Quote of the Day

"A man's work is from sun to sun, but a mother's work is never done." ~Author Unknown

Starting Solids - 8 months

Your baby is getting older and is able to digest new foods. You still need to make sure that you stick to the four day rule meaning, you wait every four days to introduce new foods to your baby.

Your baby should be able to grip most finger foods and should be able to gum most foods that you feed them. The food still needs to be soft to his/her mouth and a texture that can be mashed by their teethless mouths. Some babys have their front teeth but most don't have their molars. So becareful on the textures.

In the next couple of months to a year, your baby will probably want to attempt to feed themselves. So don't worry about the mess and let them learn. Remember that they will learn the more they practice.

Here is a list of the new foods to add:
Apricot
Apples
Cantaloupe
Honeydew Melon
Grapes (peeled and quartered, no choking)
Kiwi Fruit
Plums
Watermelon
Broccoli
Okra
Cooked Parsley
Tahini
Finely Ground Nuts
Finely Ground Seeds

You should still puree' your babies foods. You can gradually add less water to make the consistency thicker, but watch how your baby reacts. If your baby gags, chokes or spits the food out then it is still to thick. At about 8-9 months your baby will be able to eat the consistency of the 6-8oz store baby food. So you may want to compare the amount and the thickness when you are at the store.

Your baby should be eating about 4-5 servings of Fruits/Veggies everyday. They should be eating about 2-3 servings of grains/cereals and any proteins (tofu, nuts, tahini) that you want to add to their diet. Remember that breastmilk should still be their main source of food and make sure they are getting atleast 29-32oz of breastmilk a day (nursing 5 times a day). Make sure that you are adding water in with meals and in between with snacks. You could start trying a cup on your baby, but you can still use a sippy cup also.

Here is the feeding schedule to follow at 8 months:
Breastfeed upon awakening. Then you can nursing and feed solids for breakfast. Then nurse and feed solids for lunch. Then nurse and feed solids for dinner. Then nurse and put to bed. If you would like to you can add any snacks throughout the day. Add water in between feedings, especailly if it is a hot day.

I hope that your baby is accepting the solid foods and enjoying the variety that you are giving them. I hope that you are not struggling with the solids. It personally is not my favorite time. It is a real adjustment for me and another stage I have to get use to. So try to enjoy it and don't give up on your baby and solids.

Quote of the Day

"She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn't take them along." ~Margaret Culkin Banning

Starting Solids - 7 months

Here is the list of food for your 7 month old. There is alot more food that you can feed them the older your baby gets.

When you introduce new foods make sure that you do it the early part of the day and wait at least four days in between new foods. Your baby will need time to adjust to all of these new foods. Your baby should be eating 1/2 cup or 4 ounces of food. That is the same amount as the little jars of baby food at the store. You will want to continue using the same food that your baby ate at 6 months. This is a new list to give you alot more options to feed your baby.

Here is the list of new foods:
Tofu
Homemade cereals
Asparagus
Carrots
Green Beans
Peas
Summer Squash
White Potatoes
Peaches

Here is a list of fruits to make juice:
Apple
Apricot
Grape
Papaya
Pear
Peach
Prune
Make sure when you do use juice to dilute it with more water than juice. Your baby is still to young for complete juice. Try to use more water than juices.

When you use the tofu you can mix it with the cereals or the fruit and veggies. Tofu is made out of cooked soybeans and is very nutritious. I could never get my kids to like it but I tried. So give it a try because my sister loved it for her kids. You can also try to mix bananas with the cereals to make it more tasty.

The food can be a little thicker as your baby gets older. You can puree' the food in your blender to make it the consistency of a thick cream. Make sure that it is smooth and not lumpy.

Here is the feeding schedule to include with your nursing:
When your baby wakes in the morning do your regular feeding and then give the baby some solids. Then you do your lunch feeding and then add some food. Then you do your feeding at dinner time and add some food. You want to start putting your baby on the some eating schedule as the family. Your baby needs to be eating solids at least 2 times a day if not 3. Make sure that your baby is still getting enough breastmilk because that still needs to be your baby's main food source. Your baby should still be nursing about 5 times a day. Finally you can nurse your baby before it goes to bed. Don't forget snacks if your baby needs something to hold them over before bed or a feeding. Also make sure that you are giving your baby enough water with the solid food. Your baby should be learning to use a sipping cup. Your baby doesn't need alot of water, but it helps with digesting the food better.

Quote of the Day

“A mother's love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking” Helen Rice

Starting Solids - 6 months

I am sorry that I haven't been posting as often as before. Life gets busy with kids and a husband and taking care of a house. I am sure you all know how busy mothers can get. So forgive me and be patient with me. I will try better to stay on top of my posting.

I thought that I would help with what to feed your baby if you are staring solids. I got this wonderful book from my sister called "Super Baby Food." It helps you know what to feed your baby month by month and gives you a food schedule to work with your nursing schedule.

If you want to be efficient and make your own baby food this book also helps you with that. I personally don't like the baby food in the stores. I used them with my first baby and she is a very picky eater and it was expensive. So I decided not to use it with my second baby and it was so much easier. My son just ate what he could eat from the table. I did have to make the food liquidy thin so that he could eat it, but it was much cheaper. With this book, I knew what I could give him and what I had to wait to feed him. He to this day eats anything that is put before him.

Here is a list of the first foods to give your baby:

Homemade cereal or store rice or grain cereal (rich in iron)

Oatmeal

winter squash

papaya

mango

pears

bananas

In the baby section at the store, you will find fun snacks to give to your baby. They are big enough for a six month old to hold because your baby is still working on feeding itself. The snacks can't be small like cheerios because your baby is still to young to pick up the small things.

Here is a daily feeding schedule to follow to help incorporate the solid foods:

When your baby wakes up, just nurse your regular feeding. Then you can nurse your second feeding and add some food. At noon time or before a nap do your regular feeding. After the nap or afternoon feeding, you can add some solids. Then you proceed the rest of the day with your nursing times. Make sure when you do feed your baby solids to add some water with the meals. Try to find some sippy cups that your baby will like to help them learn to transition from breast to cup with the time comes. If your baby seems hungry at night after nursing time then you can offer a snack before bedtime. Make sure that your baby is still breastfeeding atleast 5 to 6 times a day. If they aren't nursing that often then you need to pull back some meal times to make sure that your baby gets enough breastmilk. Your breastmilk is still the most important food that your baby needs, so don't worry to much about how much solids he/she is eating.

When you do start solids, you need to make sure that you start each new food in the morning and long before a nap. You never know what your baby might be allergic to, so you want to make sure that you can find out before they go to sleep. You can add more food next month. If your baby has a hard time with solids don't worry. My little girl wouldn't take to solids until about 8 months. You do need to make sure that your baby gets used to solids before 10 months or they will struggle with food. Good luck with the solids

Quote of the Day

"The best academy, a mother's knee." James Russell Lowell, poet