When people think of foods that babies will like, they usually go to the same list of fruits and vegetables: banana, avocado, potato, sweet potato. They suggest these because they are mostly soft, easy to eat, and other than the potato, are very nutrient dense for a baby’s small stomach. The thing is – with sweet potato, Kaia didn’t really like it right away. She found it a little weird and would eat a few bites and then stop. It may have been because I steamed it a lot in the beginning. So I started varying up how I made it. Yesterday, I finally roasted them in thick wedges and coated them in extra virgin olive oil and cinnamon, nothing else. And she grabbed and demolished both fat wedges in just minutes. I was shocked. I gave it to her first, thinking she wouldn’t eat much of it, and instead, she ate the entire large portion I gave her!

It takes a lot of patience to serve a baby something 18-20 times (the recommended number to see if they REALLY dislike something) before making a call on whether they really dislike something. But if someone has been really patient and persevering in this process, it’s definitely me. I have really shocked myself with how patient I’ve managed to be with all her food prep and observing her exploring and eating food.