Unconventional early foods....

[MediumBrownDog]

So tonight I had my 6 month old son on my left hip, holding a Claussen's garlic dill pickle in my left hand, slicing it up with a paring knife in my right hand. The phone rings, and I grab it with my right hand, baby still on left hip and pickle in left hand. Before I know it, the baby has CHOMPED down on the pickle and is gnawing away, blissful look on his face as he teeths and sucks on it. (Yes, I kept it firmly in my grasp and took it away after a while, and he wasn't able to get a chunk off of it with his two little teeth, so no choking risk). I'm sure the temperature of the pickle (cold) was soothing to his gums, but the only solid food this kid has had is rice cereal! While I am a complete pickle/olive/pepper kinda girl, and he is breastfed, I didn't expect him to be this fearless with flavors this early!

Anyone else had an interesting experience with early foods/flavors?

[Sabriel]

1. My daughter would eat anything with garlic

Sometimes her skin would exude garlic at night. I guess all that garlic-flavored breastmilk did it.

[Citizen Jane]

10. Interesting you say that...

I can't remember where I read the story about kids actually preferring garlic flavoured breastmilk, but it turns out that they do. This was cited in a book I was reading as potential evidence that excess garlic would not make your child find your milk distasteful....wish I could remember the source.

My daughter has never turned up her nose to garlic in Mommy Milk or any place else!

[trotsky]

2. Our son was the same way with pickles.

He's loved them since the first time he tasted one.

But the really odd thing was lemons. When he was about 9 months old, we took him out to eat, and both my wife an I got lemons in our drinks. I don't remember what we had, probably iced tea or lemonade.

Anyway, we take the lemons out and set them down, and he is just INSISTENT that he have one of them. So, thinking we'll teach him a lesson about not all foods being tasty, hand one over.

Well wouldn't you know, the guy starts chomping on it! He LOVED it! Even though his mouth would purse up from the sour taste, he kept coming back for more. For several months, to keep him occupied while the food was being prepared, we'd have the server bring a little plate of lemon wedges. Crazy kid.

He doesn't chew on lemons anymore, but he does still LOVE pickles.

[SW FL Dem]

5. My son did the same thing at about the same age

I have some priceless footage of him chomping on a lemon slice, grimacing, giggling and then going back for more.

[fortyfeetunder]

3. Also started with garlic

I remember when my kid was close to 4 months old, I was making garlic mashed potatoes while I was wearing him in a sling. Up to this time he was exclusively breastfed. And it shocked me he was just frantically grabbing to get a taste of this concoction, and started eating it...

He started teething a few weeks later, and I took him to a baseball game, and had an apple. He wanted to gnaw on the apple for most of the game.

Then he discovered rib bonesat about 8 months old. We bought spare ribs from the local barbecue joints and he just loved to gnaw on those bones, did I have a baby or a puppy?

And yes, lemons and limes are also his other cravings, even today.

[CornField]

4. My oldest loved spicy hot foods

At about six months old she insisted to have some food off my plate at a Mexican restaurant. I gave in and honestly expected her to scream once she tasted it. Nope, she adored it... and still does today at age 13. :)

BTW, I'm also a spicy food addict and she was breastfed. It does make you wonder how much of what we prefer to eat gets transferred, doesn't it?

[Citizen Jane]

11. Another spicy baby here

She has loved guacamole with jalapenos and other spicy foods since she was about 9 months old. She particularly likes Thai-Malaysian foods and black pepper sauces (I could not believe the Hot vinegar BBQ sauce she was into last night). She'll be 2 next week.

[LeftyMom]

6. My son's first adult food was garlic soup.

He also likes to drink lemon juice straight from the bottle.

Guess what two flavors I craved when I was pregnant and lactating?

[detroitguy]

7. Lots of kids like pickles

My son has since early-on. Plus, he also loves olives, lemon slices and some kinds of strong cheese. He is three now, but has been eating stuff like that since before he was a year old.

[Fleshdancer]

8. pickles, olives, and sushi...

my daughter has an odd palate. she was eating these things as early as two and sushi is now her favorite food...only she calls it shushi.

[elehhhhna]

9. Tip for teething baby snack:

Frozen waffles. Still frozen. Cut 'em in strips & hand them over. They don't fall apart or make a disgusting slurry like those nasty teething biscuits...(my 8 year old still likes them frozen. Euw.)

[LibertyLover]

12. Unconventional foods

My little girl also loves spicy food - especially Chinese hot and sour soup. You should see the look on her face as she slurps it -- and the looks of disbelief on the faces of those around us. But heck, she was born in Hubei province and ate spicy foods for the first 16 months of her life.

Now my one greyhound won't eat shrimp unless there is cocktail sauce on them - that is pretty unconventional.