Four months old lion queen

[raw]

Hi friends, my daughter is officially eating raw meat at the age of four months. She is still on my breast milk. But it's so fun to see her growing up on this raw diet. She is like "meat ball"--- so much muscles around her (not fats like other typical babies). I put her also on nude sun bathing. She is small, meaty, solid and compact...

I need more amazing advices from you. How do I introduce fruits in her diet?

[cherimoya_kid]

To introduce a new food, I'd mash it into a paste, then put it near her mouth/nose, close enough to let her smell and taste it.  If she seems to want it, put it in her mouth and see if she swallows. If she spits it out, she doesn't need it.

[raw]

Thanks. My fear is should I give her fruits now? Isn't she too small to taste the fruits. I guess I don't mind to give her wild berries, but sugar loaded commercial fruits....? After raw meat what will come next? I've given her raw egg yolk once and it looks like she loves it and after that she vomits everything.Personally I can't trust any seafood so far.  Giving her some insects will be good? Please recommend some good insects for her. Thanks.

[goodsamaritan]

There is a point of view here among mothers in the Philippines that you first feed the baby non sweet fruits first. 

This is so you train the baby to not have a sweet tooth.

My sister in law would chew on the food item and then give it by mouth to her baby.

My wife doesn't do that.

[jessica]

i would definitely do the chew method, although not with mouth to mouth, but chew it up a good bit and then offer it to the baby on my fingers.  i would do cooked mashed up roots and squashes and then berries and maybe fruits if they were local and in season. also things like cooked up blue corn meal which you all may be appaled by, chewed up green peas, all kinds of herbs, butter, eggs...i would also be skeptical of fish but not of thick stocks or broths

[CitrusHigh]

I concur with pre chewing the food.

Also consider fish roe, raw, which is one of the first foods inuit babies get. Such a superfood, easily digestible and delicious! Loaded with D and K2 for good bone developments as well as high quality fats for that big all of fat in her head.

So pleased you are doing this wonderful thing for your child, I hope you'll consider posting pics, even if you blur out her face so I can have an example of a raw baby to show people. Especially photos highlighting her skin tone and development.

Also ground beef is a good first offer. Liver would be easy to swall of cut in to tiny tiny pieces, don't know if I would chew it though as it might juice out the nutrition and leaves just the fiber.

Brains if you could get ahold of high quality pastured ones would be soft, easily digestible, incredibly nutritious and support her rapidly developing brain.

I would avoid bred fruits as well and stick with wild berries like you said. If you are in a temperate area, mulberries will be abundant in the next couple months, they would be wonderful mashed. Maybe fed with a fat, like chewed and softened suet in very small amounts.

Find out other first foods traditional cultures used, usually they had very good reasons for the ones they choose.

Keep up the great work! You baby girl is SO lucky!

EDIT: Forgot to mention insects which you were asking about. Totally!

If you can find some ant eggs, you could feed those mashed. Here is a link to info on first american practices of entomophagy... http://www.manataka.org/page1082.html

[raw]

Thanks Edwin. Wow! I definitely give credit to Philippinoes. In Indian culture, we give sugar water as a first drink for baby beside milk. Hindu babies are more misearable, they are fed rice called "ONNOPRASHAD" which is known as babies first meal.

Jessica's suggestion is great, but I don't like to feed my children even mildly cooked food. I need to wait little longer to give her raw egg yolk. One thing is clear for me that younger the baby is, more lean protein I can chose to feed. I tried before with my son to give him raw liver, he hated that also. If I give him (5 yrs old), two table spoon of raw bone marrows, he does not feel good. So probably we need to be careful to feed the baby fat. Fish is very good for baby, but ocean water is contaminated.

Let'sCopOut's link is very helpful.

Thank you all.

 

[jessica]

yeah i was thinking all that in addition to raw chewed up meats, i would probably do poultry, but best quality .  i think that chewing may help to add enzymes and perhaps antibodies.  just little bits of veggies and roots and things, but that is because i am a huge forager, gatherer and grower so its more in my nature so lucky to have a little one and good for those of us who dream to have one to grow up healthfully:)!

[Adora]

      You don't need to worry about feeding her much as long as you're giving her your breast milk. Number one most perfect food. You described her as a meatball, that sounds like she's not underfed. I didn't give my baby much of anything sweat until she was 2yrs old, then she was given stuff by others, but we kept it pretty minimal. At 15 she still almost never wants anything sweet, or carby. She does enjoy fruit, but she doesn't overeat anything. I did give her rice, that's carby , but she didn't eat much of anything. She was either actively looking for more, or she was done.There was no jar to finish, no prescribed amount. Everybody wants to feed babies, but they don't need very much.
    I pre-chewed all of her foods, and fed them to her, off of my fingers. My grandmother told me that was what her mother did. It was natural and convenient. I traveled light and that meant she mostly nursed, or ate what she wanted of what I was eating. It kept me eating healthy too.
   It may be worse to over feed. When baby is hungry always nurse first. If she is still hungry think about what you want most (whatever it is fruit, meat, egg, etc- you are sooo connected, your needs for nourishment are linked). What is conveniently available to you? Stressed mommy is stressed baby, so no stress, that is the worst thing to "feed" you or baby. Chew a bit yourself, is it really yummy to you? See if baby wants it. Does she reach for it?  Ivy loved to chew on dried chunks of sea vegetables,when she was teething.  She worked on a little hunk for hours, it would be all over her. She still loves it.
    Try less amount of whatever next time. I could feel how strong she sucked off of my finger, see the look in her eyes, I encouraged her to go slow, asked her if it was good for her, and if she wanted more. It is OK not to know, just go SLOW. You will read her better all the time.  I am sorry she threw up. Ivy even threw up my milk at first, when she was first born, she could only tolerate a tiny bit, very sick baby . I understand that upset you, but it's OK, no harm done, baby is fine now, trust in you and her together working it out.  Very beautiful
 

[CitrusHigh]

Wow, great advice Adora!