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January 2013 Moms
adiebear
member
Psalm 139:14 -- "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
Talk to Me About Solids!
adiebear
member
Happy Monday!
We had a great 6 month appointment for DS today, and now my husband and I feel like we are ready to take on the challenge of introducing solids to our EBF baby. I am totally overwhelmed by it all though, and all of the information there is out there! I would love to hear some of your thoughts about introducing solids, especially to an EBF baby.
-- What were your first introductory foods?
-- How much/how often did you give the first few times?
-- What time of day do you like to try solids? Do you BF first, and then offer solid?
-- What are tips to making sure my milk supply won't drop? (I'd like to try to BF until at least 9 months, even if it eventually is bottle-fed only.)
-- Any tips for making your own baby food? (Not opposed to buying pre-made, but I know mashing bananas and avocado can't be too difficult! ;-) )
-- Any other advice would be SO appreciated! Thanks!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Talk to Me About Solids!
Some great first foods are: Banana, avocado, sweet potato and carrot.
We have always just had DD eat until she is full, at first normal is supposed to be roughly 1 TBS but obviously that can vary. I like to have her be hungry but not starving when we feed solids...so nurse a little bit before. I believe once a day is recommended at first but if you both enjoy it, 2-3 times is fine. We started with 1-2 times/day now we do 2 every day. Soon I will add in breakfast as well.
Your body will adjust as you introduce solids. It would be surprising for it to drop below the new needs of your baby.
For making baby food I love to use a mini food processor for most things. Softer foods go right in there and then I pulse until I reach the right consistency. Other foods, like carrots, I will steam first and then puree. The KA stand mixer works well too, I still use that for bananas with the paddle attachment. I freeze the purees in covered ice cube trays, then transfer to labeled ziploc bags. Most foods take 3-5 minutes per large batch.
And my random bit of advice: Try feeding your child when you eat. DD hates being put down so I have been holding her while eating for months. Now, when I am making lunch and dinner, she plays in her high chair and then I feed her between bites of my own food. It works really well for us.
ETA: My other random advice: Feed the baby naked when possible. We were going through bibs like crazy and her clothes were still getting dirty. Now, I strip her down to a diaper before meals. When she is done I just take a wet washcloth and wipe her down.
1/12/13 DD was born
4/9/16 DS was born
9/17 CP
6/23/18 BFP EDD 3/4/19
DS is 6 months today and has been on solids for about 6 weeks now.
-- What were your first introductory foods?
I gave him pureed peas because that's what I had around the house. I had planned on sweet potatoes, but they went bad before I got around to it. To date DS has had peas, carrots, bananas, apples, sweet potatoes, green beans, avocados, and figs (that last one an odd one from my MIL, but I cleared it online first). I puree most of the foods but have offered him banana chunks and given him a steamed green bean to munch.
-- How much/how often did you give the first few times?
DS ate up to 1tbsp once a day at first. Now he's eating 2-3 tbsp twice a day.
-- What time of day do you like to try solids? Do you BF first, and then offer solid?
I started out giving solids at 5pm. Now he gets them at 11am and 5pm. I always give him milk first, wait 30 minutes to an hour, then offer solids.
-- What are tips to making sure my milk supply won't drop? (I'd like to try to BF until at least 9 months, even if it eventually is bottle-fed only.)
Yeah, DS is pretty distracted during nursing lately, so I'm pumping a lot more than actually nursing. That plus working crazy crazy hours has made my supply dip a lot. I'm drinking TONS of water, taking my supplements, and pumping a LOT. I only get 2-3 ozs every couple hours if DS isn't nursing or I'm at work... less if DS is nursing, but it adds up and continually demanding the milk through pumping has been bringing my supply back.
-- Any tips for making your own baby food? (Not opposed to buying pre-made, but I know mashing bananas and avocado can't be too difficult! ;-) )
I LOVE making my own baby food. I'm also not opposed to store bought, but I buy and eat the fruits and veggies anyway.... so might as well puree up some food for DS! I took one day to make a BUNCH of purees and freeze them... now I'm set! I figure I can make time for one cooking day every couple weeks. I just steamed/boiled the veggies down, threw them in my blender, and then froze them... easy peasy!
-- Any other advice would be SO appreciated! Thanks!
Don't get discouraged if your LO doesn't seem to like something right away. DS makes an icky face (cute!) to every single new food. Some foods he starts to like right away and others have taken a day or two for him to like them. Have fun!
-- What were your first introductory foods?
Avocado was first, banana second and pear third [I wanted to give her squash third but didn't mention it to DH so he had cooked it with salt & curry so I had to use what we actually had in the house instead of the original plan]
-- How much/how often did you give the first few times?
I offer twice a day and only give her a tablespoon or two at a time. She definitely loves food though and would eat a ton more but I'm choosing to limit it in the beginning because I want milk to be her #1 intake.
-- What time of day do you like to try solids? Do you BF first, and then offer solid?
I BF, wait about 30-60 minutes and offer. I usually do this around 10 AM and 5 PM.
-- What are tips to making sure my milk supply won't drop? (I'd like to try to BF until at least 9 months, even if it eventually is bottle-fed only.)
I know DD would eat more solids if I gave them to her but I want milk to be her main source of nutrition for some time still. I limit her solids to about 3 tablespoons a day max.
-- Any tips for making your own baby food? (Not opposed to buying pre-made, but I know mashing bananas and avocado can't be too difficult! ;-) )
So far I've had an easy time but I started with avo + banana! I just mashed them fresh and gave her some. I did freeze slices of each because I got tired of eating half an avocado a night!
I just did pears today. I steamed them for a few minutes, blended them and divided what it made into ice cube trays. I'm going to buy squash & zucchini tomorrow and I'll do the same deal of steaming/roasting, blending and dividing for everything I give her. BLW just isn't for me so I'm at least mashing everything for a little while. she seems to do fine even with a little texture but definitely doesn't like avocado as much as bananas/pears.
ETA - I love the website https://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com
ETA [again] - I'm not actually going to give her squash or zucchini tomorrow, just going to get it started. I've read you can freeze items up to a month once pureed. I wait 3 days between introducing new food items. Food allergies do not run in our families but I like to follow "the rules" anyways!
Lol. DD was a disaster when I let her play with the food the first few times. It was EVERYWHERE! I would definitely let your LO be naked if you're going to let their hands in the food. I spoon fed her the pears and sometimes the banana and when I do that she gobbles it all up and doesn't let a drop drip off her face so having just a paper towel handy was enough to keep her clean.
I want to add I've read some about carrots, and just check the website I posted if you want. It says not to add back any of the water from steaming to the puree because carrots are high in nitrates. I'm not really sure about adding back water [about to create a post actually] because I was thinking of just blending, freezing, thawing & feeding without "thinning out"