As time goes on, we learn SO much about little miss Gabriella. Just like any parent you go through your ups and downs; times can be REALLY trying, but then the next day you swear you have the perfect baby.
Recently Gabriella entered a new phase. As a parent you will sometimes just tell yourself, ‘oh it’s just a phase & it will pass soon.’ It makes you feel better. 😉 But this phase was something that I haven’t really heard of too often, or at least I didn’t think it was all that common.
Suddenly she didn’t want to eat solid food. She went from polishing off a jar of food a night to completely ignoring it. We would try to feed her with a spoon and she would just purse her little lips together.
I didn’t know what to do. I was a little surprised, only because who wants to NOT eat ‘real’ food?!
I had a bunch of those organic food pouches, and usually we would pour some into a bowl and then feed her with a spoon. Instead I tried just feeding her directly from the pouch, she LOVED that idea…at first. When she started refusing the pouches I was really at a loss.
Another part of a baby eating solids is that it helps them sleep better, because they are getting additional calories during the day. I have been struggling with Gabriella’s sleeping. She is still getting up every TWO to THREE hours. So that means I get maybe five hours of broken sleep a night. I’ve kind of gotten used to it, but at the same time some days it can REALLY take a toll.
I became woman on a mission. I NEEDED to figure out how to get my child to like to eat solid food again. As I was sitting on the couch one afternoon, I was drinking a fruit smoothie and it dawned on me. Make Gabriella a smoothie!
I had a TON of fresh fruit, all of which she had tried before, and I decided to throw it in a blender & make enough for a few days…and some for Craig & I too! It was a mix of watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, plums, a banana & lots of blueberries. Girlfriend cannot get ENOUGH of blueberries!
Of course I had to try it before feeding it to her, as I do with all of her food (excluding breast milk, because well, that would just be gross). I’m not going to feed her something I wouldn’t eat! I thought it was DELICIOUS!
Next up, testing it out on the true taste tester:
(we strip her down before feeding her, she likes to make a MESS 😀 …and I let Craig do the feeding so that I could play paparazzi 😉 )
At first she wasn’t sure what to think…
But shortly there after she was grabbing at the cup for more.
She drank about half of the cup that we gave her, which in my book was a win! It had been a few days since she had eaten anything (because breast milk, of course), so the fact that we got something in her belly was a small victory.
The next day I was texting my Mother in law & sister in law about the issue. They both suggested trying to feed her more, only because like I said earlier, it should help her sleep longer at night. My sister in law said that I can buy those pouches online that I can clean and refill myself, instead of buying them. I immediately went on Amazon & ordered some. I had no idea they existed. She also suggested just giving her a bunch of food to choose from all throughout the day, rather than just at night before bed. So yesterday I was on a mission to get her to eat solids, at least a little bit.
Then another thing hit me…(I’m just full of ideas lately 😉 ) try some kind of spice in her food. I mean who wants to eat plain food?? I don’t know about you, but I’m a HUGE spice/ sauce/ seasoning fan. Craig laughs at the fact that I will use a sauce on nearly everything. (My parents can also tell you MANY stories of my ketchup loving days when I was younger…I still love the stuff, but I don’t use it quite as much. I mean I put it on EVERYTHING as a child…including fresh fish….oh my! what the heck was I thinking?!)
Once Gabriella woke up from her afternoon nap, it was time to try something new. I mixed up a serving of oatmeal (baby oatmeal), sprinkled it with cinnamon, then smashed in a quarter of a banana. I sat her on the floor, and crossed my fingers for the best.
Well, not only did I have success, I had a HUGE SUCCESS!
(thanks for her shirt, Mom 🙂 )
She LOVED it! Gabriella ate the ENTIRE bowl of it, she was LUNGING for the bowl. She couldn’t get the spoon fast enough! I couldn’t believe it. The whole time all that she needed was a little flavoring. Can’t say that I blame her, but why didn’t I think of it before?! I can’t wait to experiment with a few more new recipes to see how she reacts to those.
Now let’s just hope I can’t get longer periods of sleep out of my little chick! 🙂
Moms out there: Any one else experience this? Any favorite baby food recipes/ websites? I have a baby food cookbook that I love, but of course I’m always checking Pinterest for other ideas too.
Everyday's a 'Hollyday' 