Finger Foods

Jane is doing so great with eating lately.  She seems to prefer feeding herself, which is just fine with us, and supposedly a predictor of future health (although who knows with all the studies you hear about--seems like a stretch sometime).  Anyway, for a while we were feeding her a lot of oatmeal, yogurt, mashed bananas, mashed sweet potatoes, and store-bought baby food.  She ate canned pumpkin for a bit, too.  I did not do the whole make-fabulous-homemade-creative-organic-baby-purees thing--that is admirable but I can barely get it together to make dinner lately!  And getting out the blender is stressful and noisy.  I am reluctant to use noisy appliances because they make Jane burst into tears (like the coffee grinder I used this morning).  Which means I really need to vacuum.

The first adult food (read: with salt & butter) Jane had was mashed potatoes at Christmas time, which she loved (duh, who wouldn't), and now she is almost completely self-feeding and no longer restricted to purees, which means she can pick up chunks of food herself!  She eats really slow, which is also fine, because it gives us time to eat along with her, or do the dishes, or sweep the floor, or whatever.  When she's full she begins to throw the food on the floor or bang the tray to watch it jump in the air.  I keep the broom out at all times, and there is some food crusted on the floor that I am still trying to remove.

Her favorites right now are blueberries, cinnamon bread, banana bread, waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, peas, meat when it is warm--and her ultimate favorite, Cheerios, which never fail.  She still loves bananas (her favorite food in the mashed stage), but they are slippery to get in her mouth.  She also has enjoyed diced sweet potatoes, and when I make the effort to feed her, she still likes yogurt, oatmeal, etc.  I still hold out hope that she'll grow to love avocados.  I think her love of fruit and vegetables has made her very regular--we are changing a lot of full diapers. It is adorable to watch her eat and stuff a handful of food in her mouth.  She's doing great with chewing, even with only four teeth (two on top, two on bottom), and it is great when she can eat our meal along with us.  Another nice thing about feeding a baby is that you don't have to come up with a perfectly nuanced combination of flavors. You can do avocados and waffles, for example. 

ready to eat, at our favorite diner, Cafe Cappucino

I guess restaurants understand babies--they brought this egg out in under two minutes

the best way to get it all in

I see you, Mom!

You better believe we got a hard time from compassionate old ladies that passed about Jane's "tootsies"--it was warm, I swear. Also, it is hard to put and keep shoes on.

Eating is great!  I love this leather bib (I got the idea from my friend Rachel).  It is so easy to rinse off and re-use at every meal.  Also love the cheap Ikea high chair--nice and simple, easy to clean.

I heard that my sister's mother-in-law used to put oatmeal right on the tray, so I tried it here.  I made it kind of dry. Jane didn't really take to it, but I could try it again.