatever else I have lying around. The past few mornings I have thrown in whatever bits of food Buttercup was offered/played with/did not consume into the blender and drank them myself. Maybe that sounds gross to some people, but I cannot bear the thought of wasted food. We're in a recession, people!!

This morning I tossed some yogurt into my smoothie (nothing fancy, just plain-label low-fat yogurt) and decided to offer some to Buttercup. One of the reasons I'm doing Baby-Led Solids is that I want my baby to be an independent little food explorer. So, with that in mind, I put some yogurt on a grippable spoon and handed it to her to feed. My kid's no dummy! She put it straight in her mouth and started sucking on the yogurt! Then she made a horrible face. I'm sensing a theme here. Honestly, I think the face-making thing is just her way of saying, "Hey, now that's a new sensation!" But, she didn't seem overly excited about the yogurt. She had about three spoonfuls and I ate the rest.

Interesting funfact: yogurt apparently stings when it gets in your eyes. That's what Buttercup thought, at least. Who knew?

PROS: cute to watch baby use a spoon by herself
CONS: hurts the peepers