Baby Led Weaning part 2: Avocado, Egg yolks and more.

We’re still slowly working our way through the process of introducing new food, but Olen Wiley is quickly challenging my desire to be selective. His sister was happy to not have much food until she was one year old, but this baby wants all the food!

We are still being careful to continue nursing before offering food and even then, only offering food for play instead of spoon feeding. This kid knows where food goes though! I’m having to be careful not to let him eat too fast by giving only a teaspoon or two at a time.

So far, he has tried the following foods and has had differing reactions:

Butter: Not easily digested, some discomfort & sleeplessness.
Ghee: Easily digested and had no discomfort.
Avocado: He loved the avocado and had no discomfort.
Grass fed ground beef cooked in broth: Very difficult to digest, extreme discomfort & sleeplessness.
Egg yolk scrambled with breastmilk & cooked in Ghee: Seemed to really enjoy this and had no discomfort.
Mashed cauliflower: This wasn’t planned, he stole it off my plate! He really enjoyed it and didn’t seem to have any discomfort, but did have some stinky gas!
Sauerkraut: Keep in mind, this is real fermented kraut, where the only Ingredients are cabbage & salt. A lot of store brands have additives. If you don’t want to make your own, I suggest Bubbies Brand.

We will try butter & beef again later. I’m not sure what we will try next. I’d like to add sweet potatoes soon, but will probably try some more veggies & protein.

What Foods Would You Add Next?

In Part 1 of this series, I mentioned that I do not add in common allergens, until after they are one year old. A common comment received in response, was that pediatricians are now recommending introducing common allergens as early as four months old, based off of the new research. I reached out to a few trusted infant feeding specialists (not pediatricians) to seek their guidance. What I received, in response to my inquiry, was that the research was done with very small amounts of allergens and not a full introduction of solids. Some specialists felt the benefit of adding the allergens early does not outweigh the risk of feeding solids to an infant who’s developing gut is not yet ready. If you have questions about this topic, I highly suggest reaching out to an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® (IBCLC®) in your area or checking out the research for yourself.