Contrary to what these photos might imply, we haven’t started solids with David yet.
Instead, we’ve just been putting him in his high chair while WE eat solids. He likes it so far; being on the same level with us is his version of a Caribbean cruise.
When we went to Franklin County for my mom’s birthday, we decided to give David a taste of mashed potatoes.
Before we started, Abby looked David in the eyes and said, “I just want you to know, if you try these mashed potatoes you will forever be ruined for any other mashed potatoes, because these are the best mashed potatoes in the world.”
Even with that disclaimer David wasn’t interested at first.
When he finally got a mouthful, I think he mostly just enjoyed chewing on my finger.
Not to mention all the attention on him. An ENTIRE TABLE of people were watching his every move and a CAMERA was there to document it all. This photo is when David stopped what he was doing to thank the Academy.
I’ve heard that when you introduce solids babies sleep better. That didn’t happen, but I did enjoy this little side benefit…extra tastes of mashed potatoes for mommy.
When we went to the doctor for David’s 4-month check-up, I didn’t feel ready to start solids at all. I know some people start rice cereal at four months or even before, but that little “start feeding your baby food” alarm hadn’t gone off for me yet. The doctor supported my feelings and sent me on my way. I happened to forget that I wouldn’t see him again for two months, so I didn’t ask any follow-up questions.
Little did I know, I have SO MANY follow-up questions!
Solids seem foreign for some reason. Everything else (besides sleep) has been relatively straight-forward. Feeding, diapering, and keeping him away from open flames has sort of come naturally.
But SOLIDS!? There are so many theories out there and I have so many questions. What should I give him? And how much? And when? And how will this change breastfeeding? And using different sleep philosophies seems like no big deal compared to my kid’s NUTRITION. If only I put this much thought into what I eat every day…
I’ve asked lots of moms what they do, and I could probably call the doctor before our 6-month check-up, but to be honest, I still don’t feel a strong urge to get started. It’s more like I feel like I SHOULD feel an urge to start.
I’m probably making too big of a deal about it, but I’m a first-time mom. It’s what we do.
When David was only a few weeks old I frantically e-mailed my sister-in-law with some questions about sleep. She must have sensed my desperation, because she wrote back a great, informational e-mail full of helpful advice. She was very clear about one thing, she said she wished she hadn’t wasted so much time comparing herself to others or second-guessing herself.
I’ve tried to remember that advice as I make decisions for my son. I haven’t been at this very long, but I can already tell that this parenting thing is a series of making decisions as best you can, hoping for the best and trusting God with the results.
Solids are just the beginning. Later we’ll deal with bigger decisions, like when to potty train, what he’s allowed to watch on TV, or when to tell him the truth: daddy once considered going to UVa.
That truth will have to come out when he’s thinking about attending UVA.
I started Micah on bananas b/c that is what I had on hand. Then I began fretting b/c I had given him sweet food before veggies. Turns out it only took 3-4 tries for him to like peas. So, I am in agreement with your not freaking out thing. It is WAY to easy to do. I did have a friend who only did veggies until her child liked all.most of them. But again, I don’t really think this is necessary. 🙂 Hope that helps!!
I’ve heard start with cereal, i’ve heard go through the purees by color (orange, then green, etc), i’ve heard of "baby led weaning", and my cousin (who lives in a very large city with very reputable pediatricians) started her baby out on MEAT! (apparently that’s the new thing, higher iron) So I’ve decided to adopt the philosophy "solids before 1 is just for fun" and that keep me from stressing out. (At least about food. Sleep is a whole other issue) However, I did find this website very helpful: <a href="http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/" rel="nofollow">http://wholesomebabyfood.momta…</a> Also, we didn’t do solids at 4 mo either. He just seemed to young! We played around a bit and didn’t start offering it at least once a day until 6 months.<br>
I remember stressing over all those new phases (still do it!) We started at 5 1/2 months with avocado and then sweet potatoes. Just a few bites per day, and most drs say to wait a few days between each new food, so that’s what we did. We followed it with rice cereal, banana, etc. I’m not sure if we’ll do it quite as slowly and carefully next time around, but I totally understand the first time mom feelings!
I loved baby food solids. Where they were nice little servings of veggies or fruit and I knew that they were eating healthy and exactly enough. Now we have to feed them "real people food" and it has stressed me out to the point that I don’t like to be in the room when Brian feeds them. We started the twins on one tsp of rice cereal at like 3 weeks (per my MIL’s instructions) then transitioned to baby oatmeal like at 4 months? 6 months? I don’t know. We didn’t start the veggie and fruits until 5 or 6 months. But it wasn’t as stressful as it feels. And soon you won’t remember how you transitioned him to solids…so make sure you write about it on your blog :o)You are a great mom, Amanda!!
I say give him a babyspoonful of butter or coconut oil to keep him happy at mealtime and wait until he is older. I have always used ‘baby led weaning’, I am a big fan but it isn’t for everyone. Really there are no hard and fast rules. Even all the recommendations about waiting on certain foods because of allergies are starting to be changed. Solids should always be fun even after one. In my experience, the more moms stress out about feeding the more of an issue it becomes. ALL kids go through picky phases, even if they ate every vegetable under the sun as a baby. You can’t prevent pickiness, but you can create eating issues. But don’t worry, you have a long way to go before David tries to turn eating into a power struggle. My favorite resource on the matter is <a href="http://raisehealthyeaters.com" rel="nofollow">raisehealthyeaters.com</a>, written by a nutritionist with young kids and one of her kids is super picky, so she talks often about how to handle that.
I can speak from my little bit of experience.. Allison HATED solid foods.. screamed , fretted and fought. It was awful!! In retrospect I would have waited until she seemed like she actually wanted to try it… So do what you think is best.. if I would have followed my heart instead of my brain things would have not gone the same way… But alas she is happy and healthy and has a tummy so she must like her food a lot these days.
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