Food for Thought

I don't know what it is about the second kid, but I'm not that jazzed about solids.  I mean, really, given the choice, what sounds easier to you:  cooking and emulsifying fresh vegetables for your kid, or just eating a well balanced diet and un-holstering your own meals on wheels? I mean, technically, they don't rely on solids until one year.  The American Academy of Pediatrics says breast milk is the primary source of nutrition until 12 months.

Breastfeeding has been so simple with our second child.  She's good at it.  And Amelia's no lightweight.  I mean, at six months she's not off the charts big (90th percentile for height, 25th for weight), but she's got some chunk on her thighs that I bet will rival what we'll see at the Wisconsin State Fair this year, for sure.  By that, I mean MC Hammer, of course. We've been offering rice and oats since she was five months, but she's not digging it.  She must sense my hesitancy.  And I know why I'm agreeing with her.  I have a toddler who demands six meals a day, and adding another kid's feeding demands (of different food altogether, nonetheless) to my plate  makes me want to check myself into the nearest psych hospital.  On top of this, my neurotic brain won't let me sleep at night if I feed them low quality stuff, so we stick to (mostly) organic and whole, real foods.  That means I do a lot of preparation here at home for our family's meals.

Oh, who am I kidding, let's be honest:  we still eat out a lot.

OK, so the thought of dragging along baby food for Amelia when I can barely make sure there are enough diapers in the diaper bag to keep us from soiling someones furniture makes me want to wear one myself.  I mean, one less thing to do, right?

Still, I know it's time for her to "practice" eating with a variety of foods. So today I thawed out some organic peas for Amelia's lunch, having already tried Earth's Best Organic Peas this weekend.  She wouldn't eat the jarred stuff, so, I thought, maybe the real thing would be more tasty. I love how bright green these frozen ones are, not the pea soup color of the ones in the jar.  I whipped them up and put on my favorite smile and offered them up to her.  Here's how it went:

Hmm, I'm a little bit interested.

Not sure yet... kind of "WTF Mom?"

OK, now she's sure.  (Gagging, about to throw up) 

To say we have a drama queen on our hands might be a little premature, but I will tell you I was moving pretty quickly to put down the camera.  After she stopped gagging, just a bit short of actually throwing up, I also went online and brushed up on my infant choking procedures, just to be safe. Then we promptly switched back to good old oatmeal. And breast milk, of course.