We have finally reached the stage where the texture and combination of Diego’s food is beginning to change. This week I introduced him to oatmeal. I had initially milled the oats and cooked the resulting powder but I found this to clump up and form globs. It looked disgusting. What I did instead is cook the whole oats and then run them through the Baby Bullet. This worked much better. The texture is not a fine puree but a chunkier consistency which is perfect for this stage. 

I tasted the oatmeal and it is so disgusting with just plain water. I decided to add some banana puree for sweetness since I already know Diego to enjoy and tolerate bananas well. His first encounter with this oatmeal and banana mixture was hesitant. He only took a few spoonfuls before refusing more. 

Today I tried again. He ate a little more than yesterday but I could tell that the texture is something he is getting used to. He hasn’t had a physical reaction to the oatmeal so I know it’s just a matter of time until he takes to it. 

I am eager for him to try new foods and to make new and interesting combinations. I had never given much thought to the awe I would feel at seeing him taste something for the first time. It’s funny to see the faces he makes but most of all it is very humbling to see him accept anything i give him without question. He was engineered to trust me unconditionally. I literally have his life in my hands everyday. I remind myself to not take it for granted. 

One day he will be all grown up and not need me to do much of anything for him. I will then look back at when he was small enough to hold to my chest and protect from the world. It will be bittersweet.

I have continued to make most of his food but there are days where I have either run out or don’t have time to thaw some out of the freezer so I give him jarred food. I try to keep these handy because you never know when you might need them. I don’t believe in beating myself up because of this. I am not perfect, I do not aspire to be the mother who does it all, feeds her baby organic and makes everything from scratch. I make decisions judiciously, factoring in time and money. 

I think that’s one of the running themes in my thinking these days: choice. We have a choice. We can choose to feed our baby organic, a combination or simply whatever is affordable. There is no recipe in parenting. We do what works, scrap what doesn’t and amend where necessary.