Solid feeding to me wasn’t going to be a mystery or something that needed to be figured out-but I was of course wrong. Then when trying to find out key answers to questions that I had-the spectrum just like with everything else was broad. So now that we are a month in to solid feedings-I though what better way to relay the information that I went through to others that might have those same questions or to get feedback from veteran mommies on the solid food front. So here is my post on the do’s, the don’ts and the organization of solid food feeding.
Is your baby ready for solid feedings?
I was anxious to get the solid food feeding started when Baby Bella turned four months old. Now if you are looking to see if it is the right time for your baby-there are going to be a lot of “answers” on this topic. The age range is anywhere between 4-6 months. So as a new Mommy you might look at the numbers and say to yourself..well okay that’s great-but WHEN DO I START? Pretty much things that you need to look for are as follows:
- · Is your baby watching you eat intently?
- · Does your baby have good head control?
- · Does your baby turn their head when they are full from a bottle?
If you answered yes to these questions, then it is probably time when your child is in the age range to start on solid foods. Of course everyone says that you should consult your doctor prior to starting solid foods. Even though I felt that Bella Baby was ready , I too waited until I got the green light from her wellness exam. The biggest concern is the development factor. You can’t see what is going on in the insides of your child and your baby needs to have reached a certain point in development internally before solid feedings begin-which is one of the reasons why you have such a broad range.
Things to know before starting solid foods
When I went in for her wellness exam and got the green light on foods-I also got a pamphlet that said how to introduce foods, things to look for, etc. However what I didn’t get was the frequency to feed foods to my little one and even really a good measurement to go off of. Now I will be the first to admit that I did not follow doctors orders. Does this mean that you should use my method? I don’t know. The best thing that I can tell you when it comes to this subject is KNOW YOUR BABY! I never at any point tried to pressure my baby to eat food. I introduced a range of solids quicker than suggested, but also made sure to keep a look out for food intolerance. On that note-you need to be able to identify if there is a food intolerance to your little one. What are the signs?
FOOD INTOLERANCE SYMPTOMS:
- · Spitting up
- · Vomiting
- · Loose Stools
- · Excessive Gas
- · Abdominal Cramping
Now, my baby naturally spits up a lot. She always has, so I did not look for this symptom when presenting her with food. I of course also would have no idea if she was cramping because what is she going to do to let me know???? I have no idea. So I looked for the other 3 symptoms to happen at the same time. This is why I say-know your baby. If you feel that your baby is having an intolerance to a certain food, remove it from the diet and continue to push forward.
Okay, so now you have a little information on feeding-so now it comes to the food. According to the rules your baby should eat cereal and yellow vegetables (carrots, squash, sweet potatoes) for the first month. Then for the second month you add in green vegetables. Then after they have been eating this for the two months you introduce fruit and meat after 6 months of age. I didn’t do this. She has just completed her first month of solid food feedings and she eats 2 cereal types, yellow veggies, green veggies and fruits.
***Also on a side note-if you are feeding your baby formula then if they are having tummy cramping it might be a good idea to have a small container of lactose free formula. This will be better for them while they are recovering and won’t give them extra tummy troubles!***
Feeding Tools
Here are the tools that I use to feed my baby:
· A place to eat – we use a space saver high chair, but anything that allows you to have your child sitting upright and supported will do. For example the Bumbo chairs have a tray attachment, this would also work. Know that your child is new to feeding and food will be EVERYWHERE. So if you are worried about food getting on something, make sure you place your child in their seat AWAY from areas of your house that you don’t want to have bright orange or green food hit.
· Baby spoons- not the little silver spoon that you got for your baby, but the ones that have the soft rubber like tips on them. They are protected for a reason-you don’t want to hurt your childs gums when they are trying to get used to chomping down on their food. It also is the size so that you won’t be giving your child too much food per spoonful.
· Bib-If you weren’t using them before (which I wasn’t) you are REALLY going to use them now. Get ready for food to get all over their face and chest and even sometimes hands and arms.
· Baby Wipes – Have these close by. It works much better for clean-up on your child and everything else than a paper towel, burp cloth or bib. Having these close by for feeding time will allow for the quick clean-ups of trays, yourself and your child.
· Food Dish – Now you can buy a special little bowl for your little one to eat their cereal, etc out of-but really anything will do. A Tupperware container, a cup, a bowl. Anything that you have will work. I admit that I use these cute little Beatrix Potter bowls that she got for Christmas from her grandparents for cereal. It is super cute!
· Measuring Spoon – That cereal is not portioned out, so you need to be able to measure out the amount of cereal that you are going to be feeding your little one.
LET’S START!—or not???
Alright, you have all the tools now. You have purchased your baby cereal brand of choice. We use Gerber Single Grain Rice and Oatmeal for the “Supported Sitter.” So now what? At first, I just put a little bit of rice into a bowl-maybe a TBSP of Rice and watered it down with formula. After all, everyone said to mix formula so your little one would take it. The consistency was that of milk, smooth with no lumps. Well, tried that and it didn’t work. So then I used water instead of milk-and that didn’t work either. So then I though, maybe she just doesn’t like rice-so I switched to oatmeal and got the same results. After a week of a frustrated baby and a frustrated mommy I decided to buy other foods.
So I went to the store and bought every Gerber 1st food I could find with the little “supported sitter” logo on the side. I went home, opened up some sweet potatoes and away we went! She loved it. So now I am starting to feel better, but the cereals are still a battle.
I started introducing her to all the Gerber foods until she had gone through all of them and had no issues. But something didn’t feel right. I had no clue how much I was supposed to feed her, how often did she get solids, how did I make sure she was getting all the nutrients that she needed, and how to make sure that she was getting enough formula in the mix.
Oh and FYI-Cereal is no longer an issue as long as it has a fruit in the mix!
Feeding Schedule/Routine
So if you have been following my blog, you know that I am not a fan of the “schedule” but rather the routine of things. I did a ton of searches on this and found a wide range of answers yet again. Frustrated I ended up at the Gerber site and was still frustrated with their feeding schedule. However it was probably the closest thing I had found to something that would work for me. So what did I do? I made my own. So here it is:
| Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| Morning Feeding | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula |
| Breakfast | 4 tbsp rice 1/2 tub bananas | 4 tbsp oatmeal 1/2 tub peaches | 4 tbsp rice 1/2 tub apples | 4 tbsp oatmeal 1/2 tub pears | 4 tbsp rice 1/2 tub bananas | 4 tbsp oatmeal 1/2 tub peaches | 4 tbsp rice 1/2 rub apples |
| Mid Morning Snack | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula |
| Lunch | 1/2 tub squash-4 oz formula | 1/2 tub carrots-4 oz formula | 1/2 tub peas-4 oz formula | 1/2 tub sweet potatoes-4oz formula | 1/2 tub green beans- 4oz formula | 1/2 tub carrots - 4 oz formula | 1/2 tub peas - 4 oz formula |
| Afternoon Snack | 1/2 tub squash-4 oz formula | 1/2 tub carrots-4 oz formula | 1/2 tub peas-4 oz formula | 1/2 tub sweet potatoes-4oz formula | 1/2 tub green beans- 4oz formula | 1/2 tub carrots - 4 oz formula | 1/2 tub peas - 4 oz formula |
| Dinner | 4 tbsp rice 1/2 tub bananas | 4 tbsp oatmeal 1/2 tub peaches | 4 tbsp rice 1/2 tub apples | 4 tbsp oatmeal 1/2 tub pears | 4 tbsp rice 1/2 rub bananas | 4 tbsp oatmeal 1/2 tub peaches | 4 tbsp rice 1/2 rub apples |
| Evening Feeding | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula | 4 oz formula |
Food Organization
We are very limited on kitchen space. I tried to find products to organize my baby food, but found myself only able to find it for containers that were round and well-that doesn’t work for me. So I found to space saver shelves at Big Lots for $3.00 a piece. Then I got some Avery 5202 labels and went to work. I keep her food routine posted on the kitchen wall next to her food.
So here is her little food space, and YES those are labels on her food. I did this more for 2 reasons. One it makes it easy to know if I am missing items for when I do our grocery list-and 2 it is "daddy friendly." He can now see the schedule and see the day written on her food and know exactly what to do. Here is a closer picture of that:
So if you notice on the feeding schedule it says "1/2 tub" for food. The 1st start foods don't have an ounce reading on the sides. However each container is 2.5 ounces. So in order to know how much I was feeding her I bought these Munchkin food saver containers that has the ounces on the side. I use it for portioning out her food filling 1 of the containers with a fruit and 1 with a veggie. So now I know exactly how much to feed her. It is either in the Munchkin food container or the Gerber container-so it makes it simple-even for daddy!
RECAP
I hope that this helped your food knowledge for solid foods when it comes to your little one. I can't stress enough that every child is different so what worked for me-may not work for your little one. Want to know what products I used-here are my links:
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