Tim is beginning to assert his independence in the realm of eating: he wants to feed himself and has become touchy about accepting food coming at him on the end of a spoon. However, he still kind of sucks at feeding himself. If food is too mushy he plays with it; if it's too slippery... well, you can imagine. And we're trying to limit the amount of processed starches he gets (cereal, etc.) Without the help of a spoon, he doesn't end up eating much.
Enter peanut butter. He freakin' LOVES it, and when we mix it with anything (apples, yogurt, ricotta cheese, bananas, even squash), he'll take what's on the spoon and pop his mouth open for more immediately. Couple this with experimental food chunks that rarely make it to his mouth, and Tim can both learn to eat and satisfy his hunger. Also a good way to make sure he gets plenty of fat and protein -- we've found it's too easy to end up feeding Tim all carbohydrates, which is a dramatic departure for his little body from the more balanced breastmilk he's grown up on. (Sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, carrots -- all favourite foods, and but holy sugar batman!)
I know the going (but changing) wisdom is to not give kids under a year nuts, but... oh well! Dad started sneaking Tim licks of his peanut butter toast a month or so ago, and he was clearly not allergic, and natural, organic, nothing-but-peanuts butter is, frankly, super healthy for him. (Tim also likes almond butter, and we'll try cashew butter soon.)
Mr. Little Baby, eating PB-dipped baby cheerios:
2 comments:
I was looking for fangs or horns but all I see is a sweet little baby face. Monster? I think not!
Oooh, those cheeks get me every time!
The advice about what to give kids when is so confusing these days. But like you, I heard that there's evidence that kids who are exposed to peanuts early are less likely to develop an allergy.
I'd love to be able to give Jake peanut butter, but I can just see him smearing it on his brother (who is allergic to it).
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