Our little guy went for his 9 month check up not too long ago.  We were almost a month late on his wellness appointment thanks to scheduling issues and a double ear infection.  Anyway, we go there and our little guy is growing so good!  He’s still a small guy compared to some of our friends’ and family’s babies, but I think he’s perfect.  The doctor said he’s right on track with everything he needs to be then she started talking about his feeding. I realized that we need to up our game when it game to solids.  We needed to make sure he was snacking and getting the right nutrients each day.  

Now I know that for at least the first year most of his nutrients will come from his formula, but it doesn’t hurt to up our game in the solids department.  Honestly, I was terrified (and still am) about choking.  I hate the thought of him not eating something perfectly pureed, but I know he needs to learn about textures and how to eat on his own.  I’ve started to work past my fear and give him more and more finger foods.  

So far he has really enjoyed these baby cookies I made the other day.  I love them because there isn’t any added sugar, he loves them because of the taste and the fact he can feed himself.  We’ve also given him some lentils and beans that were a huge hit.  Literally… he would hit his trays and beans would go flying! HA!

Let’s see… we’ve also given him some pieces of fruit like pears and mangos…. and a few more.  I just make sure to cut them into smaller pieces so he can pick up and stick in his mouth.  He loves avocados and bananas that are smashed a bit.  Those are the messy dinners!

Since he doesn’t have the greatest hand-eye coordination yet, I want to make sure he’s getting enough nutrients through out the day.  I found this post about a baby smoothie and fell in love with the idea.  Something he could carry around, drink on through out the day and fill his tummy with nutritious foods.  I used what I had on hand to make one and he loved it.  At first he wasn’t so sure, but then he was spinning around backwards in his walker drinking it up!

Here’s what you need for the perfect baby smoothie:

1/2 package of veggie filled baby food
1/2 package of fruit filled baby food
1 T. baby cereal (more or less)
1/2 juice from a fruit cup (packed in 100% juice)
1/2 banana, mashed
1/2 pieces of fruit from fruit cup
water, as needed

Add all of the ingredients into your magic bullet or blender, blend until combined.  Add water (make sure it’s drinkable for baby!) and keep blending until the desired consistency is reached.  You want it to be easily drinkable from a sippy cup.  

Now these ingredients for this baby smoothie are interchangeable.  Use what you have on hand.  If you make your own baby food, like I do sometimes then use that!  Whatever works.  The banana and added fruit help take away from the veggie taste of the baby food so it’s more desirable to your little one.  The first time I made this I didn’t have any baby cereal on hand so I left it out.  It still worked great.  Super easy!