Well, I'll tell you why. =) There are really two reasons for the lack of cake. Firstly, when we moved, we got behind on introducing new foods, and I know you are probably thinking "Well, you've had plenty of time since then to get caught up." And you are correct. However, we have been taking our time (we're not in a huge rush), and going slow. That being said, we are still behind and Peanut Butter Cup hasn't really been introduced to any grains yet--I know, shocking right? We will be trying oatmeal out (I'd say again, but he really only got a taste of it the first time because he was too tired to be interested in eating on our first try) in the near future, and will move from there to other grains.
More and more parents are becoming aware of the potential risks of introducing foods too early or too quickly. Doing so with certain foods may cause a baby to develop an allergy to that particular food, which is what we've been trying to prevent--especially since a food allergy sticks with you for the rest of your life! Even though Peanut Butter Cup may be out of (most of) the "too early" category, we don't see a need to risk it and possibly overwhelm his body with a ton of new stuff all at once. Are we being over-protective? Maybe, but I'd rather err on the side of over-protection than wish we'd done things differently later.
The other really big reason why there wouldn't be a cake even if he'd already been introduced to grains is sugar. A.K.A. cake frosting. We don't see the need to introduce sweets/junk food to our baby at this point in time. In the interest of trying to develop healthy eating habits (and yes, this is something I've researched and read about, so no worries that I've developed this theory on my own =) we will be holding off on giving Peanut Butter Cup sugar until he is older. Would allowing him to have frosting one time really make him a sugar 'addict' (ha ha)? No, probably not, but I still don't feel the need to give it too him this time around. It's not like he's going to know any different anyhow, so we will wait until next year for him to have a birthday cake.
He may or may not develop healthy eating habits that carry on throughout his life, but I'd rather try to instill them right from the start than just give him whatever and hope for the best.
So, there you have it, the reasons why there was no cake for Peanut Butter Cup this year.
I agree 100% about the sugar, I try to keep Tadpole off of it as much as I can. I want him to eat healthy, and not get a taste for sweets.
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