Eating Solids!

As a follow-up to my notes in the previous post, starting solids has gone like this:

Too much hesitation on my behalf. Looking back, I wish we had started at 5 months. I was just so nervous. Didn't know where to start, couldn't imagine pureeing foods....freezing food, working the baby food maker, deciding what order to try everything in, making sure I had the best spoons, wondering if we'd have to buy a microwave, worrying that she'd get constipated not knowing how much to feed and how often, blah blah BLAH. I'm my own worst enemy. It just felt so.....huge. Different. New. I was almost mourning the loss of my little baby. Couldn't imagine a life of toting around purees and little snacks and sippy cups. Stomping my feet, much like a little girl myself, about having a big girl. Get Over It! So I did.

What really woke me up was her 6 month check-up, when we realized her weight had dipped (by a matter of ounces). That day, she had her first taste or oatmeal...and loved it! Big success with actually swallowing it (as opposed to just pushing it out with her tongue) (Though of course much a mess was made....Great photo ops if nothing else)

We're still getting the hang of it. Still figuring out the baby food processor. Still don't know what to serve from one day to the next. Yet once we introduce a nice variety of foods, we'll be able to start mixing which will be fun (carrots & peas, for example)

Two months after her 6 month check-up, we went back to check on her weight again. No dip, but no gain either. So we've been instructed to bump up the amount of food we give her at each sitting (by a lot) plus bump up the frequency. And even add olive oil, canola oil, or butter to veggies.

We have her health (i.e. weight gain) in mind, yet we don't fee comfortable force-feeding her, so we're taking it slow. She gets full quickly and starts turning away from the spoon, at which point that meal time is done.

All in all, it's a new thing for all of us, but we're having fun with it! (Except for when avocado makes her gag, like in the last photo)