Solids, BLW, Drinks...ack!

[mrs.t]

So my 7 mo DS has had a few solids...bananas, pears, potatoes, carrots...and I have been doing BLW with him. However, I'm a first time mom and a little nervous about just giving him whatever we eat. I don't mind making him something else, and the fact that I don't have to puree it is great. But I have a few questions for those that do BLW:

1. Did you follow ped's recs regarding the introduction of new foods? My ped says to wait 5 days between foods. This is taking forever! If you do wait between new foods, do you give it to your DC every day for a few days? Or do you alternate with other foods your DC has already tolerated well?

2. How often do you offer solids? My DS is BFing, 8-10x a day. I am offering solids maybe 1x a day. Once again, my ped recommends 3 meals a day. Did you offer solids 3x daily?

3. What about fluids? I am not a huge fan of juice, but maybe just some water in a cup? Is there any reason not to offer drinks at this age?

4. What about "spices"? We were at my MIL's and she had made carrots, which had some seasonings on them. I was reluctant to offer them to DS because of this...does everything have to be plain?

I know I probably sound like a crazy woman, but I want to keep nursing beyond a year and I don't want to ruin it...however I want DS to enjoy food, and he is totally interested in mealtimes.

Any input is appreciated!!!

[Sfcmama]

Great questions! If you're a crazy woman, then so am I!
We've only been at blw for about a month and there are so few people I know to ask about it without feeling judged or crazy...

[alegna]

1.  Never 5 days.  At the very very beginning I waited a couple of days.  After the first couple of weeks I didn't wait.

2. At that age I offered once a day.  Probably twice a day by 8 or 9 months and somewhere in there increased until at a year I offered whenever I was eating (or thought they might be hungry)

3.  Water.  

4. I stopped worrying about spices when I stopped waiting between foods, so by 7 or 7.5 months they ate whatever I ate- spices and all (assuming not TOO spicy)

Both mine kept nursing tons- ds is nearly 2.5yrs and still nurses tons.  I'd say 6-8 times a day easily.

-Angela

[LaughingHyena]

I remember it being quite daunting when we first gave DD solids, especially since our approach was very different to most people I knew with babies the same age.

We did wait a few days between introducing new foods, but we have a family history of allergies so I wanted to make sure I could trace any reactions. We didn't stick to one food for the few days though, they also got anything they had previously eaten OK. Once they were over a year and eating quite a few foods I worried less about waiting or different seasoning and things.

I don't think we got to 3 meal sized portions till closer to 18 months, but we did offer them something when we sat down to eat. Usually it meant I could have my meal in peace while they played with whatever. A couple of slices of cucumber would keep DD busy for ages.

I started given them a drink of water as soon as they started eating stuff. Mostly to wash their mouths out. It really grossed me out to find they still have chewed up carrot in there when I came to feed them.

[mrs.t]

Thanks for the replies!!! I have one more question...DS gums these huge pieces of food, and I worry because it just looks scary. He always spits them out, but still. I actually swiped a big piece of pear out of his mouth because I got freaked. Do you just let your DC handle the big pieces?

[thefreckledmama]

We've been starting to introduce solids to my little guy over the last two weeks or so.  He's my 4th, and there's a huge difference in how I have fed the 4 kids over the years.  With my oldest it was the "standard" rice cereal with breastmilk, then firmer cereal, transitioning to fruit/vegetable purees, etc.  With my second, I skipped the cereals and started right in with fruits and vegetables.  With my third, she never had any premade or prepared baby food.  She had some of whatever we were eating, either cut up small or overcooked to be appropriately mushy.  

I'm currently giving George solids about once a day.  I found with my last that a slower progression into solids was much better...launching into 3 solid meals a day was a bit much.  The only liquids I offer at this point, is a little water to help keep his mouth moist depending on what he's eating.  I mean like a few sips here and there, any more than that, he's filling up on water and missing out on nutrients he still needs.  The only other liquid I would probably give him would be expressed milk.  Definitely not any kind of juice, which is just empty calories without the added benefit of the fiber.  Although I wouldn't give spices with heat at this age, I don't have a problem with regular spices (cinnamon, cumin, etc.).  I also usually add the smallest pinch of salt.  Babies like things that taste good just as much as an adult does.  I think exposing them to a lot of different tastes and textures helps to set the foundation of their liking a wide variety of foods, instead of being picky eaters.  

The most important thing to remember is that until about age 1, breastmilk alone will sustain a baby, and solids are not required.  At this point in time, the introduction of solids is more about teaching them to ingest solids, and giving their digestive system a chance to adjust to the different forms of nutrients being introduced to it, but they don't need solids to thrive.  

I guess I have just come to realization that parents were feeding their babies looooooong before there was any pediatric associations, doctor recommendations, or specialists writing books telling them how to do so.  While I understand that things like food allergies and issues exist, I think parents can be smart about how they feed their babies, without being obsessive.  I follow my gut when it comes to how I feed my babies, and I think that really, each parent has to research and decide what is best for their baby-and that there's no one size fits all method for every baby.

[LaughingHyena]

Do you just let your DC handle the big pieces?

DD didn't have teeth when we started giving her finger foods, she seemed to do better with bigger pieces, about finger sized. Ds got his teeth much earlier and we found he could bite off chunks that he was then not really able to deal with, though he was pretty good at spitting them out. He did better with small pieces, though only a few at a time. Otherwise he would try to stuff them all in.

I remember with both of them not using the highchair straps till they were a bit older. I was paranoid about being able to undo them fast enough if DC was chocking. A lot of the time we sat on the floor. I did manage to relax after a few weeks when it was obvious both children were good at spitting things out they could not handle, I am a worrier by nature though :lol

[mamadelbosque]

Both my boys have simply eatin bits of whatever we were eating from the day they started solids around 7.5 months w/ ds1 and 8ish for ds2. DS1's first solids were the leftover bits of tacos - so meat w/ spices, cheese, onions, etc. DS2 I honestly don't know. :shrug We certainly never waited between offering one thing and another, nor did we ever do purees... the only time they ever ate from a spoon was something like ice cream/pudding/yogurt/etc that was simply super messy otherwise and I was feeling lazy about clean up :p Mostly they just use their fingers. DS2 is 15 months and I've started handing him a little spoon or fork occasionally when it seemed appropriate, but he still uses his fingers 90% of the time.

We offered whenever they seemed interested till by 9-11 months they were sitting at the table w/ us munching away happily. We have a sassy seat which hooks onto the table so they're at the table w/ us. I only ever offer water through the first year in a sippy. DS1 is 3.5 and still just likes water 90% of the time. Juice of all sorts is a treat... milk is mostly served w/ breakfast w/ protein powder, or other times when I feel like ds1 hasn't eaten much. I'm attempting to get ds2 to drink plain milk... something ds1 still won't do. :shrug:

Good luck!

[Messac888]

The only reason I wouldn't give other liquids at this age is so the nursing is strong yet.  Mind you, my kids wean around 2 years of age...  I was more cautious by baby #4 in terms of introducing one food at a time, but that's because the first and third kids have some weird sensitivities and for that reason I was more cautious with this last kid.  However, the food issues they have are fairly unusual (additives, food coloring, gluten and dairy) and I wouldn't have paced the baby on food intros if it weren't for the first three kids.  Sigh...

As for spices, go for it!  Do you really want a 4 year old who will only eat bland junk because they never acclimated to flavor?  I fed my kids lots of weird things when it came to produce, like curried carrots or whatever.  Also plain ones; there's nothing wrong with tasting the vegetable as is, you know?  But anyway, my point is that there's totally nothing wrong with adding some flavor now and again.

Lastly, if you're nervous about feeding them everything you eat, then don't.  There's some things (roasted root veggies) that you can dice pretty small for them, and others (like turkey) that isn't really needed at all, especially not at this age.  Try not to think of yourself as being 'crazy' over this; it's really a normal thing, As for big pieces, I did the heimlich on my ds when he was 8 months and a year old.  I make sure the pieces are smaller now!  On the other hand, my friend would let her 8 month old eat ice cubes in the car while she was driving.  It really depends on the parent AND the kid in question.  HTH!