Ok, this post will start out sort of melancholy, but then get a lot funnier. Keep reading!
So, Eliot is 4.5 months old. At six months, it will be time to start feeding him solid foods. (Solid like the way soup is solid, at least to begin with...) Well, I am actually really not looking forward to it. Up until now, he is totally a product of my body. Frederic and I call him a little cheese, since he's entirely constructed of milk. But hey, I don't want him breastfeeding when he's 20, so I guess he will have to learn to eat at some point. *sob* I hate giving up that special role in his life though.
Anyway, good mom that I am, I've started researching what is available here in terms of baby food. I plan on making my own for the most part, but many people recommend starting with commercial baby cereal. This seems straight-forward enough, except that there are seriously around 20 different kinds of baby cereal available here.
I think all moms start out with the best of intentions. Nutritious, healthy food, reasonable portions, balanced meals. And then, somewhere in toddlerhood, we let our kids have a "taste" of cakes and candies. And it all goes downhill from there.
(On a side note, I'm not sure we'll go with baby cereal, since it is essentially nutrient deficient with the exception of all the vitamins they "fortify" the cereal with, after refining all the natural vitamins out... However, it is almost guaranteed that baby will not be allergic to rice cereal, which is important... so we're still undecided.)
Back to the story. So I'm really depressed about this whole solids food stuff.
The end.
Now for the funny part...
Imagine me, standing in the food aisle of toys'r'us (yes, we do have a toys'r'us here, and it's within walking distance!) I've recently read up on the solid foods chapter in
What to Expect the First Year and I've skimmed through
Super Baby Foods (a super Christmas present from Marc and Hafsa). I am armed with the following nugget of information: Most people (Americans?) think starting vegetables before fruits is a good idea, to prevent baby from developing a "sweet tooth" and refusing veggies later on.
So I'm thinking to myself, "Ok, first rice cereal, then veggies, then fruits, then meats..."
And I see that Switzerland includes one other very important food group in this list.
The chocolate food group.
Apparently, for Swiss people, chocolate falls right between cereal and vegetables. I whipped out my camera in the middle of the store to document this.
Yes, that's right, there's a box of chocolate ovomaltine flavored cereal which you can give your baby starting at 5 months. In the US, we don't recommend chocolate until 2 YEARS because it can be a highly allergenic food. Don't forget these other yummy products for 7 months, 8 months, and 1-3 years...
Ok, seriously, when Eliot vomits and it gets all over his hands, he immediately sticks his hands in his mouth and sucks it all off. Does such a discriminating palate truly need chocolate? Are Swiss people worried that if they don't get chocolate into their babies early enough they might NOT develop a "sweet tooth" and might spend their whole life eating whole grains and vegetables?
Then again, it's Americans who rule the obesity competition, so maybe the Swiss are on to something here?
Eliot and Sam, getting to examine "A tractor. Mommy, A TRACTOR! Mommymommymommy TRACTORRRRR!" up close.
You may be asking yourself, "Does Frederic ever go anywhere without a coffee in his hand?" No, no he doesn't.
Room to run
Ivy and I, walking back to the food tents
Ivy makes a mad grab for the yogurt!!!
A few family shots
"What do you mean I have to wait two more months before I get any good Swiss farm food?"
