Layla Eat?

I was trying to think of all the words Layla knows so far for things related to food and drink. There are actually quite a few. Some she can pronounce better than others.

Basic words: Eat, done, more (sign too), naas (Somali for breasts, for nursing of course) and snack=nats

I think she gets the more sign mixed up with just wanting to eat though.

Favorite foods and drinks she knows:

Oatmeal=oatmee

apple=apee

juice=oosh

water=wawii
yogurt=gogee

cheese
tea

cookie

soup

salad=salee

fish

I guess that's about it. She also accents her eating words with yummy, yucky=gucky, and eww. She also says dirt when I sweep up the floor.

Not bad for just turning 18mo. today.

Yummy!

We had fun tonight eating pancakes for dinner. Since I was still cooking while Layla was ready to eat, I decided try something new. She had been playing with some bowls on the floor, so I put some torn up pancakes in one. I just gave her a fork and let her get at it. She seemed to enjoy eating while playing kitchen.

First Candy

I always thought I would NEVER give Layla candy until she was like 6 years old. Well, first I cracked by giving her cookies and brownies, so I guess this was the next logical step. We had just having dinner at my parents' and my dad asked if he could give her a sucker since everyone else was having one too. As you can see she ended up stealing mine as well!
All in all she did well with the candy and hardly even got sticky. When I took the sucker away after she dropped it she didn't even throw a fit. She did look like she really enjoyed the whole experience though.

I love my broccoli!

I think its so important to start little kids out eating a variety of food. We started Layla on a few solids around 6mos., then she got into eating more substantial amounts of food by 8mos. or so. I really never used pureed food except to mix with things or when we were traveling. As a result, she got used to textured and flavored foods right away. Her favorite food from 8-10 mos. or so was actually beans! They kept her system regulated for sure. She does have some food preferences, but only refuses to eat something if you've been making her eat it day after day. Right now she's like that with bananas. Tonight I made chicken and noodles and broccoli. She ate some chicken and noodles with her little fork, but surprised me with the broccoli. She has eaten it before, but went crazy for it this time. Together we ate an entire bowl just of broccoli. She definitely likes her meat and vegetables.

My little carnivore

My dad's new favorite thing to do with Layla? He likes to give her a big piece of steak and just let her chew on it for awhile. The funny thing is, she really likes it. Sometimes it keeps her busy for a half hour or so. She is also starting to get her canine teeth now, so that might be another reason that chewing brings her so much joy.

Tainted Chinese Formula!

Don't freak out just yet...This formula was not widely imported into the U.S., however it just demonstrates yet again how formula feeding will never be as safe and nutritious as breastfeeding is. Here is the link from CNN.
The formula was tainted with Melamine. This is the same chemical in the pet food that was recalled last year. I am so glad that I never had to even remotely consider feeding formula to Layla. Formula ingredients are specifically chosen so that the formulation can as closely resemble human milk as our knowledge allows. However, new compounds are being discovered in human milk all the time. Plus, formula is a processed food make in a factory in massive quantities. Thus, it can never be the same as human milk, which changes from day to day in response to a baby's own nutritional needs. After researching the topic extensively, I would only feed formula as a truly last resort.