No Soup For You!
As babies start to eat solid foods and “adult” foods, one must be careful about choosing what to introduce and when. If you don’t believe me, then let me tell you a little story.
Over the years, Marcie has refined several really great recipes for different soups. Recently, she made up a batch of cilantro and white bean soup that was wonderful (as usual). The key ingredients are ham hocks, white beans, and cilantro. But there’s all kinds of other goodness in there, too.
Now, it’s become our habit to feed Joseph and then eat our own meals. Part of that is because he won’t eat his own food (and will try to get some of ours) if he sees “grownup” food. So by feeding him first, we can guarantee he’ll get a well balanced meal and eat enough of it. Then, we let him sample what we’re eating if he wants it. A lot of our foods aren’t things he can eat yet, so we avoid giving him those items and stick to things like bits of dinner rolls, etc.
So a few days back, I fed Joseph his lunch and then started eating my bowl of soup. Joseph immediately lost interest in the pile of Cheerios in front of him and wanted to try the soup. I figured that since it was really spicy (as in “flavorful”, not as in “hot”), he probably would take a taste, hate it, and then leave me alone.
Not so.
He loved it, wanted more, and became quite insistent. Not thinking too clearly, I thought “fine” and starting alternating between feeding him a tiny spoonful and feeding myself a large spoonful. All was well. All was well until about 24 hours later, that is. Then it was time for payback. Babies don’t think ahead or consider consequences, but adults should and I have no excuse. I should have known what a combination of beans and spices would do to a baby’s intestines. The result was what can only be described as the Hiroshima of poo explosions.
So after a hazardous waste cleanup effort (and an accompanying load of wash) Marcie and I are a bit wiser. Next time Joseph clamors for cilantro bean soup, the answer will have to be “No soup for you!”