…or rather, what he doesn’t eat, since our baby prefers to spit out everything we try to coax into that sweet, little mouth. Homemade applesauce? Non. Pureed sweet potatoes? Non! Baby cereal with banana? Merci, mais non! Wah!
I was discussing this with our pediatrician yesterday when she produced a pamphlet on introducing foods to your baby. In it, I found proposed daily menus for a six-month-old palate according to season.
For example, since it is autumn, he might be interested in some pureed pumpkin with veal over polenta. Or maybe he’d like some fennel bulb mixed with a little pear? Salmon mousse over rice perhaps? I had to laugh out loud (and cry just a little), because I don’t eat that well on a daily basis.
Also the implication is that someone, and it is usually Maman, has to stay at home to make the salmon mousse. Gerber doesn’t have that flavor.
I am a stay-at-home mother. I’ve never held a full-time job in Switzerland, so it was an easy choice to make. What has struck me is how many times the pediatrician/physical therapist/specialist has said “It would be best if you are at home with the baby and not working” in response to my questions. This is simply how this society functions. Luckily, we can manage to be a one-income household, but I’m sure this cannot be said for all of Geneva. And that is a lot of pressure on parents! (Especially mothers who have a reputation for raising well-behaved, little gourmands.) Oh la la.
I hope you are eating well wherever you are today. For now, a few links:
A fantastic fall list with no pumpkin spice anything
Watch this short film and you will be moved
My favorite jacket for autumn travel
A primer on how to eat a plant-based diet
Northern California still needs your help!
Some seriously cool pumpkin carving ideas
Europe’s best winter getaways (yes to #5)
Bakersfield Blonde 
ha! I love this. We started with pureed carrots mixed with breastmilk (at the pediatrician’s suggestion) and the babies were like, are you serious?! Gross! I always loved that veal was listed as a first food there—but P&S loved it! And fennel, pumpkin, bananas (omg they go nuts for them still), turnips (!), etc. Now that they are on finger foods their palates have shrunk a bit, but glad they are still good eaters. It’s always hard to switch from one mode to another, but hopefully Grant finds some favorite mush soon ; ) You’re a great mama!!