Guacamole

So we were going to wait until Hazel was six months old to give her solids, and she was not showing any signs of readiness, so it wasn't really on the radar. I knew I was going to make my own baby food, and thanks to Jaymee, I already had a fully stocked baby food making drawer. All I needed was a new coffee grinder so I could make rice, oats, barley and eventually lentil and legume porridge. Anyway, Hazel one day decided that after a lifetime of eating 25 ounces a day, she needed 30 and she would like to eat that additional 5 ounces at 3:00 AM, please. So, a few days into this new schedule of hers, she is up on the counter in her Bumbo as I'm cutting up a banana for breakfast, and it clicks that I could try some solids with her, and if she isn't ready, I can stop. She isn't too far from six months old, and we don't have allergies in either one of our extended families...so I mash up some banana. And here is Hazel's first Real Meal:

She was do damned cute, but she wasn't totally into the food, either. So I decided to hold off on another feeding for a few more weeks. But that night on the phone with one of my momtorage, Emily she reminded me that I was going to start with avocado, not banana. It's true, but I thought banana would be more delicious and give Hazel more of a yum-response. So Emily convinced me to try avocado. And I did. And Hazel cannot get enough of the avocado. She will eat anything with gusto if it has some avocado mixed in it. "Guacamole y cerveza, por favor." She is sort of on the fence still about banana and sweet potato, but if we mix some avo in it, its down the gullet so fast and with such enthusiasm you wouldn't believe it. I do have video of her eating, because it is so funny, but again...cannot figure out the Handycam.

So, now that Hazel is a big time food eater, there is no stopping her....

So Hazel has had banana, Avocado and sweet potato. Next up we have pumpkin, summer squash, apple, mango and brown rice. As we go along, feeding each new food for three days without a reaction before it is considered "safe", I will be introducing spices like ginger, cinnamon, garlic and nutmeg. This week I will also introduce a sippy cup, which is another big step. I'm going to be putting diluted, cooled, chamomile tea in the cup instead of water.