I’m really stuck on this issue of baby’s first feeding, but
rightfully so, it’s a huge milestone.
I really want to drive home to my readers, who have not started feeding,
to start thinking about it now. When will you start feeding and
what? Talk to your pediatrician as
soon as possible. Basically a baby
can start handling food at 4 months, but the American Academy of Pediatrics
and most places around the world recommend holding off until 6 months, or
at least until your baby has met certain growth milestones. Next you will want to know
what kind of food you will feed your baby first, (i.e. rice cereal, veggies,
fruits) and will it be store bought or will you make it. This is a huge milestone, you will need
to/want to be prepared.
I thought I was prepared. I knew I wanted to feed him as
soon as he was ready, and that I wanted to make his food. When our pediatrician said go for it,
we did. Now nearly a week later I have some regrets. I know the doctor would not have said
go for it if Oliver were not ready, but I still worry he is too young. However, he is an 18 pound, 26 inch long, 4 month old baby who loves to watch me
eat. Still, he has been exclusively breastfed since birth, he probably would
have been fine to wait until 6 months old. Or would he? I’ll never know, and I
have to get over that.
I worry about his little digestive system and how he feels
with the food in his belly. I have
decided to really slow things down. I’m only feeding him about a tablespoon of
food at dinnertime. He eats with
us. When he starts to demand more
I will feed him more. I follow his
cues, and if he turns up his nose, that’s it with that food… for now.
On a positive note, he opens his mouth and genuinely seems
happy to be eating. He smacked his
little lips together and opens his mouth for more when he is finished. The way
he was so quick to catch on to eating has really put my heart and mind at ease.
And, there is no question feeding him at night with us has helped him sleep
longer and more soundly.
As first time parents, the hubs and I struggle weekly with
different parental decisions. What
we have learned is that we have to own the decisions, and have faith that we
have made the right choice. After hitting this big eating milestone, we have
also realized that we need to start looking down the road to our next
milestone. We need to make sure we
have all of the information and tools necessary to make the right
decision. I cannot recommend
enough that you do the same!
11 comments:
Thank you for posting this!
Kiwibub is 14 weeks so this has been a topic in our household too - so far the only definite decision we have made is to make our own food, so for mothers day my husband bought me chopping boards, knives and freezer trays specifically for this purpose (I'm OCD enough to find this ridiculously exciting - especially because they're colour co-ordinated!)
Here in NZ there seems to be contradictions coming from every 'expert' on when to start feeding baby solids - I know that you fed Oliver because you were talking to your MIL and it was spontaneous, but were there any cues you were taking from Oliver leading up to this to make you think he was ready for solids?? :-)
I think we're going to wait on solids until 6 months. She watches us while we eat, and smacks her gums, but I'm just not ready.
Just be careful trying new foods at night in case of allergic reaction. It's better to try new foods in the mornings so that you can monitor him for any reactions. And remember to try one new food at a time for four days in a row, so you can determine that it's definitely a safe food and not causing him any allergies.
I totally understand! In the weeks before Chase turned 4 months I just didn't feel he should have solids yet... then around 4 months he started to be insatiable- so we started to play. Now at over 5 months we still "play" with one feeding usually a day. After the homemade food event, it seems that it's been a bit hard on his tummy, so I've backed off a lot- following his cues as you said. As long as we don't force feed them, or deprive them of breastmilk, I think a little experimenting is fine for the next couple months!
We actually we plannign to feed ollie that night, just not right there in front of the MIL!
Since around 13 weeks Oliver has been a ravenous, every three hours like clockwork eater. He never seemed full, but I know he was becuse he would stop nursing or refuse a bottle after 5 1/2 ounces. HE also loved the smell of food cooking. He would watch me eat and seemed genuinely interested. The after talking with the doctor, he as well felt Ollie was ready to start eating solids.
As much as I question the decision to start at 4 months, I know in my heart that it was the right thing to do. He is doing great wiht solids and I can tell he is much happier becuse he is sleeping better.
BTW: I am so jealous of your mothers day gifts!
Great to hear from you too! XX
It's great that you have that plan. As much as I wonder, I know there is probably no way I could have kept Ollie happy with breastmilk alone for another two months.
VERY VERY VERY Good points!
So the homemade food has been harder on his tummy than store bought pre made food?
Thanks for that - I'll start watching bub more closely, would hate to think I'm not feeding him enough :-)
Interesting reading the other responses too, handy tips all around!
April - I wanted to make homemade food too for my 4 month old but I read that jarred baby food is prepared in very sterile conditions that cannot be mimicked in a home kitchen. So I've been using Earth's Best. We started with the orange/yellow veggies (I read that it's recommended over feeding the green veggies first) and he hasn't had any issues so far.
That is a very good point! We are feeding Earth's Best as well. We did start with Peas and he did have bad gas. But next was Carrots Which he LOVES and has had no issues with gas!
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