Daycare meals in the first 2 years

While it's still fresh on my mind, I wanted to put down some of my thoughts on weaning. The oxford dictionary defines weaning as：

“[to] accustom (an infant or other young mammal) to food other than its mother's milk.”

Weaning starts with the first introduction of solids, and ends with the last nursing session, so it can be a gradual, multi-year process. A lot of women give a negative connotation to weaning, but I would argue it is just one beautiful transition among many.

4-6 months

My husband was home with the baby during most of this time, but when we transitioned to daycare, we sent 4 bottles totaling 15 fl oz of breast milk (3.5 fl oz, 3.5 fl oz, 4 fl oz, & 4 fl oz). The first two weeks, she was only drinking 8-12 fl oz at most as she adjusted to her new environment.

6-8 months

We only did 1 meal per day for the first 4-5 weeks, so my little one had that one meal with us at home. The daycare asked for more milk, but I told them I couldn't send more than 15 fl oz. Around 5 weeks in, I started sending one food that I thought she was likely to eat with her daycare providers based on our experience at home. I sent yogurt and purees to daycare primarily, but I did more baby led weaning at home.

Looking back, I wonder why I even bothered baking apples to give in the fresh food feeder when I could have just given applesauce. Applesauce became my best friend last year.  My little one turned 6 months in late August, so our early menu was influenced by the fall season:

- Mashed potato or sweet potato

- Pureed winter squash

- Applesauce 

- Applesauce mixed with homemade pureed carrots/ beets

- Whole milk yogurt

- Whole milk yogurt, mixed with mashed banana or pureed berries

9-11 months

By 8-9 months, we started offering the smoothie melts, bamba, and baby puffs that are ubiquitous in baby food aisles. Cheerios were also popular about 3 months into the weaning process. By the 9 month mark, I would try to send 2-3 food items to daycare, knowing that likely one would likely not be eaten:

- Applesauce, mixed with yogurt + Pureed barley and vegetable soup + Cheerios

- Pumpkin, mixed with yogurt + Chicken tortilla soup + Applesauce with pureed beets

- Mashed banana, mixed with cooked oats and ground flax + Butternut squash puree + Smoothie melts

12-14 months

By 1 year, I was sending 3 tupperwares full of food each day - 1 full meal and 2 snacks. She would drink milk at home, and eat breakfast at daycare most days still. Maybe if she woke up early she would a few bites eat with me. Although she was eating crackers, pasta, rice, bread, chicken and steak at home long before this, I waited until she could eat a bit more consistently before sending it on a regular basis to daycare.

- 2 pork dumplings with diced zucchini + Whole milk yogurt, cheerios & banana wedges + Brown rice, chicken tikka masala, & avocado slices

-  Whole milk yogurt with pureed prunes, alphabet crackers, & green pea harvest snaps + Lo mein noodles, diced tofu, cooked green beans, diced mango + Crackers with hummus

- French toast slices, strawberry slices, whole milk + Bean and cheese quesadilla with salsa + Store bought fruit & veggie puree

- Homemade oat bar, banana wedges + Scrambled egg, diced sweet potato, sliced avocado, and smashed blueberries + Rotini pasta with tomato carrot sauce & rotisserie chicken

15-18 months

Daycare now provides meals and snacks for us, but this has brought it's own challenges. The first week we still sent one meal per day to help her transition, and on days where all she eats is veggies stix between 3 and 6 pm she is often starving hungry when she gets home. We have had to buy fewer groceries now, and we have a ton of cheerios sitting in our pantry uneaten.