Sweet potato

Posted by kara

Completely inspired by my cousin Amy, I decided to make Toshi her first non-cereal baby food. We went to the store and bought two organic sweet potatoes. Yesterday morning I baked them and then tried to puree them in the blender. That didn’t really work, but they were soft enough that it seemed like they didn’t need pureeing. So I froze most of it and mixed a little bit with milk.

I plopped Toshi into her high chair and managed to fasten a bib around her neck. With great anticipation at the delight she would express at the taste of a sweet food other than blah rice cereal, I scooped up her first bite of sweet potato mush. She made a horrified face and tried to push most of the sweet potato out of her mouth. She tried a few more bites, complete with scrunchy faces, and actually said the word, “Bleh.” I couldn’t believe it. I thought I’d be the hero and that this sweet mush would make her fall in love with eating (like the rest of my family). I tried mixing it with some rice cereal, thinking maybe she needed a slower introduction of the sweetness. She tried that and had the same reaction. So once she refused to eat more, I put it aside and freed her from her chair.

I was a bit disappointed, but I read that sometimes it takes as much as 25 tries (or something ridiculously high) before babies know if they like a taste. Luckily, the second sweet potato feeding went much better. She stopped making a grossed out face after a couple of bites and finished her whole bowl. This morning I tried it again, and she liked it after a couple of bites. I even filled the bowl more and she ate all of it. I think she has a good appetite!