This post was originally posted on our old blog Born to be a Bride.
Oh my goodness, y’all. This was a big week. Willow decided to celebrate her pending half-birthday by not sleeping at all. Mommy was on deadline and falling behind. And sadly, we’re still in a pile of boxes. It’s not a great scene here at Casa Gerson. But not to be derailed, Josh and I moved ahead with our plan to give Willow her first solid food! What fun.
I know a lot of parents choose to start solids at four or five months. Since Wills and I have had success exclusively breastfeeding, we decided to go with the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation to do that until six. Of course, this is a judgement-free zone. I have a can of formula sitting on my shelf for emergencies and I was fully prepared to start Wills on solids earlier if my supply dipped. Whatever and whenever your food choices take you and your baby are your business and I applaud you for making informed decisions that work for your family. But anyway, we planned for a six month birthday celebration that would be capped off by sweet potatoes.
Why sweet potatoes, and not rice cereal? Great question. Despite what the media will have you believe, not all babies need rice cereal first. I was about to blindly follow my pediatrician’s advice, but I never really trusted her (we have a new one now, clearly). A friend sent me some articles on baby’s first food and the more research we did, we grew increasingly wary of starting with rice cereal. Again, I totally support every parent’s right to choose a feeding plan that works for their child. For us, we found the evidence against rice cereal to be pretty compelling, and decided to start with a whole food. Since breastmilk is sweet in flavor, organic sweet potatoes seemed a clear first choice.
To make Willow’s food, I peeled the sweet potato and cut it into about one-inch chunks. I boiled these until tender and strained them, letting the chunks cool in the colander. Then I dumped them into our blender with about two ounces of breastmilk and processed it until smooth. Eventually we will include some flavorings but we’re getting started with Mama’s milk as the only condiment. Unfortunately, Josh refused to taste-test it so I had to. The things we do for the love of our littles!
Here are some fun photos to document the process. Willow enjoyed the spoon more than the actual food, and ended up crying at the end. But it was a fun experience for the whole family, and as sad as I am to officially say goodbye to my newborn, yesterday was the first of so many family meals we’ll enjoy together, and it was pure magic for all.
Now, happy Memorial Day peeps! xoxox
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