As a reminder, I spent most of August at my parents' place in North Carolina. James was about 5.5 months old when we arrived - a perfect time to start delivering food into the small baby's yob (and hopefully beefing him up in the process, for he was still lingering at the fifth percentile for weight! I was still trying not to panic, but a burst of weight gain would have been highly appreciated.) Starting to feed him while at my parents' gave me the added "grandparental" bonus - someone else to shovel in the food.
I liked the idea of Baby Fed Weaning, as described in the book by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett; or at the very least puréeing the foods myself, but my lovely American mother convinced me to go ahead with the standard, store-bought purées. I could see her point. Why fiddle with either puréeing foods yourself, or dealing with potential danger, mess, and nuisance of a baby with very limited motor skills trafficking unfamiliar objects into his mouth? The quality of purée has improved, she explained, and there's no shame in using them. And besides, I have trouble enough devoting time to cooking for my husband and me.
Time saved? I was convinced. And so mom and I sampled different purées from different stores - Target, local grocery stores, Toys R Us. In the end, we most liked Gerbers' simple concoctions. James's gag reflex seemed to have been triggered by some of the unusual mixtures produced by Ella's, but the handy toothpaste-like squirt package was great for travel. Regardless of the type of food involved, James loved mealtimes, and never wanted them to end.
And four weeks later, here we are back in London and away from all parental influences. While I'm planning on introducing both baby-led weaning and home made purées (really, I am), I decided to first stock up on some store-bought foods. An "emergency" stash. I reached a surprising conclusion in my completely unprofessional study conducted on internet grocery store Ocado: British baby purees seem to be more meat-intensive than the American variety. I hadn't considered that, just as McDonald's menus vary depending on country, baby foods change as well. British adults eat loads of meat, so why not the babies?
I was a little surprised to see things like "Roast Lamb Dinner with all the trimmings," and "Chicken Pot Pie," but now babies can get used to the flavours they'll be eating throughout most of their lives. It could even be argued that a baby has a better chance for a happy social life if he likes nationally-beloved foods*, such as hot dogs for Americans and black pudding for Irish.
While the concept worked, I was none too pleased with the gelatinous format of these meaty delicacies. The veggie flavours certainly seem to have a better consistency, although baby James the voracious eater devours them all equally quickly. (Except, of course, for Ella's blueberry - tomato - grape - baby rice flavour that he almost spewed across the room. Atta boy!)
*not a real study
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