Day 48 – Breakfast

Some days I feel like I have to do too many things and then other days I feel accomplished because I actually did so many things. Then I’ll feel accomplished just for getting through the day. Being a mom is hard, even when it’s not a hard day.

But today was a day that I planned to take on and get stuff done. I had laundry to fold (like a lot of if), laundry to clean, dishes go wash, and I was making dinner today too. Then Malina woke us up an hour early in preparation for daylight savings (which is still somehow a thing) and I had to be extra on top of things.

So first I had to start with our breakfast.

So today I decided to go easy on myself and we did toast with the mixed nut butter, steamed green beans, and baked pink lady apples.

Surprisingly, the first thing Malina went for was the toast.

“I’ll try it as many times as you make me I suppose.”

Malina has not had the best track record with toast. There are times when I don’t cook it just right and she hates it and then there are other factors that I don’t even know that make her not want to eat it.

So I was super surprised when she went for it first and even more so when she started to gnaw on it and actually eat it. She tore off a piece and chewed it up as she continued to mess with the stick of toast.

When she was ready to move on she went for the green beans.

“To green bean or to not green bean, that is the question.”

Malina still likes her green beans but she is at a stage where she stuffs the whole thing in her mouth and can’t quite figure out the next step since she only had the two bottom teeth and no way to break it up further once it’s in her mouth.

Still, she gnaws on it awhile before spitting it out and shoving the next thing in her mouth, apples.

There are so many types of apples. I know some of the ones I like and there are still so many more I haven’t tried. There was once a time that I categorized them by color but not anymore.

I don’t like the pink lady apples raw. They are too tart and grainy for me. So I had no problem tossing the apple in the oven and seeing how it came out.

Baking these things brings out the sweetness and I found myself appreciating the flavor of the baked apple.

Malina felt much the same. She definitely preferred this apple to the cosmic crisp she’d tried before and now I wonder if we shouldn’t try a few other apples to see how she does.

Malina’s next step was to then try and shove green beans and more apple in her mouth at the same time and we soon had a gagging episode that made me almost consider if I should treat it as choking, but she worked it out and soon showed signs she was finished.

So remember, even when baby shoves all the food in their mouth and gags a little, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 47 – Breakfast

So I actually got around to filling in a new meal plan. It only goes to Friday though so we shall see if I lapse back into unprepared territory.

That being said, today for breakfast I had the great idea of mixing one of Malina’s favorite things with our allergen.

Yogurt with mixed nut butter!

It was a little odd to have the savory and sour together and it would have benefited from some sweetness, but onwards we went.

I paired the yogurt mixture with sliced cherries, quartered meatballs, and steamed asparagus.

The first thing she went for though when the plate was laid down was the asparagus.

She ate the asparagus fine, opting to chew the tops off before gnawing on the sides.

The next thing she tried was the yogurt mixture and with her interest I provided a spoon.

“I’m trying to figure out what is wrong with my yogurt.”

The yogurt was well received in the long run but Malina was not having the spoon today as she soon tossed it aside.

She also tossed aside a couple meatballs and cherry slices before digging into the yogurt again, quite literally.

So she enjoyed eating and making a mess with the mixture but I was happy she ate a decent amount since she needs the exposure.

So remember, even when baby decides the food belongs all over the place, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 46 – Breakfast

Today I did not have anything planned.

So to clarify, I usually have a meal plan calendar. It’s 6 weeks long. We just hit week 7 though and I haven’t filled out a new calendar. This means that my planning, as little as it is, is basically nonexistent at this point.

So when I looked at the full calendar and realized there was no plan and that I did not really prepare anything I got creative.

Today for breakfast we are having Joe’s O’s mixed with mixed nut butter, Korean scallion pancakes, and frozen cherries in a silicone feeder.

While she was waiting I gave her the cherries.

Malina really likes her cherries. I think it goes beyond the fact that they are cold and feel good for her teething too.

She chewed on the feeder for five minutes while I finished preparing breakfast. By the time she tossed it aside there was only a small amount of cherry pulp left.

I am kinda curious how these things work but I haven’t had the time to try it out myself. I assume that the food gets pushed out the holes but I put fairly solid pieces of frozen fruit so I don’t know.

The next thing she went for were the scallion pancakes.

She still loves these things. I can’t blame her, so do I. The crunch, the savory onions and vegetables, and they have a surprisingly small amount of sodium.

She chewed on them for a while. I actually noticed today that Malina has been getting better at taking bites and chewing. She will do so and chew in an exaggerated manner while smirking at me. She shows me the food in her mouth and then either swallows or spits it out. But she’s learning.

I guess that whole mimicking “monkey see, monkey do” stuff works pretty well.

The last thing she tried was the cereal mixed with the nut butter.

Sadly she quickly decided that the work required to grab the cereal pieces and put them in her mouth wasn’t worth it. She picked up some cereal and at least one piece made it into her mouth, but she wasn’t interested enough to try for more.

So remember, even when baby doesn’t want to put in the work to eat the food, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 45 – Breakfast

Malina hasn’t had any reaction to the tree nuts and so we are continuing exposer today!

Because she’s showing signs of teething I gave her frozen cherries in a silicone feeder and we offered the leftover spinach pancakes on the side with some of the mixed nut butter.

Malina always goes for the feeder first and today she did not disappoint.

She really likes the cherries. These frozen ones are super sweet and the cold probably feels really good on her sore gums.

She gnawed in it for a while before she tried the pancakes.

Unfortunately, she played with the pancakes more than she ate them.

One wound up on the floor right away and then the second was thrown at me.

She only played with the third for a bit and took a small nibble before swinging it around more. You really can’t win them all.

So remember, even when baby rather have a good fight than eat, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 44 – Breakfast

Today on our journey through tree nuts we have a special treat. I buy these frozen almond pastries and they are so good. So since almonds are a tree nut that’s what we’re having.

I also served up some sliced cherry tomatoes smashed blueberries to go alongside it.

The first thing Malina grabbed was the pastry. She’s had some practice with bread and rolls we’ve allowed her to slobber all over, but today was her chance to really go for it as she picked up the pastry.

She liked it, taking bites and chewing on it until it became a soggy mess. She definitely ate some of the almond filling as well.

The next thing she went for was the blue berries.

Sadly she still doesn’t like the blueberries when they are presented this way and she threw a mini for over it and refused to eat any more, effectively ending breakfast.

So remember, even when baby throws a tantrum, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 43 – Breakfast

There are some mornings that are harder than others for one reason or another with a baby.

Sometimes they wake up early by an hour. Sometimes they need to be changed twice back to back. Sometimes, they don’t want to cooperate when you are trying to help them.

Or sometimes you get so distracted with baby and keeping everything running smoothly with them that you burn the first batch of toast and it takes you twenty minutes to make toast at all.

Hi, I burned toast and waisted time.

But hey, we’re starting our next and last allergen today.

Tree Nuts!

So many nuts fall into tree nuts but then again a lot also don’t. It’s kinda odd. Another thing I’ve found out is you can be allergic to one nut but not the others in this group.

So I decided to throw caution to the wind and offer Malina a mixed nut butter with all of the tree nuts in it. Well, all besides pistachio because that’s just how it’s made.

So breakfast was toast with nut butter, strawberries, and asparagus.

But Malina couldn’t wait to start today since she’d been waiting through the toast incident and went straight for the berry.

For the record, these strawberries are super ripe and sweet. That’s what happens when there is a bumper crop of these things that don’t make the Valentine’s Day cut I suppose. Either way, these berries were really good.

Malina has a hard time with the pieces and so we’ve been using the fork with a giant berry. But as these are super ripe it fell off. She still went for it though because they are so good.

When she was done with the strawberry she moved on to the toast.

Something I’ve noticed is that Malina prefers her toast just warmed and a little crisp. She also doesn’t like the crust. I don’t know how she’s managed to develop these preferences but here we are.

She liked it well enough and got really sticky because of the nut butter. She also did not have any immediate reaction to it nor any reaction later on either.

So after making a mess and a light clean up, Malina moved on to the asparagus.

“I like these spear vegetables. They taste good.”

There she goes holding the ends and eating the middle again. She nibbled off the tops of the asparagus too as she went and I’m just so thrilled that she has so many different vegetables she likes.

So remember, even when it’s a burnt toast day, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 42 – Breakfast

Friday marks the last day of this allergen week, but I didn’t have anymore shellfish to introduce and so we skipped it.

Instead, I wanted to try out a recipe that some moms in my BLW group swear by.

The swearing is because babies need more iron in their diet after turning six months and most of us don’t want to deal with giving vitamins and rather fit the iron into babies diet.

So what do you eat with lots of iron? Meats and dark green vegetables!

And this recipe is a “hidden” vegetable one, using spinach.

So all you do is mix two eggs with one banana and add in about a quarter cup of frozen spinach.

Sorry, nothing is measured in BLW half the time and the other half it’s odd measurements when you’re not making in bulk.

I also decided to serve blackberry yogurt on the side of the pancakes.

With very few options, Malina went for the pancakes.

She seemed to like the pancakes well enough and I can attest that they were more banana flavored than anything. If not for the color I don’t think anyone would bat an eye at them.

After she tore into her first piece for a bit and ate a few bites I offered her a spoon and let her go at the yogurt.

She didn’t hate the yogurt but she preferred chewing on her spoon to eating further. I think she might be teething again but there is no sign of a third tooth on the way so who knows.

So remember, sometimes baby just wants to chew on the non edible things and that’s okay, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 41 – Breakfast

I’ve fallen behind with these posts. Sorry to anyone who’s actually keeping up, but I’ve just been really tired and trying to relax more lately. That and I got really into a Korean Historical Drama and spent a lot of my free time watching that. It’s over now though and even though I’m still tired (I’m sure I won’t be again someday) I’m trying to get back on top of this.

So on Thursday we were still doing shellfish and I decided to do double hidden shrimp for our breakfast.

The first thing was seafood Korean pancakes with shrimp and squid, the second was a shrimp furikake omelet, then a few strips of cheddar cheese, and a strawberry.

And Malina has a newish favorite, the whole strawberry. She went for it first and thanks to her two teeth she’s able to scrape off good sized chunks.

The next thing she went for was the seafood pancakes. We’ve had the scallion ones before and these ones I got at our local oriental market. I’m adventurous and can read the packaging, but after we started to eat it I knew for sure there was squid and shrimp in these. Also little red hot peppers, but baby didn’t mind.

She might be a spice head like me.

The next thing she tried was the cheddar cheese strips. She wasn’t really a fan though. She put the pieces in her mouth and then she spat them out.

To be fair, the cheese was sharper than I expected and she probably didn’t like the flavor.

Finally, she tried the egg omelet.

If you remember, Malina is not a fan of eggs very many ways. The omelet eggs were one of the ones she did not care for. That being said, I thought now that there had been time between then and now that she might have changed her stance.

She did try it and she did seem to be okay with it up until I took the picture.

So maybe egg omelets are still a no go but I’ll try again. It’s better to keep exposing her to the different textures.

So remember, it’s okay to introduce new and old things baby might not like it is all for their benefit after all, so you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 40 – Breakfast

So we can probably rule out a possible shellfish allergy but I am trying to be thorough so we are still introducing more , plus more exposure is supposed to be good in helping her not developing one as well supposedly.

So today we’re repeating the shrimp gyoza, with steamed green beans, and fresh strawberries.

All of these she’s had before now and she’s liked all of them so I was really curious what she’d go for first as well as how much she would eat today.

And the first thing she grabbed was a green bean.

She does the cutest thing when eating long foods, she’ll grab both ends in her hands and chomp on the middle. She really enjoyed her green beans again too. She munched on two of them before moving on.

Next was the gyoza.

Again she ate the insides and seemed to like it still. She ate most of the filling out of the first piece and then picked at the second.

The last thing she ate was her strawberries. She had a better time picking them up and eating them today. Whether that’s because of her skill or the size I don’t know.

So all in all a good and successful breakfast.

So remember, sometimes you have to just repeat what works and it’s okay to not always try new things, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica

Day 39 – Breakfast

The only problem I have with seafood is the occasional smells that can come from it, not the bad smells of fish turning but the strong smells from how it’s prepared or packaged.

That was probably Malina’s problem with the canned tuna. I was expecting to run into issues today as well since we were doing another canned item, oysters.

Now, I’ve never had canned oysters before. I have eaten plenty of oysters though. So I wasn’t sure what I was getting us into. They were smoked and on olive oil, both sounded good to me and so we opened the can and found a very light smell.

I was now not so worried.

The rest of our breakfast was toast with butter, banana, and grated mozzarella cheese.

And the first thing she went for was the banana. I tried cutting it the BLW suggested way and we had more success with it today than previously, probably because Malina’s hands are bigger now.

She was able to gnaw off chunks of it and stuck at it for a while, that is at lest until she got the idea to throw it at me.

I did not catch it.

And so the banana was gone, since it touched the floor I wasn’t going to give it back to her.

Malina didn’t seem too upset though as she went for her next item. Toast.

We’ve have on and off success with toast. Malina seems to like it when it has something on it more times that when it’s plain. She also seems to not like the crust as she makes a face when she tried to bite the ends that she doesn’t make when she bites the middle. She also seems to prefer the toast just lightly crispy verses toasted.

It’s really amazing how she communicates using body language and facial expressions. It’ll be interesting when she can actually give me more input as well. Right now it’s a lot of trial and error still and sometimes it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

But today she liked her toast. Was it the butter? Was it the right level of crispy? Or was it just because she seems to be done teething for now?

The next thing she picked up was one of the oysters.

“Look, I’m not trying to be shellfish here.”

She shoved the first one in her mouth and I waited.

Then she went for a second one and in it went.

Again I waited. I expected her to spit it out. Even just a small amount like almost every other food. Instead, she reached for the third one and I stopped her to make sure she wasn’t just stuffing her mouth like a chipmunk.

The oysters were already gone and the only sign was a bit of the munched up paste they became in her mouth.

So I guess she likes oysters. A lot.

I grabbed this picture as I realized my awe had interrupted taking photos and was amazed once again. She had no problem eating and swallowing the oysters. She always had some level of difficulty with swallowing, she’s still learning that part of eating, but with this it was easy.

She had messed with the cheese throughout the meal but never really tried to eat it. So we called breakfast as being over without it.

So remember, even baby can give you good surprises every now and again, but even if it’s not a good surprise you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica