Shayne’s First Food :: Sweet Potato Recipe

I have really learned the second time around with a baby just how different they can be. You go into motherhood thinking that you have it all figured out, then your little one throws you a curve ball.

Shayne has been full of surprises since before she was even born, and continues to keep me on my toes. I was beginning to notice about a month ago that she started nursing more and more frequently. In addition to the constant feeding, she was also becoming very curious about our food. Whenever we would eat or drink around her, she would grab for it and even pretend to chew, as though mimicking us. We found this to be pretty cute, but it also made us wonder if she was going to be ready to start solids a little early.

She has been a curious little one from the very beginning. I have always noticed that she is not interested in staying my little baby for long, so I should not have been surprised by her advanced behaviors but this food thing was very new to me. Kolton never showed any signs of being interested in food. We did introduce them to him a little after his six month birthday, but he would have been fine breast-feeding exclusively for much longer.

We had always been told to look for the cues (grabbing at food and always seeming hungry) but this was the first time I had actually experienced it first-hand. Originally I was getting worried that my milk supply was decreasing since Shayne was constantly hungry. Every time I had an opportunity to pump, my supply seemed just fine though. This was when I decided to take her to the pediatrician and see if she was ready to begin solid food in addition to breastfeeding. She was almost 5 1/2 months at this point. The RN did a weight check and decided that solids would be a good option.

While starting solids is exciting, just as anything new for babies can be, it was also a little bittersweet. Watching my baby girl move onto the next step in her tiny little life is always a little emotional for me.

I decided that day that I would introduce her to sweet potatoes. They are slightly sweet, and full of vitamins and nutrients. I immediately went to the grocery store and bought two large, organic sweet potatoes, and rushed home to make a delicious and nutritious puree.

SWEET POTATO PUREE RECIPE:

First I cleaned and skinned the sweet potatoes. Then, cubed them into small cubes.

Next I placed them in a pan and poured just enough water to slightly cover the potatoes. Then I covered and boiled on Med/High heat for about 20 minutes.

Once the potatoes were nice and soft, I mashed them in the pan with a fork.

And evenly distributed them into glass baby food containers for freezing.

I kept one container in the refrigerator, one container ready to eat, and placed the rest in the freezer, labeled with the date. This should last in the freezer for several months and in the refrigerator for a few days.

When preparing to eat, I added a small amount of my breastmilk to soften the food up a bit for Shayne’s first encounter. I was also hoping the familiar taste would help her with this big transition.

Now it was time to bring in my little munchkin! This happened so quickly that I didn’t even have a highchair for her yet. Luckily her Bumbo seat has a tray that you can attach to it, which worked nicely as a temporary highchair seat.

She seemed very excited and curious at the same time. Although she was little skeptical at her first bite, she really seemed to enjoy this new experience.

After her first experience with food, she fell asleep HARD! I rocked her and covered her in her favorite new blanket from Margaux & May. Aside from the gorgeous prints, these Muslim swaddle blankets are made from 100% organic cotton and is super soft and extremely beautiful!

She was OUT! I know she was definitely ready to try some solid food. She seems to really be enjoying it and flourishing. It is very important that we, as parents, follow the cues of our little ones. You don’t always have to go by the book. All babies are different, and Shayne continues to remind me of this everyday!

xoxo

Danielle

Ali has a fabulous Apple baby food recipe. Check it out HERE!