The Adventures of Emma and the Spoon
Emma, meet Spoon. Spoon, Emma.
So we've decided to introduce Emma to "solids" this week. She's been staring at us during breakfast and lunch and has even shown a special interest to her daddy's bread.
In true Hillsy/Marichelle fashion we strangely chose to go with meat (beef). So I pan-cooked a very thin/tiny piece of beef, added a few drops of breastmilk and pureed it in the processor.
Let's just say Day 1 didn't go so well - lots of spitting out, gagging, smacking the spoon away.....
OK. So giving a baby who's had nothing but warm milk for the last 6 months dry pasty beef paté wasn't exactly one of my crowning moments. Live and learn people, live and learn.
Day 2 was a tad better. I decided to give oatmeal a go. I mixed a teaspoon of it with 4 teaspoons of breastmilk. She finished it all, although her bib probably ended up with most of it. Let's not talk about the mess part - I'm still working on getting used to that part!! Oh cringe. She's still getting used to the idea of the spoon - she's currently sucking it like a nipple, but I'm sure she'll be a pro in no time.
Her pediatrician didn't offer any additional insights re introducing solids/food plan, just the usual - introduce different foods one at a time so you can track allergies, no milk, no honey... blah blah blah. So I'm just going to play it by ear, wait for her to get used to the oatmeal then gradually introduce veggies, fruits and meat (again). For now I'm adding one course of the baby cereal (a teaspoon or two) after her "lunch" milk, I'll probably increase that to a tablespoon by next week.
I'm very excited about making my own baby food! I don't plan on buying any baby food specific equipment, fortunately we already have a steamer and a food processor. Although I have my eye on this hand mixer, I guess we'll see how it goes with the food processor. One of my all-time favorite food bloggers Deb posted about her favorite baby food making tools. I recently purchased one set of these and another of these. Pink for fruit, green for veg.
Here are a couple of useful articles I found about introducing solids to your baby:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/first-foods.html
http://www.babycenter.com/0_introducing-solid-food_113.bc?showAll=true
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/readyforsolids.htm
8 comments:
Hehe...you had me cracking up with your description of Emma gagging her way through her first solid food feeding of MEAT PASTE! LOL
And yes...it's going to get crazy messy with solid foods (get out the drop cloths), but it's so much fun too. I have no doubt that you two will be pros in no time!
xo Ez
I introduced my son to baby food when he was about 4.5 months old!! I couldn't wait so I started a little early but continued to breastfeed as normal.
They usually recommend rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. I know my little man loved it! He developed quite the appetite by the time he was a full-time solids eater and eats everything!!
The best part was making the food. It was the highlight to my day! This was a good source for me:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
HAVE FUN!
haha...you crack me up! live and learn...live and learn :-)
you should get this bib: http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-76260-Bibbity-Blue/dp/B0032CWWV8/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1298488864&sr=8-18
julia used it til she was 3!!! does a great job of catching most food...and it's easy to clean.
good luck with the mess...you're on another adventure :-)
I just started solids this past week with rice cereal. I was quite anxious about the whole thing and started reading as much as possible which was probably a bad idea cuz it just got me more anxious and confused. So I just went for it and now it's fun and exciting to be a chef for a little one. Now I'm just anxious about the mess and the change in poop. UGH!!! My little girl, Marlee is 2 days older than your cutie pie Emma. I love reading your blog cuz I can relate so much to what your going through. Thanks!
meat paste!! oh no! :)
we started my 6 month old on solids about 4 weeks ago. rice cereal was first. she really didn't *eat* any of it. but with time she did. i thought that the rice didn't have much nutritional value so i moved on to oatmeal - she loved. mix with at tad of applesauce and she's in love. the peas, however, GAG city. i'd say go for some sweet potatoes mixed with some milk.
our dr didn't give us much instruction either so i'm experimenting as well. i really enjoy it too. thanks for the links!
we have that same spoon, but i found the smaller gerber ones to be easier for her to use.
and just a note - i really love reading your blog as my baby girl is just a few weeks younger. i first came to it when searching for nursery inspiration. LOVE emma's room. rosie's is more modern but could use some of your touch!
xx elizabeth
Thank you so much for your comments and for sharing your own experiences and stories. It's really comforting to know that I'm not alone and that we're going through the same things. I wish we could all meet and start a play group :)
I started on solids at 4 month, with a sweet potato, and then every 3 days i let her try a new thing - banana, baked apple, zucchini... After a month i gave her fruits at 9am and a vegetable soup with chicken at 12:30pm.
By the way i love your blog! My baby is 9 months old. Thank u for writing everything i felt and feel that i couldn't put into words.
xx
Shir
Although weaning is hard, introducing solids to your baby is fun! I love cooking for my little boy and he's such a great eater. Always willing to try different flavours. Home made is best and cheaper. I make everything myself and I find it very easy. Have fun!
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