Nourishing Beginnings

Dear Mama,

Starting solids is an exciting milestone, one that can feel both joyful and overwhelming. Whether you're exploring traditional purees, baby-led weaning (BLW), or a mix of both, the goal is to nourish your baby with love and nutrient dense foods.

This month i’m offering a free starting solids guide where we dive into signs of readiness, first foods to try & what to avoid, as well as some of my tips for a nourishing start.

I’ll be hosting a live course on the 13th May where I go into more detail about introducing allergens, how to spot allergic reactions vs. food sensitivities, nourishing your baby’s microbiome, protocols for eczema, and sharing a few of my favourite family friendly recipes everyone can enjoy! If you’d like to join the course please respond to this email and I’ll share the link.

Let’s make this journey simple, stress-free, and full of delicious first bites.

With love,

Saba

Nourishment

I’d like to start off by acknowledging that you may all be at different stages of your motherhood journey right now but I feel like this topic applies at any stage.

The word nourish comes from the latin nutrire “to feed, to care for, or to support”. Nurture, nutrition, and nurse are all based on the same root word. Nourishment is defined as “food necessary for growth, health, and good condition”.

For those of you who are trying to conceive, nourishing your future child starts prior to conception. When we are intentional about what we consume, and aware of the nutrient density of our meals, we are setting our body up to be the first home for our future child.

Once you’re pregnant these habits will continue to grow, and as your nutrient demands increase, tuning into what your body and baby need, during this heightened time of intuitive awareness can benefit both of you. Studies have shown that the types of food and the flavours eaten by women during pregnancy may be experienced by infants before their first exposure to solid foods.

Cooking nourishing meals at home regularly, and being in the habit of doing so instead of ordering take-out can ease the transition both into postpartum, as well as when starting solids. Of course we all get super busy and have days where we don’t have time to even think about cooking, trust me it happens to me too! But let’s aim to make those the odd days. If we’re lucky enough to have the choice to eat what we want, when we want, then why not aim to make the best choice for ourselves and our loved ones.

Expert Tips

Focus on iron-rich foods. Iron requirements for a 6-12 month old baby is 11mg, this is more than an adult male (8mg).

Heme iron (most bioavailable) found in meat, seafood and poultry (25-45% absorbable).

Non-heme iron (less bioavailable) found in plant & iron-fortified foods (2-13% absorbable).

Increasing iron absorption with food sources of Vitamin C (capsicum, citrus, broccoli) can triple non-heme iron’s absorption. Also cooking in a cast iron pan can increase iron content of foods.

Food sources of heme iron: organ meats (liver, kidney), oysters, clams, venison, duck, sardines, beef, lamb, fish, mackerel, trout, sea bass), eggs, shrimps, crab, chicken, turkey.

Food sources of non heme iron: Lentils, quinoa, beans, tomato puree, asparagus, spinach, chickpeas, beetroot (including greens), seeds (sesame, pumpkin).

Free Guide

My gentle guide to starting solids includes a checklist to know whether your baby is ready, recommended first foods to try and what to avoid, and a few expert tips.

LINK

Self-Care for Mama

Sit and eat together as much as possible, they learn from watching us eat. Try to make mealtime enjoyable for you too, maybe by playing your favourite tunes in the background.
Don’t stress! Mess is part of the learning. Invest in a splat mat or place a towel under the high chair for easier clean up.

Keep in mind that they have only had liquids before starting solid food, so adjusting to new textures and feelings of fullness may take time. Give them the space they need to adapt. Don't stress about achieving perfection. Some days your baby will eat well, and other days they might not, and that's perfectly fine.

Affirmation: “I am nourishing my baby with love, patience, and trust.”

Growing Together is a community newsletter with a mission to share insights into the world of maternal and infant nutrition through monthly updates. This includes recipes, expert tips, self-care practises, and Q&A’s where I encourage you to ask me questions on holistic maternal and infant nutrition to help foster an online community.

Ask me a question by replying to this email.