Solid Foods - the first milestone that really makes a mom feel like her baby is growing up way too fast. I had planned to delay solids as long as possible (and not just because I want to keep my baby a baby!) The two main reasons were that food allergies run in my family and we had a rocky start to breastfeeding. I know most babies transition to solids and have no issues continuing to nurse. However, I have met a couple of moms who, like me, had trouble with milk production in the beginning, and when they started solids, they had major trouble again. So I was definitely hesitant. However, baby Keziah has been so interested in food for quite a while now. She is always trying to grab food off our plates. Recently she has been chowing down on paper whenever she can get her hands on some. She seriously ate half the bulletin in church on Sunday. The signs that she was ready were all there, so I finally decided we should give it a try. After much research on the different philosophies of starting solids, I decided we would do baby-led-weaning. I really liked this method for several reasons, but mainly because breast milk is still always offered first, and because baby gets to be in control of what she eats. Supposedly this leads to children who are much better eaters. After hearing horror stories from Michael Paul and his mom about timers and throwing up at the table because Mr. Picky refused to eat, I really want to do what I can to encourage Keziah to be a good eater.
So last night, Keziah went in her high chair and was offered sweet potato, carrots, and bananas. I really thought she would dig in, seeing as how she was finally getting to do what she has been wanting for a month.
She definitely liked the sweet potato. She went for that first.
The carrots, she found were more fun to throw on the floor.
After she had eaten all the sweet potatoes and thrown the carrots on the floor, I offered her the banana because she was having trouble picking it up.
She didn't really like banana.
Overall, her reaction to solids .... 'meh'.
This morning, I offered her frozen banana in her Nuby Nibbler. Again, not so into bananas. She was more interested in chewing on the handle.
So I am somewhat relieved that she seems to not be as excited about solids as I had originally thought. At this point it is more about exploring her curiosities about foods than it is about nutrition anyway.
How cute! I love it that she likes sweet potatoes, but surprised that she didn't care for the banana. Too funny that she threw the carrots on the floor...did she even taste one?
ReplyDeleteWhat a big girl!! Solid baby foods are so mushy and fun to feel. She looked to be keeping herself relatively clean in the feeding process. Way to go, Keziah!
ReplyDeleteCan your next blog post be about the horror stories involving timers and throw up? That sounds rather entertaining. :)
Yeah for new tastes! We did BLW (milk first, always) as our way of introducing solids, but we did only one food option at a time. I have read that it is easier to peg an allergic reaction when you give only one food and then build gradually to the next food type. Do you think this might be helpful if you think allergies are a high possibility? Also, don't count out the throwing up/gagging, timers, begging, pleading, an hour in front of your plate moments. Daniel graces us with those despite using this approach. I think it is just a rite of passage as toddler and parent.....unfortunately! :o/
ReplyDeleteHey Summer, yeah everyone always says to introduce one food at a time. But there is no research that supports doing this prevents allergies. The only reason to give foods one at a time is, like you said, to make it easier for you to identify the food causing issues should a sensitivity show itself. When introducing foods known to be possible allergens, I will introduce one at a time. But many fruits and vegetables have proven themselves safe for virtually all babies over 6 months. So I've decided not to drag it out on the 'safe' foods and introduce three at a time. Right now, she is not really digesting anything anyway. Because BLW emphasizes babies feeding themselves finger foods (i.e. no purees or spoon feeding), the first few weeks are more about her exploring different tastes and textures and learning how to chew and swallow. She probably won't start getting any in her belly for another month. In the mean time, I want her to experience a variety of tastes and textures.
ReplyDeleteAs for being a good eater, I'm hoping she gets that from her mama. I was always a good eater and had no issues cleaning my plate of veggies as a kid. Maybe it is a boy/girl thing! :o) But I do think not being force-fed helped me to be a better eater. Kids are always more agreeable at doing things that they think are their idea.
As for the horror stories, Valerie, my favorite is this: Michael Paul was once given beets to eat (which he despised). They made him gag, he hated them so much. But he was forced to eat them. He gagged until he threw up and then his mom told him that it didn't count because he threw them up, so she made him eat more of them! To this day, Michael Paul gets extremely irritable if you suggest he try something and he eats very few veggies.
not like bananas? Oh Keziah! You have to get over that one honey! They are the BEST, especially in a banana split!
ReplyDeleteSounds like fun watching her discover food and seeing where her tastes lean.
Poor MP. I would not have eaten the beets either. Yuck!
ReplyDeleteI tell Daniel he just has to try it. He will sit and sit and refuse to try it, even the tiniest of pieces. I have no intentions of making him clean his plate of stuff, just try it.....and he will try it and make himself gag. Maybe it is a boy/girl thing. I have no girls to test that theory!
We did purees that I made with Wesley but allowed him to self feed with them often....totally messy but lots of fun!! It helped him explore more tastes sooner since I think he was a little slow on getting some teeth. The jaws only did so much for him on some items. We don't really have any allergies in our families, so that was not as much of a concern for us like it is for you. In fact, Wesley ate his first peanut butter cracker at like 7 months (thanks to big brother), which I am sure would put me in parenting jail since PB is a big no for kids under 1. He also ate tons of strawberries, which are also on that do not eat list. But he liked them all! And, as you bring up in your post, he never wavered on his nursing even though he loved other food.
Hah, Summer!! Charlotte just got a sandwich made for her lovely older sister...with natural honey! Also a no-no til 2...but she didn't have any issues...she thought it was great, though!! :)
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