Solids!!

We had Petra's 6 month appointment yesterday. The doctor says my little 18 pounder is ready for "real" food. So I got the usual rice cereal talk and they (I see a resident and a physician) cited the importance of iron fortification in commercial cereal. I decided to politely nod as I listened to their advice and now I will do as I please, and tell them about it after. 

While I know that doctors understand the fundamentals of nutrition, I don't think many doctors really understand nutrition. First of all, iron-fortification in cereal is superficial and I don't think it's the ideal way to get iron into your baby.

The Canadian Paediatrics Society recommends 11mg iron per day for 7-12 month-olds. A simple search on the web reveals there are a lot of iron-rich veggies and legumes including: lentils, potato, peas, spinach, and chick peas. You can even search tables that show the iron content of each vegetable or legume. CPS also says that Vitamin C should be taken with iron to aid absorption. You can get Vitamin C in oranges and red pepper, among other sources. 

Since Petra is over 6 months I don't have to worry as much about the nitrate concentrates in foods like spinach but if she were younger I couldn't use spinach or carrots. Also, since she isn't 7 months yet, I can take my time and introduce yummy foods that, once allergy cleared, can be combined with iron-rich foods to cut down the yucky taste but still reach 11mg before her iron stores are depleted. 

We've been sampling little bits of food for awhile, a taste of banana, potato, watermelon or avocado with a finger. We started when she seemed really interested in eating, she would watch us eat and mock-chew. And now, when she nurses, she takes little breaks to chew. I think she's ready and I'm excited to see how she likes mini-meals. Last night I got little 1 tsp servings of sweet potato ready and put them in the freezer. They look really cute in the ice cube tray. Sweet potato is a good one to start with because it's supposed to taste like breast milk.

Any advice for me mommas?