Am I doing this solids things right?

[GuavaGirl]

I've started feeding my 6 month old solids, a few weeks ago and I'm wondering how much and in what proportions I should feed him.

I make purees and freeze them in ice cube trays. Each cube is about 2 tablespoons. He gets food in the morning and evening and then breastmilk throughout the day and night.

For each of his 2 meals, I give him 3 cubes. 1 meat, 1 green, and 1 sweet or starchy fruit or vegetable. ....and then a few sips of water out of his sippy cup.


Since there don't seem to be any hard and fast rules, I'm just wondering if I'm doing this right. Does anything seem blatantly wrong? Is that too much meat? Is it okay to give multiple foods at one meal like that? I'm just going by what kind of meal makes me and DH feel good. (protein, greens, fruit) We both tend to feel better with paleo type eating, so I'm just assuming my baby does too...but I don't know if that is good logic.

(I know some don't agree with doing puree's, but I've decided they're right for us, so I'm not really talking about that)


Thanks for your input!

[Abraisme]

While I do BLW myself, I think it's fine to give several different foods at one meal. I usually offer my DD a variety of what I'm eating. It's super easy, she feeds herself (even when she was 6mo) and gets plenty of variety. Good luck!

[TheGirls]

I don't think there's a "right" or "wrong" way to do solids after 6 months or so, personally. I mean, I suppose feeding a steady diet of ice cream and candy wouldnt be great, and force-feeding a child who was clearly not ready would be bad, obviously.

What you are doing seems reasonable. Personally I preferred to just put some of my food on her plate and let her self-feed, starting at 6 months. She didn't really eat much of anything until 12 months (then it was Chicken Tikka Masala - her first favorite food) which was fine by me. YMMV.

[Knitting Mama]

Some people prefer to slowly introduce new foods, putting a few days between new foods to look for reactions. Also, I am not sure how early meat should be introduced. But if it works for you, it works for you. I'm looking forward to BLW myself, I can't wait to see my girl waving around a chunk of avocado!

[Boot]

If your baby is doing well on that then you're doing fine. It does sound like quite a lot of food for a 6 month old to me but as long as she's still nursing lots then maybe she needs that much. My first baby got constipated on solids so I'm going to go more slowly with DD who is also 6 months. We haven't even started yet! When I do start I will just give a little of one food and introduce new foods gradually. I wasn't so cautious with DS but he has a lot of tummy issues so maybe I should have been.

[busymama77]

DS turns his nose at fruit!

Is this a phase or will I have one fruit kid and one veggie kid? He scarfs down green beans, peas, carrots, squash and sweet potatoes, but when we've offered a banana - he starts fussing and spits it out. We've offered peaches and apples as well - all of this is pureed - and he'll eat some of the apple but won't eat the peaches.

Should I introduce avocado, since it's a fruit, and see how he does with that?

[Knitting Mama]

If you've ony offered them as purees, maybe try offering a slice of apple or pear? Avocado is also a good one.

[busymama77]

ooops - didn't mean to post in this, meant to start my own.

[busymama77]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

If you've ony offered them as purees, maybe try offering a slice of apple or pear? Avocado is also a good one.

Thanks. I'll give that a try! And the avocado, I think would be fun to try as well.

[GuavaGirl]

Cecilia's Mama: Yeah, I have been spacing new foods out 3 or 4 days. We started several weeks ago, so we have a few different options to work with. (avocado, zucchini, pear, butternut squash, turkey, green beans)

Boot: I didn't know if it was too much either, but he gobbles it down...and he's a pretty big boy, so maybe that's why it might seem like a lot. He's in the 90th for height and 50th for weight. (28 inches long, 18 pounds) ....and he's been growing a steady 1 inch per month since birth. (daddy's a big guy)

[bizzylizzy]

Can someone explain BLW for me? There's probably a FAQ on here somewhere, huh?

[TheGirls]

BLW is basically just givng baby table foods from the beginning, at baby's own pace. No purees, no spoon feeding, baby only eats what she can pick up and put in her mouth. Large pieces of food are good, baby can gnaw bits off to eat. My DD loved whole peaches at 7 months or so, though she didn't really eat enough to "count". Around 12 months I could hand her an apple with a bite out of it (so she had somewhere to start) and she could eat it. Here's the wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby-led_weaning

Also we mostly fed her what we were eating. So if dinner is stir fry, we put some of the stir fry on her plate. We did avoid a few major alergens until closer to a year, but most foods we let her try (she had no signs or family history of allergies). Also I didn't give the major choking hazards (ie grapes) until she showed me she had mastered the chew-swallow concept. Probably around a year also.

[tzs]

wow! it sounds like you really have your act together.
we did blw but i do know that meats should be fine right away (actually they're great for iron, protein and don't forget that babes need healthy fats) and we never introduced one food at a time. i've definately read that the US is unique in saying to do that and that offering a variety is better for doing the most you can to make for a adventurous eater (not that there aren;t naturally picky kids, of course.)
as for the amounts i'd say that if your babe is still eating and you're not forcing spoons in or "tricking" him into taking them that you should just follow his lead and feed until he's done. when i've done foods on a spoon it's pretty clear that they're through.
i think that's amazing that you are that prepared and offer that variety. kuddos to you!
if you want him to practice self-feeding and get that pincer grasp thing working there's cheerios but also beans are great and for some reason babies love them. i mix with a little olive oil and spices or a vinagrette to get some fats and flavor in there.
also fun is getting a popsicle mold and freezing purees into them and letting them have at it. i'll even combine fruits and veggies like half-carrot half-applesauce. or you can mix fruit puree in with coconut milk and freeze. yum!