Maybe it’s because Little Bug is adopted and I had absolutely no control over what she was exposed or not exposed to in the womb, but since her birth I have had the overwhelmingly strong desire to do the absolute best for her nutrition-wise.

Maybe it’s because she’s adopted or maybe it’s just because she is my daughter and I love her with all my heart and Mama’s tend to want what is best for their babies…

Anyways.

Since I could not breastfeed Little Bug, my pediatrician suggested that I put Little Bug on Similac Allimentum formula because it is a formula that is most like breastmilk. She told me it was pricy (and it was!) but I felt that formula was best for Little Bug and it is what she ate for the first 7 months.

Little did I know at the time, but that formula suggestion from my pediatrician was just the first of many wonderful nutritional suggestions that she would make to me concerning Little Bug’s health.

There are a million and one ways to introduce solid foods to your baby out there. I absolutely LOVE the path my pediatrician has lead me on when it comes to building good nutritional habits in Little Bug as a baby.

Thought I’d share…so if you’re interested, read on and if not, adios!

There are 3 things Little Bug’s pedi taught me about a baby’s nutrition:

1. Try not to introduce solids until 6 months. She (Dr. M) said it’s best on the digestive system if solids aren’t introduced until 6 months. She said the closer to 6 months baby is, the better. Little Bug was nearly, but not quite 6 months when we first tried some rice cereal. Which she hated. And I mean hated. (She never ate it.)

2. Dr. M saved me from allowing Little Bug to develop a sweet tooth! I had no idea a baby could develop a sweet tooth! However, at Little Bug’s 9 month well-baby visit I told my pedi that Little Bug liked fruit more than veggies. At 9 months, Little Bug would eat a bite or two of the veggie offered and then want her fruit. She told me Little Bug had developed a sweet tooth!

Dr. M told me to stop feeding Little Bug fruit completely and only offer veggies! When Dr. M explained to me that from birth to age 3 the brain is very trainable and this is the time to train Little Bug’s brain that food does not have to be sweet, it made complete sense.

Dr. M told me that after taking fruits away Little Bug would probably only eat a bite or two of veggie and then refuse to eat any more. But then she said once she figures out that the sweet fruit isn’t coming, she will eventually just eat her veggies.

Dr. M was exactly right! After about a week of only offering Little Bug veggies, she started to eat her veggies again! Dr. M said once Little Bug was eating her veggies well again, I could reintroduce fruit. She told me to always feed her veggies first so that her brain will not think eating equals “sweet”. Dr. M said to treat fruit like a dessert – fruit is something baby can have after they have eaten their other foods.

From then on, I fed Little Bug her veggie first and then, if she had eaten an adequate amount of veggie, I would feed her fruit. From this time on, I’ve never had another problem with Little Bug refusing to eat her veggies!

3. Dr. M taught me that a child under the age of 3 will naturally eat what their little bodies need if it is offered to them! Dr. M told me that the only thing I need to do is offer healthy choices to Little Bug while she is a baby so that I can continue to train her brain to desire healthy foods so that her little growing body can get the nutrition it needs.

So, these are the “eating habits” I’ve established with Little Bug:

• I try to always give Little Bug a protein, veggie and fruit with every meal.
• When I fix her meals, I set out two plates. One plate is for her veggies & proteins. The other plate is for her fruit.

Left plate: peach; Right plate: chicken nuggets, peas, cheese

• I give her what is on the veggie/protein plate first.
• After she has finished her veggie/protein, I give her what is on the fruit plate. I try to never let her see the fruit plate and proteins/dairy before she has eaten her veggies!
• Little Bug doesn’t drink juice at all! When I asked Dr. M about when to introduce juice, she told me juice is not nutritionally necessary to baby’s diet. So I decided I wouldn’t introduce it yet. Why not just let her drink water? Water is so important for the body to have. Little Bug has no idea what juice even is and I decided to keep it that way for a while longer. So, Little Bug drinks whole organic milk (20 ounces/day) and water. She loves water!
• I limit the amount of bread Little Bug consumes with lunch and dinner. In fact, unless the main item on the lunch or dinner menu includes bread (like a PB&J sandwich or a grilled cheese sandwich) Little Bug doesn’t eat bread at all for lunch or dinner. Bread is a filler with little nutritional value. There is so much more nutrients in veggies and fruits, so I choose to let her fill up on veggies and fruits instead of bread.
• I limit snacks. After nap, Little Bug gets a small snack to hold her over until dinner. A while ago, Little Bug started to be really cranky after naptime and before dinner. I knew there had to be a reason. Finally, I figured out that she was just hungry and there were too many hours between lunch and dinner for her. I started giving her a small snack after nap and the crankiness went away!

So far, I’ve found the suggestions Dr. M has made to me concerning Little Bug’s nutrition and diet to be producing a little girl who loves to eat, eats a very well-balanced diet and will eat just about anything offered to her!

Now, I am sure #2 will  be the pickiest eater on the planet, however, I will plan to do the same with him/her and that way when #2 is a picky eater, I will know I did everything “right” to produce a good eater!

I know I’ve written before about the gargantuan amounts of food Little Bug consumes per meal, but it really does amaze me. Sometimes, I think Little Bug eats more than me. (I know, that is not saying much.) But, seriously. When we sit down to eat, Little Bug is always the last person to finish eating. We eat and Little Bug eats. We finish and Little Bug just keeps eating! Dave and I always said we would finally be able to save some money once Little Bug got off formula and started eating food, but with her appetite, I am not so sure we save anything with her eating food now instead of formula!

- Elaine