This meal wasn’t planned for Sebastian as he didn’t seem interested in eating but once he got a taste of the yogurt he was all over it. I sat down for lunch with homemade burger patties (beef, onion, cilantro and some seasoning) and yogurt sauce (just some Greek yogurt with some salt, sugar and dill) and he came over for a bite. (I should have known – Meat is his favorite.) He is learning how to dip his food in sauces but clearly took it a step further here. At first I thought he was just finger painting with the yogurt but soon he was slurping it from his hands. This is when you just have to be chill and grab the camera.

Most foods work fine for babies without teeth but corn on the cob is probably an exception. Sebastian has three top teeth and three bottoms, just enough to scrape off bits of corn.

At one point I think the cob hurt his gums but he quickly got over it and went back to chomping.

It seemed like Sebastian found corn on the cob to be both tasty and novel/entertaining. He carried it around with him for awhile, happily munching on it in between playing with his toys. Later I found the mostly-finished cob inside of his shape sorter toy.

If you do corn on the cob with your wee one, do be sure to check for stuck kernels after eating and possibly brush teeth later. Brushing with a soft brush and warm water is a good practice for any baby on solids. Sebastian actually really likes having his little teeth brushed. Like infant pottying, it is a good habit to get them used to.

As promised, Sebastian had a few bites of raw salmon. He went back for more but his initial reaction was this face:

He also ate chicken katsu and gyoza. He is getting a lot neater in the way he eats. The first time we ate at this particular restaurant the floor was covered and I was always crawling underneath the table after meals to tidy up as much as I could. This trip almost nothing ended up on the ground.

Sushi boat restaurants (where you grab plates from a circular belt) are perfect for BLW. There is no having to entertain Baby while you wait for food and the portions are both small and shareable. If a food is a no-go you are only out a couple bucks and it is easy to introduce new foods risk-free. For picky older kids, there are also often fruit and dessert plates.

Ginger didn’t do purees with Ophelia either, and we chatted about BLW. I remember when my husband and I babysat her daughter and were really nervous about the snacks in her diaper bag. I admit that baby-led weaning would freak me out if I hadn’t discovered it when and how I did!

For dinner we had spicy dirty rice and tilapia. Sebastian is not a fan of spicy foods but ate a good amount of  rice before it became too much for him – He didn’t cry when it got hot, just stopped eating it, so that’s progress! He cooled his mouth with chunks of cantaloupe and fish.

The tilapia was a hit, and Sebastian readily gobbled up his portion as well as the piece Ophelia (age 2 & 1/2) rejected. He made a really funny face when he first tasted the fish but quickly decided that he loved it. I really hope that he doesn’t grow picky as he gets older – I love showing off his healthy appetite, and everyone loves to feed my kid!

My mother makes organic strawberry jam every summer and of course it was something we had to feed Sebastian. He loves strawberries almost as much as he loves bread. I was planning on just spreading jam on a slice of whole wheat, mess be damned, when it occurred to me that he would probably do better with finger sandwiches. I put together two tiny sandwiches from one slice of bread and less than a spoonful of jam. The result was the perfect snack, filling and delicious and hardly messy at all.

We let Zeb eat snacks standing at the coffee table or sitting on the floor. I like the casual feeding setup because it lets him make his own choices about when and how much to eat. He can easily crawl away when he’s satisfied. He typically has a drink available to him at all times as well, either diluted juice, whole milk or water. With his little sandwiches he had organic whole milk as you can see in the last photo below.

I love this low-prep snack that is happily devoured and cleans up easy. What are your go-to meals for baby?

We picked up a dozen doughnuts to take home and also munched on some for lunch. Sebastian had a bit of trouble getting the stickier ones down but did fine with the flakier doughnuts, including the one covered in sesame seeds that I assumed would be difficult for him.

I think that his favorite part was the whole milk to wash it down. I am not sure how much cow’s milk he will get as he reaches one year old – I don’t plan to wean anytime soon – but he is definitely a fan.

Doughnuts are not something that we eat everyday, but it was fun to bring Sebastian to a place his dad and I enjoyed before he was born. Moments like that are awesome and a little bit surreal.

I have posted a few times about bringing Sebastian along to sushi, and a lot of you are asking if and when he will have raw fish. The answer is that he hasn’t yet (at 9 months), and now I’m starting to question why. After all, the whole idea of baby-led weaning is to let Baby experience what the rest of the family is eating. Sebastian has sampled cooked crab and unagi (eel) – Why not some sashimi?

Pregnant women are often told to avoid sushi, although I ate it weekly throughout my entire pregnancy starting the moment my morning sickness subsided. When I started looking into it, there aren’t really any good reasons that I can find not to introduce your small child to raw sushi. Yes, consuming any raw or rare food is riskier than cooked, but that also includes meat and eggs. Even peanut butter and spinach have been recalled due to salmonella fairly recently. Sushi grade raw fish in a restaurant is pretty unlikely to carry parasites or dangerous bacteria. I eat a good amount of sushi and have never gone home with so much as indigestion.

Some sushi suggestions:

- Obviously, go to a reputable sushi restaurant. Choose somewhere you’ve been before, somewhere with a good rating, and somewhere that looks clean.

- Avoid feeding your child fish if someone in your family has a fish allergy. (Duh)

- Fish lower on the food chain are lower in toxins like mercury. Avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tuna (raw or cooked) which is higher in mercury. Salmon is a good (and delicious!) option. Shrimp and tilapia are also lower in mercury.

- If possible, eat wild rather than farmed salmon to avoid toxins and hormones.

- Be extra diligent about choking. Raw fish has a different texture than babies may be used to.

- Watch out for wasabi. I know that some babies like heat and spice but Wasabi has a sinus-clearing kick that is unlike other hot sauces so introduce it very slowly if at all.

- While it doesn’t guarantee no illness, breastfeeding passes on your immunities to Baby, helping to protect them from things you are both exposed to.

Next time we go out for sushi, I am going to give Sebastian a taste of Mama’s salmon nigiri. I also have my eye on this First Book of Sushi board book to teach him all about one of our favorite foods. They say that babies are open to new flavors until around age two, at which point they stick to what they already know, so it is important to bring in those new tastes sooner rather than later.

How about you – Has your baby tried sushi? What are your baby’s favorite ‘controversial’ foods?

Sebastian burned his hand last week but the bandage did not hold him back at all.

Our bebePOD baby seat still works better than the restaurant high chair or booster seat. It seems as though Sebastian has just hit a new stride in eating and is a lot less messy, but I still do a quick sweep of the floor before we pay our bill. Kiwi typically hits the ground as it is slimy and hard to hold onto.

On this particular trip, Sebastian enjoyed cucumber salad (mainly cucumber soaked in a vinegar sauce), kiwi slices, an order of teriyaki chicken (we split a plate three ways) and rice wrapped in fried bean curd. Chicken never ends up on the ground. The fried bean curd was a surprising big hit as well.

Sebastian ate so much on this trip that he was still eating after Mom and Dad had finished their plates. As he becomes a better eater (managing food in his mouth better and dropping a lot less) we can focus on our own food more and it makes a great experience for everyone. He eats enough now that he doesn’t need to be breastfed before loading him back in the car – Daddy cleaned him up in the bathroom and we hit the road.

Babies are notoriously fussy when hungry and sometimes Sebastian does get mad waiting for an order, or waiting for hot food to cool down. In that case, packaged snacks are a fun and easy appetizer. Puffs and squeeze pouches of pureed fruit and veggies are our go-to snacks and I consider these BLW because Sebastian still feeds himself. They are also not typical gross baby food – The squeeze pouches are really good and I frequently find myself popping puffs into my own mouth.

Last week Sebastian and I ate out at one of our favorite places. I ordered an entree and we ate outside. Zeb snacked on some puree and puffs until the chicken arrived.

Chicken is probably the most controversial food that Sebastian enjoys. He had some this week from the same restaurant and my mother, who is normally very on board with BLW, was visibly nervous. At first it was a scary food for me too but he has never had a problem with it and it is clearly one of his favorites. He sucks on it and uses his hands to pull it against his front teeth to shred it, and he ingests a lot. Last time we were out a woman at another table flat out stared at us and watched him eat it, looking disapproving or maybe just disbelieving. Either way it was rude. But for every obnoxious fellow patron there is a good experience. We are complimented a  lot, with my son being referred to as a “good baby.” Really he is simply chill because with BLW his needs are met and then some. Most babies I see screaming in public are doing so because they want something that others are enjoying without them.

Waffles are a big hit with Sebastian, and we enjoyed some last Saturday at the farmers market, complete with whipped cream and strawberries. He and I routinely share a plate of food, although it is sometimes a battle for me to get my half down before he devours it. He is very much a carb lover and into bread of any kind. At the markets so far this summer I have seen another family or two give whole foods to their babies, although not quite the way we do. Whenever I see a child under 2 eating, I’ll admit that I crane my neck to see what is going in their mouth.

As you can see, my 8 month old is starting to look a lot like a toddler so I doubt I’ll be dealing with people’s looks for too much longer.

What are your babies eating this summer? What are the reactions when your babies eat in public?

Sometime last week my darling husband pulled together this meal: Rice with cucumber yogurt sauce, (spicy) chicken and veggies.

Unfortunately I didn’t realize just how spicy this chicken was until I gave Sebastian a fat piece and he started grabbing at his mouth and crying. OOPS. Luckily there was plenty of rice and sauce to cool his mouth. Rice is probably his favorite food to eat so that helped too. He has had pasta with some sriracha (rooster sauce) before with no complaints – I think the problem is that the meat absorbs the flavor so much that there is no break from the hotness. I am still not against giving your baby spicy foods, but have something very cooling (dairy is ideal) on hand just in case.

I love our Prince Lionheart bebepod Flex Baby Seat but I do wish it was easier to clean! It is currently in my bathroom so that I can attempt to scrub it in the bathtub. At least rice is easy to let dry and vacuum up.

Sebastian likes cucumber, but prefers it in the sushi restaurant where it is soaked in vinegar and soy sauce. He is finally starting to use plates and bowls without immediately picking them up to play with. Up until now we would put his food directly on the table in front of him. He’s slowly getting the concept of dishes.

Finished up the meal with coconut milk and some water in the sippy cup. Coconut milk is perfect for babies, high in lauric acid (which is also found in breast milk).

What is the spiciest thing you have given your baby? What is your baby’s favorite drink?