Baby Si beyond infinity solid food...

Baby Si beyond infinity solid food...

New food introduced:
.grapes (be sure to half or quarter it to prevent choking)... But now baby Si is an expert (thanks to gong gong for the training), just give her the whole bunch and she can pluck and eat the whole grapes!!!
.Kiwi
.Cows milk (to be intro 12+ mths) <~ mixed it with her wheetabix cereal for her breakfast.
.coconut milk <~ baby Si loves "nasi lemak" just like her mummy!!! Yummy coconut fatty rice ;) on a side note, she also loves chicken rice!!! Double whammy... Now mummy n baby Si can share a meal from the same plate :)
.chocolate <~ baby Si rejected her 1 yr old bday cake, and also mummy n daddy's fav chocolate brownies... Then this mummy decided to give her some choc cupcakes at a friends wedding and she ate few mouthfuls ;) without any icing or fondant of course...
.durian <~ in malaysia and during the durian buffet...Click here!!!...tried a few times but baby Si kept rejecting it...oh well, baby Si very "ang moh" just like daddy! Yeay, that means more yummylicious durian all for mummy!!!
.peanut butter (sandwich)...her new fav. breakfast just like daddy!

Finger food:
.baby Si is able to eat chunks of chicken (dark meat) with only her 2 bottom teeth?
But now that she has more teeth sprouting, I'm sure it's much easier...
She loves chicken the most (out of all the meats)...
.raisins...she gulps it down!!!
.fishball...another meal that mummy n baby can share...kuay teow fishball noodle soup!!!

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So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: "mummy, I'm getting better at this eating thingy!!!"
Mummy: "can't wait when mummy don't have to pack any food from home whenever we go out!!!"

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What new food should I intro next?
Stay tune to find out ;)

Here's a video of baby Si eating her fav seaweed bought from Korea...
seaweed eating machine...Click here!!!

Baby Si beyond infinity solid food...

New food introduced:
.Korean chapgae noodles with quah..made by po po!
Baby Si liked it so much that she wanted to self feed her self...1 noodle at a time!!! U can imagine how long it took for her to get full... Mummy tried feeding her but she ended up taking it out n self feeding herself...and she thinks its fun too...kept pulling at the noodles. So this mummy decided not to cut short the noodles and just give her long ones. Faster ;)
.Wheat pasta
. Wheetabix mixed with avacado, mango, yogurt! Great as baby Si can self feed herself easily with no mess since its not watery and sticks to the spoon...still need help with scooping though.
.dragonfruit
.korean strawberry while vacationing in Korea (strawberries only to be introduced at 12mths+)
.korean seaweed suitable for babies (bought from Korea)
She ate so much of this...and nothing was stopping her. Great as we could feed her on the go (while in the subway train, while walking, shopping, etc)
.Citrus (only to be introduced at 12mths+) - oranges
.her first tosai at changi airport (after our flight from Korea)
.baby's DHA (only to be introduced at 12mths+) - bought from iherb. Just add to her drinking water. Smells and taste fishy. But baby Si actually likes it. *yeay* good n healthy!!!
.parsley, oregano, Italian herbs, onions
.white melon
.tomatoes (only to be introduced at 10mths+)
.Wheat Spaghetti
.Mustard seeds
.Cinnamon

Finger food:
.Cut dried cranberries... Boil it in hot water to make it softer. She liked it :)
Use the leftover nutritious water as drink (but baby didnt take it) so decided to boil some oats for her with it.
.cheese cut into tiny cubes...cheese that mr. Hubby bought from Amsterdam! It tasted more like Indian cheese!!! Not "paneer" but because the cheese had tons of cumins seeds in it... At first when I tasted it (it had a strong taste), I was sure baby Si wouldn't take it as well. But Lo and behold, our baby is indeed half Indian...she took it willingly, and liked it :)
(This mummy made sure the salt content is baby friendly - it should be below 680mg per 100 gm of cheese.). Can't blame the daddy for the cheese taste as everything written on it was in Dutch!
.egg
.toast
.french toast
.apple (skinless)... She loves gumming on it (with 2 bottom teeth)...keeps her occupied while this mummy can be hands free...
.chunks of cooked-to-tender carrot
.chunks of cooked-to-tender eggplant
.chunks of guava
.wheetabix

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So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: "mummy, Please don't get mad at me...one day I might love certain food, and another I might hate it n throw it on the floor!!! *doggy eyed*...I promise that It has nothing do to ur cooking, just that my taste buds are ever changing and still developing"
Mummy: "breathe in, breathe out....*practicing yoga breaths* while repeating this mantra!"

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What new food should I intro next?
Stay tune to find out ;)

Pics below: a spinoff from the last "who wore it better episode"...
if u are into fashion police just like this mummy, u would know the famous line of Joan Rivers in the segment of , "B*t*ch stole my look" aka "who wore it better"... So lets vote ;) this time on who wore the bib better???

Baby Si beyond infinity solid food...

As the title describes...Beyond infinity! (This mummy has lost count)

Comparing her previous food journey to this new one, u will notice a difference as her list of finger food is larger than the list of new foods being introduced (into her porridge)...
Let me tell you the nightmare gong gong and I faced...(as po po was in spore and daddy in Australia n Amsterdam for business trip). It happened when she refused to eat her porridge for several days!!! Whenever the spoon came near her, she would cry and push it away. Initially we thought it was due to teething, but from my previous experience with baby Si teething, she had no issues at all... nonexistent to the point that we didn't even realized she was teething till 2 teeth sprung up! So what can it be this time that is causing her to not eat? We tried all sorts of method to make her eat but all failed...and I read online that due to teething, babies tend to not want to eat their solid due to gum discomfort and prefer drinking milk... And that was what I did, fed her milk so very often! I felt bad for letting her starve... I had to investigate this matter promptly! Then we were off to our chiang Mai trip. Because we were out n about doing lots of sightseeing, this mummy packed lots of snacks and finger food. We fed her whatever we were eating (rice, watermelon, banana, etc...) And during that trip that it dawn on me that she does eat all the snacks and finger food, thus it can't be teething!!! Coz if her gums are causing her discomfort, she wouldn't even wanna eat anything!!! And here she is, chowing down like a hungry baby!!! The conclusion to my investigation was she prefers food with TEXTURE!!!! Oh my...All these while I was starving her??? Poor baby Si!!! Thank God that the chiang Mai trip happened at the right timing...or else baby Si would have lost a lot of weight...

But it takes a while for her to chew (as she's still learning this new found skill). I would still feed her usual porridge (I make it a point to at least feed her half of what she used to eat) and then top up with textured food... That way I know she's full... And this method works well!!!

Below are the new foods that has been introduced (into her porridge):
Seaweed
Tofu
Spinach (intro at 10+ months)
Spring onions
Black fungus
Eggplant
French beans
Flaxseed

Finger food:
cut-up pieces of banana (took her many many tries to get her to like it. Now she's a banana girl just like her daddy!!!)
whole-grain bread
hard-boiled egg yolk
Rice
Guava
Mango
Tangerines
Watermelon
Rice cakes puffs
Toddler Biscuits

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So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: "mummy, I'm a big girl now...no more mush please!!!"
Mummy: "can't believe she prefers food with texture. This is a bittersweet moment... Bitter as she is growing up so fast...sweet coz this mummy's blending n puréeing days are almost over!!!"

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What new food should I intro next?
Stay tune to find out ;)

Baby Si 11-16th solid food...

Now that baby Si is 8+ months, Mummy has the green light to feed baby Si with new foods (other than fruits n vegetables)!
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11th solid food: beef + porridge (multigrain rice + all sorts of vegetables)
Her 1st meat ;)

So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: yummy...but a lil bit watery! thus a bit messy :p
Mummy: No preference on which type of meat to start baby Si with! Actually gong gong was the one that chose beef as that was the meat in the freezer at that moment! Mind you, gong gong cooked baby Si's first porridge meal :)

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12th solid food: fish + porridge (multigrain rice + all sorts of vegetables)
Her 2nd meat :)
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13th solid food: chicken + porridge (multigrain rice + all sorts of vegetables)
Her 3rd meat :)
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14th, 15th, 16th solid food: pork + egg YOLK (egg whites is a no no as it's one of the high risk allergy food) + CHEESE + porridge (multigrain rice + all sorts of vegetables)
Her 4th meat :)

So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: gong gong porridge is getting tastier!!!

Mummy: happy as this mummy is on vacation n off from cooking ;)

Note: was looking forward to feeding baby Si cheese (as mummy n daddy r BIG fans of cheese) but baby Si didn't really like it!!! Maybe cause cheese (western) doesn't go with porridge (Asian)... Will try some western combination next time (mash potato wt cheese perhaps?)

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What new food should I intro next?
Stay tune to find out ;)

Note to my western readers: porridge aka congee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congee
Is famous in this part of the world especially famous to the Chinese...babies eat it, adults eat it when u r feeling sick, toothache, fed it to mr hubby when he had braces on for the first week, occasionally when having cravings for it (when u need a break from the normal rice, noodles, bread, pratha, etc...)
U guys should try it especially during those cold winter days!!! Just add in all sorts of meat n vegs! One wholesome meal in a pot ;) easy peasy meal...mind u, u can eat it for days...

Note: I'm amazed to find out that the word congee originated from Tamil!!! But funnily, mr.Hubby tasted his first porridge from his wifey... Maybe Indians prepare it differently? I'm up to try it!!! Who can cook Indian porridge???

Baby Si 9th and 10th solid food...

Ok ok from my previous post --> Baby Si 7th and 8th solid food , I mentioned that baby Si's next food will be the avocados sitting on my counter top. But guess what? As soon as it was soft enough, I was so eager to prepare it but soon realized that it was already spoiled? So mummy and daddy had avocado milkshake :) yumz!!!

Any advice on how to ripen the avocados without it being spoilt? Mind u this is Singapore where the weather is hot n humid... If that makes any diff...

Some advice from some mummies on how to make it ripe faster...
•Put it with apples in a paper bag
Or
•Store in rice bucket

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9th solid food: fuyu persimmons
Her 3rd fruit ;)

So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: yummy... This might be as good as her fav apples!!! She ate it quick :)
Mummy: increased baby Si servings as she liked it soooo much!!! Also added an extra meal time- so now she's eating 3 times a day ( 3 times-if this mummy has the time or else it'll be twice or once if we're out n about)

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10th solid food: pears
Her 4th fruit :)

So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: yummy too!!!

Mummy: It turns brown after being pureed (due to oxidation)...but still good to eat!

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What veg or fruit should I intro next?
Stay tune to find out ;)

Baby Si 7th and 8th solid food

This mummy has been soooo busy with 2 weddings, baby dedication, baby competition, attending our first artsy fartsy art show gallery, dinner with cellgroup, dinner with mr. Hubby MBA friends, po po n gong gong came to visit, visited half Korean nephew n sis in law, etc that I hadn't had time to make new puree food for baby Si! Luckily I could count on my reliable oat meal that I made n baby Si had no complaints. But this mummy felt so guilty n tried feeding her other food - Cerelac rice cereal (samples given) but baby Si did not liked it at all. I guess she only wants mummy home "cooked" meals *YAY*.
Then when I had some spare time, I made a dashed to the store to buy some avocados thinking that will be the easiest without having to steam n blend... Just scoop out n mash!!! So picked out the dark skin ones n when I got home n cut it up, to my dismay it was unripe :( so there goes baby Si gourmet meal n in goes for me n mr. Hubby smoothies (yucky by the way)

7th solid food: Fuji apples
Her 2nd fruit ;)

So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: yummy... Took her a few bites for her to get use to the sweet sourish taste, but she liked it in the end!!! Best fruit that baby Si liked so far ;)
Mummy: hoping that an apple a day will keep the doc away!

Here's a lil riddle I "rapped" while feeding baby Si...
"baby Si loves apple,
Daddy loves apple MAC,
Mummy loves BIG MAC!!!"

Mr. Hubby was laughing at mummy's cheesy/corny riddle!!!

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8th solid food: Japanese sweet potato

So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal all the way from Japan (NOT!!!) ???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: didn't like it as much after a few tries :(
BIG MISTAKE forcing her to eat it for a few days... She wakes up EVERY HOUR during the night and would cry hysterically as if in pain!!! This happened for 3 nights consecutively... The first 2 nights I thought it was due to her feeling "under the weather" and wanted some "manja" time but last night it happened again!!! Mind u, my baby Si does not usually cry. I can count the times she cried with one hand! If she is hungry, she will whimper. If she's sleepy, she will get a bit fussy. So this time when she cried, i tried feeding her-rejected, pacifier-rejected. Mummy feels so heart pain as I couldn't do anything to ease her pain!
And since my baby hardly cries, I had to investigate what the cause. So I realized it's the food! SWEET POTATO CAUSES GAS!!! I then remembered my mum who came to visit recently, while taking our evening walk at the canal- she was passing out gas non stop!!! She told me it's cause of the sweet potatoes she's been eating the whole day. I laughed it off as I tot it was too funny to be true n then brushed it aside. Now we know where Baby Si got her "farting" genes from...her po po!!! Hehehe ;)

Mummy: It was so yummy that even mummy cleaned out the food processor after puree-ing it. I might have to google n make some kind of dessert with it next time!
Note to self: *no more feeding GAS causing food to baby Si until her guts mature!!!* I thought I would only have to watch out for allergy reaction n poop abnormalities... Now GAS ? Add on to my already long list of to-do things and to-remember to do!!!
Oh Lord, give me the strength n wisdom! I'm pretty much zombified after 3 days of no sleep n the neighbors must be wondering if there's child abuse going on throughout the night n wat happen to our ever so quiet baby Si who sleeps like a baby-no pun intended *LOL*

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What veg or fruit should I intro next?
Stay tune to find out ;)
I think u can guess which fruit is next (unripe, waiting-for-it-to-ripe avocados sitting on my kitchen top)

Baby Si 5th and 6th solid food

5th solid food: banana!!!
Her First fruit ;)

So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: eeeewwwwww
Mummy: *so disappointed as I thought baby Si would LOVE it very much since it's her first time tasting something sweet... Been holding off from feeding her sweet food...oh well, I guess baby Si will have nice teeth just like mummy!!!*
btw daddy eats bananas every single day without a miss...

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6th solid food: green peas

So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: YUMMY!!!
Best food that baby Si has tasted so far... She was eagerly opening her mouth for more after finishing up her portion!!! Even downing it faster than mummy could catch up...
Mummy: baby happy, mummy even more happy *HAPPY*

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What veg or fruit should I intro next?
Stay tune to find out ;)

Baby Si 3rd and 4th solid food

3rd solid food: Carrots!!!
4th solid food: homemade oatmeal!!! The next day added baby Si 4th solid food of homemade oatmeal.

For the homemade oatmeal, I took my rolled oats that I already have and grinded it into powdery form and store it into an air tight container. Once baby Si is ready for her meal time, just take out some of the powdered oatmeal, add hot water and stir (leave it to soften). Then add her already puree'd carrot! Easy peasy!!! Don't need to boil the oatmeal like I originally thought since it's fine enough!!! Cuts down my prep time... *yeay*

(note: this time I did not use the water that I steam with the carrots to make a smoother puree (as this mummy did her research ahead of time)! Reason is because carrots contain nitrate!!!
"taken from wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com- Do not reserve any left over water to use for thinning out the carrots if baby is under 8 months old as Nitrates may seep into the cooking water"

So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
baby Si: yummeh!!!
Mummy: yeayyy ;)

Btw,po po fed her this time!!! (first time)

But baby Si didn't liked just plain ol oatmeal but will take it once mixed with her yummy carrots!!!

So here's hoping to perfect eyesight just like her mummy!!! Cheers carrots... Should I sneak in pureed carrots into daddy's food??? *tee hee hee*

What veg or fruit should I intro next?
Stay tune to find out ;)

Baby Si 2nd solid food...

Japanese green pumpkin + Cereal + BM + VCO...

This is the start to add on to this mummy's TO DO list...

For the past few days, it only takes 1 min to whip up baby Si gourmet lunch and dinner... Warm BM+cereal+virgin coconut oil... Easy peasy!

But now u need to first pick the veg or fruit (cannot start off wt a sweet one), wash it, cut it into cubes, steam it, blend it, divide it into 2 servings per container... Store some containers in the fridge and the rest into the freezer!

For the blending, I had 2 choices. My mini blender/grinder or the old fashion way which some mothers claim is easier.... Mash it by hand/tools (shown in pic which was given by my sister in law). Since this is my first time, I opted for my trusty new mini blender and in a jiffy, it was blended well. (note: I used the water that I steam with the pumpkin to help make a smoother puree since the steam pumpkin water has all the nutrients in it. Why waste right?)

Will try to mash it using the hand tool on my next try once I figure out how n which one to use... Too many diff parts!

I've found out an easy way to do all this more efficiently.While cooking our rice using the rice cooker, use the top part to steam baby Si food. Kills 2 birds with 1 stone. Steaming is the best way of cooking baby si food as it retains the most nutrients!

So when it's time for baby Si meal, just take out 1 serving of puree, add warm BM, cereal and virgin coconut oil ;) and VOILA!!! lunch/dinner is serve!!!

I'm getting the hang of it!!! And am enjoying all the hard work and fun that goes with it... So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
baby Si: yucks!

She's still spitting out her food... I guess she's just not ready yet and still prefers mummy's milk!!!
Mummy will not give up, GAMBATEH!!!

What veg or fruit should I intro next?
And do u have any advice on making this more efficiently?

*updates: after lots of persistent and patience for a few days, baby Si is finally eating better!!!* yeay!!!

Baby Si jab...

It's THE dreaded time of the month... The JAB... This time would be the hep B vaccination. Think the parents get all stressed up whenever baby Si is due to have her jabs. Mr. Hubby tagged along once before and he teared up when the needle poked his lil' princess and it was too traumatic of an experience for him to ever tag along again. Why all these stress when once again baby Si turned out to be a trooper!!! She only cried for a sec and stopped as soon as I stood up to walk. Even the Nurse was impressed.

However baby Si did not fare well in her assessment this time. She didn't gain any weight (well she gained and lost it) since the last month's check up and dropped to the 25th percentile.I suspect it's due to her being sick 1 whole week while we were back in msia. (first time she fell sick-cough,flu,fever... The flu bug was going around in Msia). First, this mummy got sick, then passed it to my baby, then baby passed it back to mummy! So heartbreaking to see her sick and every time I fed her wt her medicine, she would cry as if I'm torturing her. :(

(Also this mummy even planned and managed to convinced the grandparents to do a last min getaway trip to Hatyai, Thailand but ended up only po po and gong gong went). This mummy decided an hour before we were about to leave for the airport that it's just not worth taking the risk. Being an ex stewardess and speaking from experience, flying in the air while having flu is a big NO NO. Can cause ear drum damaged and deafness! Not taking any chances with baby Si. She is so much more precious compared to all the yummy Thai food and endless massages that Thailand can offer!

So back to our checkup...
Baby Si stats:
Age: 6 mths 13 days
Weight: 6.8kg in the 25% percentile
Height: 63 cm height in the 25% percentile
Head circumference: 42.2 cm in the 25% percentile

It's ok baby Si, mummy will "fatten" u up, hopefully, now that we just started on solids... Btw, *updates on her solids* baby Si rather play spit the food at mummy rather than actually swallowing it! She thinks it's funny and laugh after blowing food+bubbles+saliva...

Mummy's prayers answered, "always a healthy, happy and contented baby!!!"
This was my prayer said daily when Baby Si was in my belly ;)

Pic below: leaving for the clinic very early in the morning... Thus the dazed look on baby Si...

Baby Si first solid food...

Preparing baby Si to start on solid food:

Been dragging this milestone since I know it will require tons of extra work coz mealtime for her thus far has been hassle free... No bottles, sterilizer, pump, bibs, etc...just me n baby Si ;)
And since mr. Hubby went to mexico for business trip for a whole month, we went back to Msia and I "conveniently" left all of baby Si items to start her on solids knowing well in advance that it will pass her 6 mths mark by the time we got back to singapore. So now that we are back in Singapore, lazy mummy has no other reason to delay ( a friend mentioned that it is better to delay for as long as possible so that milk production won't drop but not to the point of suppressing baby Si of her much needed nutrients ). Thus, today marks THE day where baby gets to eat her real first solid food. She must be sick of eating the same food everyday (mummys milk)
Daddy was able to witness baby Si's first experience

Is baby Si ready for solids?

. your little one is holding her head up well <- yes

. has outgrown her tongue-thrust reflex <-yes fed her a bit of mashed pumpkin while back in Msia
. seems interested in what's on your plate <- yes, eyeing on everything that we ate

What you need:
. washable (or wipeable) bib
. a sturdy high chair
. a baby-sized spoon (If your baby keeps trying to grab the spoon, give him an extra one to hold while you swoop in with the chow.)
. a bowl
. a camera
. a sippy cup for water
. Cereal (avoid wholegrain n watch out for allergy as it is a common allergen for babies). Make sure to dilute wt BM or FM and not water <- thank u po po for choosing n buying baby Si first solid food - holles brand organic spelt porridge. I mixed it with baby Si daily dosage of virgin coconut oil, which makes it smoother and easier to eat...kills 2 birds with 1 stone
. New cleaning sponge to wash utensils
. prune juice/purée without added sugar...to prevent constipation... Any fruits that start wt p, is good for constipation...papaya, pear, prune, plum, peach.
(Get 5 pitted prunes, boil wt water...wait to cool n blend it or buy from baby food section the ready made ones)

Things to note:
.allergy (Serve new foods one at a time for 4 days to make sure your baby's not allergic, then introduce another. )
.poo ( gassiness, diarrhea, mucus in stool
.vomit
.rash esp around mouth or anus
.runny nose, watery eyes, wheezing that doesn't seem to be due to a cold, and unusual wakefulness or crankiness — day or night
.Don't sweeten the taste by adding things like mashed bananas, applesauce, or juice. If you start off tempting baby with sugar, he'll soon want everything you offer to be just as sweet.

Foods that are most likely to trigger reactions.
.nuts (especially peanuts — which aren't recommended until age one, or even three if your family has a history of food allergies).
.chocolate
.egg whites (the yolks are okay by eight months)
.honey (which can contain spores of Clostridium botulinum)
.cow's milk.
.Some doctors also recommend waiting on wheat, citrus fruits and juices, tomatoes, and strawberries until baby has passed the one-year mark.

THE RESULT?
Let the pics speak for themselves ;)

Eagerly waiting not knowing whats to come!

First bite!

First reaction!

Mummy and Daddy, I want more please!

After many many bites!