Solids. I have been looking forward to the day I would introduce Noey to the wonderful world of food beyond breastmilk but in the past couple of weeks, standing on the cusp of taking the plunge, I found myself racked by indecision (No surprises there):
Is it too early? Should we wait till 6 months? But he seems to be losing interest in his milk? And he's almost 6 months anyway? But feeding him solids would decrease his ability to absorb iron from breastmilk, so maybe I should hold it off? Anyway, he'll be 6 months in a matter of weeks. But maybe it'll help him sleep better? And he looks really interested in our food...
Back and forth I went till DD got really tired of me repeatedly asking him if it was a good idea to introduce solids and told me (nicely) to JUST DO IT ALREADY.
Fine. So I waited for Saturday to roll round so that Daddy would be around and ready with the camera(s), then mixed up a batch of rice cereal (I used Heinz Organic iron enriched Rice Cereal), plopped Noey into his Bumbo, and got going.
He took to it quite well intially, maybe because of the novelty of it, but mostly I think because I was letting him bite the spoon!
He seemed to have some difficulty keeping it in his mouth and kept pushing the food out as he attempted to eat it, leading me to wonder if his tongue thrust reflex had not quite abated. Eventually however, I think he got bored of it, especially since I had mixed up the cereal with breastmilk and given that he was on a milk strike, wouldn't have been exactly what he wanted to eat.
I was kinda disappointed really, after all that anticipation!
I think I prefer beef to that rice cereal you're trying to feed me! 
Woman, get me some real meat please, pronto!
Over the week I continued to try to feed him, first making the cereal thicker (Nope), then switching to oats (Nada). Then one day while shopping at NTUC, I decided to pick up some Farley's Rusks just to see if he would do better with something he could hold on to. Ok, I really wanted to see him just eat something and hey, I like those Rusks! And yes, I know they contain some sugar. I justified it to myself that they (a) melt in the mouth so would not be a choking hazard, (b) were indicated on the package to be a weaning food, (c) were recommended for teething, and (d) he was only going to get one, kinda like part of an experiment.
Of course he loved them.
MMmmmmm... Rusk coma...
Hey, where are you taking that, give that back to me!
Nyum nyum nyum... (and I don't care if it makes me look like Rudolph)
The best part? Whether by coincidence or otherwise, he knocked out that night and didn't stir for a good 6 hours! Meanwhile I was feeling all guilty about threathening my baby's system with non-pureed solids and sugar. You just can't win as a Mum!
He was right as rain the next day so I've been debating within myself: Should I give him more? Hmmmm. Maybe as a treat. But now it's back to other healthier options! Next up: Pureed Pear!
Hurrah! This is really alot of trial and error (and praying) when weaning and introducing new foods to them. But it's also a good load of fun.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Noah will take to pureed potato/pumpkin (root vegetables) better? Annabel Karmel really has a lot of combination recipes for babies.
I think at this stage it's more about exploring new textures and tastes rather than actually eating.I recommend the Super Baby Food Book by Ruth Yaron; it has a really good guide for nutritious foods to introduce, and lots of recipes too. :)
ReplyDeleteRice cereal is always recommended for first food but not all babies take to the taste. Some other suitable first foods are sweet potato and even avocado! Noah might like these more than plain rice cereal. Even so, some babies are more 'chinese', preferring t eat porridge than purees. Just as lilsnooze mentioned, it's a lot of trial and error so take it easy.
ReplyDeletehe likes biscuits that's good! I'm sure he'll love pears cos they're yummy and sweet. The avocados went really well with Caitlin too and no need to cook which is pretty handy...just be prepared for green stains!
ReplyDeleteSOOO exciting! I'm like you - everyday I wonder if today's the day I'll start her on solids. She still seems pretty keen on breastmilk, so I'll probably hold out till she is fully six months.
ReplyDeleteOut of point here - but Noah's hair is so long now! I like it a lot!
Woo, food is fun!!!
ReplyDeleteHee hee, I love the photos you guys take of him!
ReplyDeletelilsnooze :: both you and pf seem to be fans of annabel karmel! yah, starting him out on the single item foods first then moving on to the combinations! and i must go check out ak!
ReplyDeleteweestories :: ooo, thanks for the recommendation! i love checking out new books :)
MG :: yah, frankly i didn't like the rice cereal myself when i tasted it. can't blame him. have got sweet potato and carrot coming up!
ker :: he did - he loved them! i don't know how to choose avocado -- they're always super unripe! and i've got reduced sugar rusks now to assuage mey guilt. haha.
yuling :: hee hee, yah, food is that new experience that you just can't wait to share with them! raeann is 6 months in 2 weeks anyway! and aiyoh, his hair, it's grwing over his ears and neck again! he needs another haircut...
amanda :: yes it is!
olimomok :: thanks! it's DD who keeps snapping! i'm sure your jellybean is going to have a lot of photos too...
i give K the bellamy's toothiepegs for her teething rusks... if you're concerned about sugar, bellamy's has none :)
ReplyDeleteother than that, i'm pretty much an annabel karmel follower but lately, i've been coming up with my own recipes too. i don't follow some of the things she does (like add juice to cooking, or cheese or whatever) coz even some of those are too angmoh for my taste! hah!
and i agree with jean- it's really about getting them used to the textures. i kept at it, and now K likes her food lumpier than pureed (in fact, she'll spit out anything that's too smooth for her liking), which is a good step forward in the whole food business...
but ahhhhhhhhh solids is fun! i love this stage. and every day i try something new with her (my paed keeps telling me to go slow but how to?! explosion of food options out here man!)