100 foods before One - half way done!

If you've been following along @made_to_mama on Instagram you've probably seen at least one of my stories of Draper trying a new food for the first time. I might be just a bit bias but it's seriously the cutest thing watching her dig in and try all these new foods.

Less than two months ago I set out on a challenge to try and introduce Draper to 100 different types of foods before she turned One Years Old. And I can't believe it but we have just finished our 50th food! We are half way done. How did I come up with this crazy challenge you ask? Well let me start from the beginning...

Baby Led What?

As Draper neared the 6 month mark I started to get super excited about starting solids with her. I heard people talk about Baby Led Weaning (BLW) in my mommy groups and I was instantly intrigued. Baby led what? I asked eagerly not having a clue what this was. I mean come on, it's such a weird name.

In short, BLW is skipping purées and not feeding your baby with a spoon. It means offering your baby (age appropriate) foods that are soft-cooked and cut or mashed into small easily manageable pieces. It's an approach that leaves it up to your baby to decide what, when and how much to eat. BUT it doesn't mean you are completely hands off. You encourage your baby to lead the way but you as parents must be there to help guide and direct them through the process. For example you can show baby how to guide the food to their mouth but do not feed them. Or pre load spoons and give them to baby so they can feed themselves. I'm sure you can imagine how messy it is!

I vividly remember coming home and telling my husband that I wanted to try BLW with Draper. His response wasn't so positive. He thought I was completely crazy! Like many people, he was not sold on this idea of giving our little baby girl solid food and was afraid of choking. But within time he came around and now he's the biggest advocate for this approach.

Then when I told the grandparents about this BLW approach they looked at me like I had 10 heads. It was so foreign to them and so different from what they did when they raised kids. My mom told me that I was eating purees well past the one year mark. WOW! How times have changed... But I think they too have slowly come around to it.

Deciding if BLW is right for you

I want to be clear that I am not saying BLW is the best approach for everyone. Only you can decide if it's right for you and your baby. And honestly there is no right way to introduce solids - you just gotta do whats best for you. Isn't that what this whole motherhood thing is all about anyways?

At first I did a combo 'feeding her purees' and 'BLW' because I was nervous. Secretly I didn't want Draper to choke and my husband be right. But once I saw how quick she took to and enjoyed feeding herself I knew it was right for us.

To be honest what hooked me was all the potential benefits such as improved dexterity, early oral-motor skill development, self-regulation, ease for parents, decreased picking eating and more. It was one of the best decisions I've made.

'100 foods before One' Challenge

Okay, okay, okay. Enough about BLW and more about this challenge! It all started one day when I was googling things to feed my baby and came across another mom (Katie Ferraro from @babyledweanteam) who was doing the 100 foods before one challenge and I thought it was so cool. I started to count the number of foods Draper had eaten at that point and got to 26. 26 different types of food and I wasn't even trying! That was way more than I expected so I decided then and there that I too would try and hit 100 before she turns one.

For more information visit my 100 Foods Before One page and explore all the foods she's had to date, how I've prepared the foods and some health benefits. NOTE: I am not a nutritionist or a dietitian. I have no formal training in anything related to food. But I love food and research a lot - thanks google!

I try and introduce 4 foods per week across the food groups. One veg, one fruit, one protein/grain and one random food.

The first 50

Our first 50 foods have been so much fun. She's tried everything from berries to yogurt, salmon, beef stew, tofu and more. She's definitely my kid because she LOVES food. She gets so excited when I put her in her high chair because she knows whats coming. She kicks her legs, flaps her hands and screams until I place the food on her tray.

Her favourite foods are berries (especially blackberries), broccoli (weird I know), vegetable & cheese quinoa cakes, avocado (like her daddy), white fish and scrambled eggs.

Her least favourite foods are tofu, kidney beans, asparagus and bell peppers. She chews these foods but then spits them out. Maybe its a texture thing?

But overall, I can't complain. She is a great eater! And her pincer grasp skills are on point - sorry to brag! But she can pick up little peas with her fingers. It's honestly amazing to watch.

The next 50

Draper turns one on April 4th 2019. That means we have 95 days to complete our challenge and try 50 more foods. So basically every other day she will have to try a new food. Wow! That seems a bit daunting on my part. I better start getting creative.

But good news, we go to Peru to my in laws beach house on March 1st for two weeks. So I am definitely banking on Peru to have some unique foods we can add to our list. And I'm already thinking her 100th food has to be.... BIRTHDAY CAKE!

If you've made it this far, you rock and thanks for reading! Join us at @made_to_mama on Instagram to follow along the last half of this challenge. And if you're interested in trying this challenge for yourself, I'd love to hear and help! Once I'm done I'm hoping to create a little package that can be easily downloaded and used to help others take on this challenge.... so stay tuned...

xo

LDT

Here are just a few photos of little miss Draper exploring some new foods! Look at that blueberry smoothie mustashe. (insert heart eyes).