Introducing Solids: Not OR but AND

Natural yogurt with nectarine purée and blueberries

In the first year or so of parenthood, you will likely hear the following:

• Breastfeeding OR formula?
• Cot OR co-sleeping?
• Stroller OR sling?
• Baby-led weaning OR purée?

I hate all the ORs. I prefer AND. Why doesn't anyone talk about breastfeeding AND giving formula? Why not use a stroller for certain activities AND a sling for others?

I'm a firm advocate of AND methods. I have tried all of the above at one point or another in Junior's short life and they all work in different ways.

As for introducing solids, it seems that people either want to place you in the purée camp (and scoff at you for being a first-time parent who doesn't know better) or the baby-led weaning camp (and deny that there is a time and place for soft foods that can be given with a spoon.)

I started introducing solids at 24 weeks with the reliable starter food, baby rice. Junior is now 33 weeks and eating a variety of purées, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, cheese, meat, toast, and cereal. I aim to give him something on a spoon AND some finger food at every meal, so that he can develop different muscles and motor skills while broadening his appreciation for different tastes and textures.

I am not against store-bought food, but I try to follow two rules: 1) it should be something I wouldn't bother making by myself, and 2) it should only contain ingredients I would use if I could be bothered - in other words, natural ingredients without salt, sugar, or additives.

While I have been relying on store-bought pouches for mains, I purée my own fruit and veg for him. I know that a lot of parents think puréeing is time-consuming, but I do one item at a time and it only takes a few minutes. Most people purée large batches and freeze them in ice cube trays; this works if a) your baby likes the food enough to eat the whole tray, and b) you have sufficient storage space. In our case, I am still discovering what Junior likes, AND we have a tiny freezer, so I have opted for smaller portions more frequently.

For finger food, I give Junior soft fruit that he can pick up and gum without the need for blending: blueberries, kiwi, ripe nectarines, banana, ripe pears. He also likes toast, cheese, and Cheerios. I cut most things into small bites for him, as opposed to giving him larger pieces that he can hold and chew on - he tends to gag on bigger pieces, whereas he can actually ingest small ones.

Again, I know that the prevailing wisdom of baby-led weaning is to simply give the baby what you are eating in normal sized portions, but I prefer to help him out at this stage. (Plus, I'm sure our diet is too salty and processed to be healthful for his tiny body - not to mention ours!) As he gets older, I plan to give him lumpier food and introduce more meals that I cook myself.

Choosing equipment when introducing solids can be overwhelming and potentially expensive. I already had a hand blender, and use the microwave or hob to steam vegetables, so I decided that I did not need to invest in further appliances. I did buy:

• 3 plastic bowls
• 3 plastic spoons (with heat indicators to show when food is too hot)
• 6 pots with lids for storage
• 1 free-flow sippy cup

I use small soy sauce dishes for finger food. Otherwise, I would recommend using resealable plastic bags for finger food on the go.

The one item Junior does not seem to like or understand yet is the sippy cup. He started holding his own bottle around 10 weeks, but he just can't wrap his head (or hands) around the sippy cup. For now, I'm mainly giving him formula in bottles, but I keep trying water and formula in the sippy cup as well.

So, to sum up: purée/spoon foods AND finger food. Different textures AND flavours. Protein, meat, dairy, fruit, AND veg (assuming the baby does not have allergies and you have not chosen to give him a vegetarian diet, for example).

Experiment with the foods and routine that work best for you and your baby, AND know that there is more than one way to approach solids.

lavender cupcakes

If I had to pick a favorite floral aroma, it would be a close tie between lavender and lilies. But as far as I know, you can't eat lilies...


I made lavender cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook. I wish you could smell them from the photos... they're heavenly.


The recipe calls for whole milk infused with dried lavender flowers, preferably left overnight. I bought a bunch of lavender last weekend. I wonder if the woman who sold it to me had any idea how I planned to use it. It took about an hour to cut the flowers off the stems and stuff them into the milk jug yesterday.


This afternoon I started with the nesting bowls that M gave us for xmas.





Hard not to feel happy with such fun colors and smart design.





The infused milk goes into the batter for the cupcakes, as well as the frosting.





While the cupcakes cooled, I made the frosting. It's not easy to make purple food coloring; I had to be careful not to oversaturate it. But I was pleased with the end result.





Delicious! So fragrant and sweeeeeeet.


The only downside to making lavender cupcakes for Valentines/my birthday this week, is that it all but guarantees S won't send a box of cupcakes to my office again... Gotta make the lavender ones last. Good thing I have enough infused milk for one more batch!

Pic of the Week: 22-28 Nov

Now that the holidays are around the corner, and the nights are drawing in, here is a pic of the linzer almond cookies I baked a few years ago for xmas.


Click on the photo for a larger version on flickr.

japan :: vending machines

No matter where you are in Japan, you are never far from a vending machine. Here is a selection of my favorite drinks. I didn't try them all, but I loved the packaging and unusual flavors.



'Power Hypotonic' and Jasmine Tea



From Aqua - water, I assume



Sparkling Pink Ginger



Smiling 'Natchan' orange drink and my personal favorite, C.C. Lemon



'White Soda', but where's Wally?



Banana au Lait (sounded pretty awful)



'Futte Futte Zeri': shake, shake jelly
Cola and grape flavored jelly drink (oddly refreshing on a hot day in Kyoto)



Adorable characters on Qoo (although the drinks themselves were not very tasty)






'I Love Vegi' ... not to be confused with ...



'I Love Apple'



We are SMAP! - why does a boy band need a sports drink? and what does 'Every Day Love Tomorrow' mean?
On the other hand, the bottle of Hachimitsu Lemon C (Honey Lemon C) is too cute for words.



Ultraman soda (lemonade, cola, and cider)


But possibly the strangest drink was this pancake-flavored milk shake ?!?!





I wasn't brave enough to try it but I'm not sure I missed much.


One of the most unusual drinks I tried did not come from a vending machine, but from Starbucks, of all places.



Coffee Jelly Frappuccino - not as bad as it sounds - but I'll stick to C.C. Lemon.


Ba ba da da dum! She She Remon!

japan :: kamikochi and friends

Matsumoto and the surrounding area is nestled in the 'Japan Alps', which makes it a popular destination for skiing, mountain climbing, and soaking in natural hot springs baths. While we were there, Japan Rail was promoting travel to the 'Shinshu' area (the traditional name for Nagano) and created the 'arukuma' mascot with a variety of headgear, depending on his activity. Here you can see him wearing a snowy mountain helmet.





We went to Kamikochi with one of my friends, after some worry about whether it would rain or not. As it turned out, the weather was fine for the afternoon and the leaves were a patchwork of changing colors.

















My friend had researched Kappabashi, the famous bridge, and discovered that there is a live webcam. He waved to his wife and daughters, who were both at home suffering from colds brought on by sports day at school.











Perhaps you have heard of the snow monkeys? In nearly five years of living in Nagano Prefecture, I never saw them. All of a sudden, one came down the path.








We had a great walk doing the loop to Myojin Lake and back. Afterward, we drove back and picked up my friend's family for dinner at the amusingly named steakhouse chain, 'Bikkuri Donkey' ('surprise!')





His youngest perked up at the prospect of an ice cream sundae for dessert - a girl after my own heart.











All in all, a wonderful day: fresh mountain air, beautiful scenery, wild animals, and good company!

japan :: matsumoto and friends

We arrived in Matsumoto, greeted by the sing-song train station announcement that my family remembers from their trip in 1996. I made several attempts to record it, but failed. Click on this youtube video and listen for it at the 0:25 mark.


We stayed at the Hotel Kagetsu in a luxurious Japanese-style tatami room for the first two nights.








We spent our first evening walking around Matsumoto Castle. It is still one of my favorite places.














The following day, we met my former Japanese tutor and her two oldest children. They took us to a flea market at the local community center. I don't remember flea markets from when I lived there - an effect of the recession? or have they always been there?











After lunch (Nepalese curry - yum!), we explored the city center.











But the best way to make friends with small people, it turned out, was to let them play with my iPhone. We 'Lego-ized' some of their pictures.








Over the weekend, Matsumoto was overrun with soba enthusiasts for the 7th Annual Soba Matsuri - how many towns outside Japan can boast a three-day festival devoted to making and eating buckwheat noodles?























The lure of prawn tempura soba kept people in line, in the rain, all day.





We opted for soba with mountain vegetables and mushrooms instead.








Last but not least, we visited my old village, Horigane.



My old apa-to!


And had a lovely dinner with one of my old students...








I had a great time revisiting my old stomping grounds. Matsumoto/Azumino has changed a fair amount since I lived there in 1994-1996, and yet so much of it is reassuringly familiar and untouched. Natsukashikatta, naa...