Baby knows best?

When I was reading Gill Rapley's book, I was struck by a study she cited. Granted, it was conducted in the 1920s and 1930s, but I still found it interesting. Basically, 15 exclusively breast-fed seven to nine month-olds were followed for as long as four years to see what would happen if they were allowed to choose their own food. They were offered 33 foods (all separate, so nothing like soup etc). The babies were allowed to choose whatever they wanted and if they finished a whole portion of any food, that food was replaced so they could have more if they wanted. The children were given blood/urine tests to monitor their health. By the end of each child's participation in the study he/she was healthier than when the study began. Although some children would binge on things like eggs one day, they'd eat something different the next day. The doctor who conducted the study concluded that these children would eat the foods that they needed to stay healthy.

I thought of this today because Chicken has the sniffles. I was thinking about what I'd want to eat if I felt crummy and unfortunately soup isn't really a good food for someone her age! Aside from wanting soup, I always want ginger ale, juice, etc, which also aren't appropriate. So, I offered her a pretty standard breakfast: a pumpkin pancake, pear, cantaloupe and some pureed prunes (we're having a little potty issue...). Well, she ate piece after piece of cantaloupe. Even though it tends to be something she likes, she rarely wants more than a piece or two. She went through four pieces today, sucking out all of the juice, and then moving on to several pieces of pear, which she juiced too. Well, wouldn't you know it but cantaloupe has tons of vitamins, especially vitamin C. Apparently, pears have a good amount of vitamin C too, along with being very good for the digestive system.

Granted, I didn't offer Chicken 33 foods. (People who've eaten at our house probably wouldn't be surprised if I had, but still, I didn't...) But, she did decide to have more of the juicy vitamin C-rich foods than usual. It would be so cool if it was because her body was craving them to fend off her sniffles! Even if that's not the case, she ate a much healthier breakfast than I usually do!

P.S. I don't have a photo from this morning, but I think a post is pretty boring without one. So here's a photo of Chicken devouring pureed prunes the other day. Her highchair cover was in the wash and she makes quite a mess when given a spoon, so she was all set up on the floor...