Our life looks totally different in so many ways with our 4th baby than it did when we just had one. The obvious difference is we are currently traveling full time, living in an RV as we make our way around the US this year. The less noticeable difference- one that I haven’t shared much about yet, is how different Wallace is from his siblings when it comes to milestones.
I’m excited to team up with Beech-Nut® Naturals™ for this sponsored post to tell you about one way I’m feeding my baby this year with their real food for babies™, inspired by homemade.
He’s developing a bit slower when it comes to speech, but we aren’t super concerned… yet. He’s probably got at least 15 solid words that we can understand, which is slightly above the minimum for hitting that milestone at this age, and he clearly knows exactly what we’re talking about and asking him. We could say, “Go pick up that blue ball under the red basket in the other room,” and he’d do exactly that.
But ask him to repeat something after you? Yeah, he’s not going to. Ask him what a dog says? Nope, not gonna try.
Beyond the slower and more stubborn speech, he’s also much slower to try new foods. My other children were adventurous eaters by this age, but Wallace will pick and nibble and then insist on nursing or drinking whole milk. He probably gets most of his calories from milk still. It’s honestly frustrating some days.
The only real way we can count on him getting some veggies and fruit is with purees, like Beech-Nut Naturals. He will suck them down. He’s been loving jarred purees mixed with steamed brown rice.
We mix that up and entice him to eat as much as he can at his own little table. He loves feeling like a big boy, and sitting at this table seems to trick him into eating more.
When my first was a baby, I made all of his baby food, and I’m glad I got to experience that. But, that’s not been a realistic endeavor for me with Wallace. So from the moment he showed he was ready to try solids, we’ve been stocking our pantry with Beech-Nut Naturals. They are 100% natural, nothing artificial, made with the same ingredients I used when I had time to make homemade baby food. They even have an organic line.
For those wondering, we dabble in baby-lead weaning, but it’s always been an unnecessary source of anxiety for me, and Wallace has never showed interest in it. He would rather eat purees from day one, and he obviously still loves them.
So I’m guilt-free feeding him what he will happily eat, and doing what I can to help him spark some new words, but also reminding myself that comparing him to the other kids isn’t necessary. He’s his own person. And while his language may be taking time to blossom, and his food preferences may be a bit maddening, his physical coordination is super impressive.
He has been scaling anything and everything since he could pull up, and his new favorite perch is atop that table so he can join us at the island.
We call him Danger Baby for a reason, y’all.
Of course, I’ll bring all of this up with his pediatrician. We hope to head back to Texas soon for a couple weeks just so we can get appointments in. Hopefully by then he’ll have a few more words and he’ll be branching out and enjoying some other Beech-Nut Naturals toddler meal hacks- like this sweet potato pasta:
I would love to hear from you if your baby’s speech developed at a slower pace. I’m not sure what he’s experiencing is technically a speech delay at this point, but I do know if it comes to that there are early intervention resources to help us. Beyond that, though, do you have any tips for encouraging more words from a not quite 2 year old? Or, in your experience, has it been a wait and see situation? I’m kinda expecting he’ll wake up one day and start in on a monologue and surprise us all.
Thanks to Beech-Nut Naturals for sponsoring this, and for being a baby food I have felt good about feeding Wallace from the time he first tasted solids. You can find them in your nearest grocery store for your own babies- just look for the signature honey-pot shaped glass jars with the green lids.
Goodness, I really like when my babies turn into real babies. I like when all that growing is entertaining, and all that feeding them all day and all night rewards me with cheeks on cheeks and rolls on rolls.
As annoying as it is for other people to tell me to “cherish this time” I think I will consciously try to cherish this time, while also giving myself permission to get annoyed at how little I get done while cherishing it.
