introducing proteins

So my lovely son is ready for something alittle more substantial I think. We tried the avocado and banana and although he didn't LOVE it, he ate it. Now i'm thinking about egg yolks and tofu and maybe even chicken.

I find the whole thing about getting into more complex foods kind of frustrating b/c I don't quite know what's ok and what's too ambitious.

Is tofu good? which kind do you use and do you mix it with anything?

I was told fish and chicken should be ok; how did you prepare it?

What other kinds of proteins are ok?

I bought Annabelle Karmel's books and she's adding pats of butter and spices to foods... is that ok? I mean my kids have never had butter or spice before... do you need to test them out for allergies too? i.e. the 5 day rule?

Finally, what about yogurts and baby mum-mums. The latter has salt and I know salt isn't good at this point but I see so many moms give their babes mum-mums.

Thanks so much for you help!

 

My singleton is the same age. She wasn't keen on egg yolk (I think it was the texture)--will have to try again soon. Chicken is good...if I roast a whole chicken, I will give her a chunk of dark meat as finger food. Tonight was grilled chicken breast on the bbq, I cut a little out of the center (6 or 8 tiny pieces) and gave to her (pincer grip is progressing quite well). Also we give her small pieces of fish or steak or pork, if that's what we have. For backup, I have some pureed chicken stew in the freezer (I had put a chicken carcass in the crockpot with onions, celery, carrots, and tomatoes--she got the solids, pureed, and I froze the rest of the stock for later recipes).

I try to minimize salty food, too, but the amount in the biscuit is pretty small, so ok in moderation, I think. I haven't given her much cheese for that reason.

 

Our guys are not crazy about the proteins so far - I've tried chicken and egg yolks. They will eat them, but they don't go wild over them. The problem with eggs and chicken for us has been the texture - we have to alternate with something smoother, like carrots, for them to eat it well and even then you can tell they don't love it. If you don't mind buying things, I have found they do well with some of the combo dinners, like Chicken and Apples. It makes the chicken more palatable for them.

They LOVE yogurt, which we just added this week, so you could try that.

Are you doing veggies of some sort? If not, I would try a few of those next.

I haven't given our guys any sort of butter - I figure the longer they can wait on that, the better. I also found some recipes that added vegetable oil for this age, and I have skipped those for now, too. I don't see any reason to intro those high fat things as long as I can avoid them.

 

Mine have had yogurt, egg yolks, chicken, a tiny bit of fish, and beef (once and they didn't like it).

They've also had cinnamon, nutmeg, oregano and olive oil. We've had no problems with any of those.

I use olive oil occasionally when I make something like squash that doesn't have much fat but still has fat soluble vitamins in it. Olive oil is very healthy in moderation. Plus mine are still under 10% for height and weight so the extra calories and fat are good for them.

I'm all for experimenting. The gentle spices are fine and add flavor. I wouldn't give them chili powder but a little nutmeg or oregano... sure.

 

thanks ladies. I'm not rushing with the proteins just yet but may try yogurt in a few weeks and chicken or fish also. They seem pretty content on the veggies and fruits and are thriving (both are over 90th percentile for height and over 80th percentile for weight).

I think I got a little overwhelmed b/c I saw that some people were feeding their babes steak and pasta and stuff by 8-9 months and we're not quite there yet. Then I remembered that each baby is different and that this is all for practice too. Thanks for reminding me of that!!!!

Oh, one last question.... when did you start pastina (wheat baby pasta). We've tried all the cereals except wheat.

Thanks in advance !!

 

I think the spices are fine, too, although I haven't done much with them yet myself.

The olive oil and stuff I think depends on your kids. My little guy is 50th percentile for height and weight, and the big guy is 90th percentile for height and weight. The doc said not to even give them juice at this point (unless they get constipated) because they don't need the extra calories. As long as weight is not a concern, the oil is probably fine.

 

I am so amazed when I see how big other babies are at the same age. Mine little squirts are between 15-16 lbs and will be 8 months on Saturday. Last doctor visit they were 3% and 8%. They've never been "32 oz" babies and they started at 5 lbs 11 oz and 4 lb 15 oz.

How do you all get such big babies??

 

Christy, your babies sound exactly like mine. They are peanuts & don't eat nearly the amount of food that other babies their age do. We only started solids 4 weeks ago, so I'm still testing foods to see what they can tolerate. The ped said that's OK, as long as they stay on their growth curve. At 6 months, they were 13.6 & 15.14 lbs (5% & 10%).

As for protein, we're going to introduce black-eyed peas & tofu next week. I'm going to try the Dr. Denmark mush. I have a friend who does it & it saves her a lot of time.

 

Christy,

My babes were little wee ones in the beginning. Sophie was 5 lbs 4 oz and Noah was 5 lbs 14 oz. For the first 6 weeks we had a lot of feeding issues and he was in the 10th percentile and then we got his sucking coordinated and his reflux under control and now at nearly 8 months he is nearly 22 lbs and Sophie is nearly 20 lbs :babyflips: :laughing: . They are both in the 95th percentile. Something just clicked and they eat. I honestly wouldn't worry about it b/c each baby has a genetic ... sometimes I worry that Noah is too rolly polly so it works both ways :laughing:

 

Our guys started off at 5lb 4 oz and 6lbs. They were 8 months on Saturday and are 23 and 21 pounds. Let's just say the like to eat! But, they are also tall - their percentile for height and weight is almost the same. We didn't start solids until almost 6 months, though. We tried twice before that and their stomachs just couldn't handle it, so we decided to wait. We are nowhere close to feeding them pasta or steak! I tried peaches diced very small and a bit mashed up last week and they started gagging, so clearly they are not ready. I would love to get them on more table foods, but they just aren't there yet - I figure they will get there soon enough!

 

Thanks eagleswings... it's nice to know that my kids aren't the only ones taking things slow. I still can't believe how big they are compared to the early days. It's absolutely nuts.

 

I have never heard of that - my pedi said they could just eat regular whole wheat pasta but just cooked until mushy. My girls love it, especially when I mix in some shredded cheese and pureed veggies!

 

Mine likes garlic ... go figure. Yesterday was tzatziki (homemade with plain yogurt, cucumber, dill, garlic, and lemon juice) ... whole wheat pasta with olive oil and garlic was also a big hit. And garlic is really good for her digestion.

Just follow the rules to introduce new flavors and foods slowly but feel free to try different spices.

 

I didn't read all the responses, but lentils were a big staple in our household! they love them. I would cook a whole bag and freeze them like I did the other purees I made. just make sure there's a little water in each ice cube so that the lentils will stick together.