It has been almost 13 years now since my first baby was born yet those early days are still vivid as though they were just last week. One thing that stands out is the roller coaster of emotions that new parents ride as we go from being giddy with happiness to being nearly paralyzed with responsibility and inexperience. Another thing I remember is feeling as though this infant stage would just go on forever and then suddenly, one day it was gone and here I am with two long-legged pre-teens who are quickly outgrowing me! It is with this in mind that I write about the feeding of infants, babies and toddlers. I want to communicate to all new parents the concept that you are not just parenting a baby but rather you are parenting this person who just happens to be very small right now. Everything you do, everything you teach this small person needs to be done with the end result firmly in mind. This has much broader implications but right now I will just stick with food. The goal of feeding your baby is to raise an adult who likes and appreciates real, healthy, nutrient-dense food and is not just another victim of the Standard American Diet. Ideally this person you parent will know how to prepare, purchase and even raise this food too, but let's just stick to eating it right now!

 

    So how do you raise a healthy eater? In a nutshell it is by being one yourself and setting the right example. What seems like a long time when you are a new parent is really just a blip in the span of a life; we need to use our time of greatest influence very wisely.

 

    From the moment your baby is born mother's milk, and the first colostrum, is the very best food for baby. Not everyone knows that what mommy eats while she is nursing will have a huge impact on the nutrient quality of the milk she produces. The diet recommendations for a healthy pregnancy that we linked to on the homepage are still an important guide to follow while breastfeeding. If at all possible breastfeeding should continue exclusively for the first six months of your baby's life. If for some reason this cannot happen, for example when an infant is adopted or if mommy must take a prescription medication that is not safe for baby, then there are a few homemade formula recipes that can fill the nutritional gap. You can find the recipes in Nourishing Traditions, or online at Mercola.com. It might be most helpful to watch Weston A. Price chapter leader, Sarah Pope, demonstrate how to make the homemade formula recipe in this video tutorial.

Starting Solids

 

    At roughly 6 months of age most babies are ready to begin trying out solid foods. Babies are created to easily digest mother's milk, which is technically an animal food, rich in cholesterol and saturated fat. Breast milk is about 4% fat, similar to whole milk. It also delivers over 4mg of cholesterol in every ounce. This means babies are experts at digesting fats so vital for brain and nervous system development. Breast milk also contains protein and the simple carbohydrates found in milk called lactose. Babies are born with the digestive systems intact to digest these nutrients, plus breast milk is a living food and contains more important enzymes and probiotics. Why am I telling you all of this in a paragraph that is supposed to be about first solid foods? You need to understand how babies' digestive systems work because, contrary to modern popular opinion, highly processed white rice baby cereal flakes are not a good choice for baby's first food! White rice has no fat, very little protein and the carbohydrates it contains are not easy for immature digestive systems to digest. The only thing going for the rice cereal is that it is usually iron fortified and by about 6 months most babies are in need of a little iron. The best choice for first solids is an egg yolk from a pasture-raised hen. Egg yolks supply the fats and proteins babies can easily digest along with a wide array of important vitamins and minerals including iron. If you need more iron it is easily added by grating in just a half teaspoon of organic liver. A pinch of sea salt is the only other thing you need to make a perfect and nourishing first baby food.

Egg Yolk for Baby from Nourishing Traditions

1 organic high-omega 3 egg or egg from a pasture-fed hen

pinch of sea salt

1/2 tsp grated raw organic liver, frozen for 14 days (optional)

 

    Boil the egg for 3 1/2 to 7 1/2 minutes. You are not trying to cook the yolk all the way through but you do need the white to be firm enough that it releases the egg yolk completely. It may take a few test runs to know how long to boil your egg. Peel away the shell and the egg white and discard them. (Egg whites are not appropriate for babies under one year of age due to allergy concerns.) The yolk should be soft and warm but not scalding hot so the enzymes will remain intact. Mash the yolk in a bowl using a fork. Sprinkle wtih a pinch of sea salt. If you wish to add the liver, grate it on the small holes of a grater while still frozen. It will warm up and soften quickly and you can stir it into the egg yolk. If needed you can also add a few drops of breastmilk or filtered water to thin the yolk to a smooth consistency.

 

    The egg yolk first meal can be the only extra food you feed your baby for a while. You aren't trying to wean your baby yet, the bulk of the calories should still come from breastmilk. What you are doing is teaching your child how to eat from a spoon, sit in a high chair, swallow thicker consistency foods and giving a little iron fortification. These spoon and swallowing skills can be tricky so don't feel you have to rush! Some days it might just be one or two bites, other days you might get the entire serving into your baby. Either way don't worry, babies are just like adults and some days they are hungrier than others. When you get close to 7 months you can start to move things along just a little more quickly. By this point the spoon, bowl, high chair and other mealtime distractions are not such a big deal. So now it's time to broaden those taste horizons and really begin training this baby into the healthy adult of the future. Remember, at no point in this stage do you ever need to buy a jar or box of anything processed and labeled specifically for babies! I told you at the beginning you are raising a healthy adult and adults don't eat jarred baby food!

 

    Every four days you can introduce something new to your baby. Start with soft, high-enzyme fresh fruits like bananas, papaya or avocado. Choose one that is fresh and very ripe and mash it with a fork on a plate until it is a creamy consistency. You don't need fancy equipment or confusing recipes for most baby foods, just a fork and a plate. Once you have done these fresh fruits you can try very tender bits of cooked meat. Once again I encourage you to use liver or other organ meats. The organ meats are nutritional powerhouses and give your growing child a boost that the average child eating jarred strained peas isn't going to get. Plus the liver and heart are exceptionally tender and easy to fork mash for baby to eat. Now is when you can also give plain, whole milk yogurt. Try making your own from raw milk using the recipe link on the left. After a bit, once you have tried out each of the ingredients alone using the four day wait rule, you can try out this recipe for Chicken Liver Saute' with Root Vegetables and Apples adapted from a baby recipe book. I have added sea salt and substituted butter in the recipe for the vegetable oil in the original.

Chicken Liver Saute' with Root Vegetables and Apples

4 oz chicken livers from organic or pastured hens

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 Tblsp organic butter

1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced

1 organic potato, peeled and cubed

1/2 small organic apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

1 cup homemade chicken stock

generous pinch of sea salt

 

    Clean the livers removing any connective tissue and slice them into smaller pieces. Saute' the onion in the butter until softened. Add the liver pieces and saute' for about 1 minute or until it has changed color. Add the carrot, potato, and apple, pour in the stock, and simmer for 20 minutes. Puree in the food processor.

 

    You can also simply fork mash the whole mixture. The ingredients should be tender enough. Add a little more stock if needed. This dish is full of wonderful nutrition for baby and is prepared without any additives, colorings or other questionable ingredients. You can easily freeze this in ice cube trays and store them in your freezer until you are ready to use them. To gently reheat place a cube in a heatproof ramekin inside a small saucepan with a little simmering water to simulate a double boiler. Carry frozen cubes in a small cooler when you go out and they will be thawed and ready to stir and use.

 

    If you are not experienced in the kitchen then you might do well to purchase a basic baby food cookbook or check one out of your local library. These books are useful in deciding what kind of high chair and other equipment you might want. You can use it to help you learn how to steam and puree vegetables and some fruits like apples. Before you know it the stage of needing smooth consistency food is over and your baby is capable of gumming soft chunks of fruit, meat and cooked vegetables. At this point you can almost stop preparing separate dishes for your baby and just give her small portions of whatever you are cooking for dinner. Of course you still need to be careful to follow the four day wait rule each time you introduce a new food. This is just so you can be sure there are no allergies or adverse reactions. Also use your best judgement when it comes to highly seasoned food. Spices and herbs need to be counted in the four day wait rule too!

 

    Once your baby is able to begin chewing or gumming successfully you can give her small, tender bits of cooked chicken, turkey or other organic and pasture-raised meat. Just be sure it is still very tender. You can also give soft bits of cooked egg yolk (or whole egg once baby is over one year old) and small bits of raw or organic cheese. When little teeth finally begin to appear it is time for finely chopped, cooked kale or spinach or other greens cooked with butter. Steam or bake butternut, acorn and other winter squashes and serve fork mashed with butter. Or try small, tender pieces of steamed asparagus. Cooking baby's vegetables and mashing them together with some raw butter helps to increase the mineral absorption and boost the nutrition.

 

    Small serving sizes are still going to be the norm for quite some time. Some days your child won't want anything and other days she will eat everything and look around for more. Don't let food become a power struggle, if she eats then she eats. If she doesn't eat this time then another meal is coming up in a few hours and she can try again then. No child is stubborn or manipulative enough to actually starve themselves to death! Respect the fact that not every food is going to be a favorite but also insist that every food is given a fair chance before it is discarded. That may mean bringing something back around several times to be sure.

Grains and Bread, Cereal, Etc.

 

    Have you noticed we have yet to mention grains? That is because a baby is not truly developed enough to digest grains until she is about two years old! At this point the digestive tract is more mature and there are more teeth available for grinding and chewing. There will be no boxed white rice flakes for this child! Instead you can begin giving your baby properly prepared cooked grains like soaked brown rice, sprouted spelt crackers and homemade oatmeal soaked overnight and served with plenty of cream and butter. In other words, you can feed this baby real food prepared in careful and nourishing ways just like you feed the rest of your family!

 

    The recipes for oatmeal and also a delicious Baked Oatmeal can be found using the archive links to the left. These make great breakfasts for the whole family. Homemade soups from homemade bone broth make superfoods for baby and the rest of the family. Juice made from freshly juiced raw vegetables and fruits can be given occasionally but only as a treat. Avoid those jars and boxes of fruit drinks entirely!

 

    The best foods you can give your baby are those you prepare fresh at home. The canned, jarred and boxed processed baby foods from the supermarket don't hold a candle to your home cooked foods!

 

    Important Information and Sources

 

    For lots of great information on growing healthy children check out Wise Traditions Children's Health journal Summer 2005 and Wise Tradition Children's Health II journal Winter 2007 at the Weston A. Price Foundation website. You can also read Nourishing A Growing Baby from the Growing Wise Kids column by Jen Allbritton.