Food battles

In the effort to get food into Ruby, we have had our share of ups and downs. Initially, it was a struggle to get milk into her when all she wanted to do was sleep. Then we had a few months of relative ease, when breastfeeding was going smoothly, and Ruby was drinking more or less her daily recommended amount of milk. Then at 6 months we introduced solids, and her reception to it was so bad that it seemed like she would subsist on a breastmilk-only diet forever. Finally around 8 months old, Ruby began taking to her vegetable and fruit purees. She even seemed to enjoy some foods, in particular broccoli, sweet potato, peas, and avocado. Encouraged by this, I began to introduce lean proteins such as chicken and tofu. This too she gobbled up, and for a time it seemed like there were no foods that she didn't like. However, in keeping with the cyclical nature of kids' eating habits, we are once again in a food slump.

As Ruby is now 9 and a half months old, she is reaching the transition point where solids overtake breastmilk as the dominant source of nutrients. During the week that she was sick and had trouble breathing through her nose, she showed less interest in nursing, as she had to constantly stop and come up for air, and more interest in solids, which seemed like a step in the right direction. However, now that she is better, she has regressed to preferring to nurse. Even certain foods that she used to enjoy are now greeted with an crinkly face and a swat of the hand.

It has become a daily mission of mine to get the recommended 10 oz of solids into Ruby each day. Over the last couple of months, her weight gain has plateaued, so while she was still in the 95th percentile for height at her 9 month check-up, she dropped from the 50th to the 30th percentile for weight. Her pediatrician assured us that this was common for babies of her age, but recommended that we introduce some higher calorie foods into her diet such as cheeses and yogurt. Unfortunately, cheese seems to make Ruby gag. I have discovered, however, that I can sneak many things into her morning cereal without her noticing, so nowadays her cereal is always mixed with either an egg yolk or yogurt and fruit. I've also discovered lentils, which I had never eaten myself but are packed with protein and other important nutrients.

Ruby's favorite food of the moment is tofu, which I cut up into little cubes so that she can shove it into her own mouth hand over fist. She is becoming quite adept at finger foods, which has made family dinners a lot easier. I know that one day it will probably be to her advantage to prefer tofu and vegetables over fatty foods and sweets, but as a baby I think it's ok to be fat. Of course kids go through so many phases with foods that in a couple of years, she may be living on cheese and buttered rolls. Although I'm sure she will be fine in the end, I guess it's part of a mother's job to fight the food battles.