Saturday, February 27, 2010

Starting Solids!

I'm naming this post with an exclamation mark because our experimentation with solids went much better than I anticipated...and was a lot of fun!

On Thursday, after Lucy's late-afternoon nursing session, I mixed up a bit of cereal (we're using Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Rice Cereal) with some breastmilk and some banana. I read in Dr. Sears' The Baby Book that many breastfed babies prefer cereal with banana to sweeten it a little, as breastmilk is naturally sweet.

We put a bib on Lucy and set her in her bumpo seat on the kitchen table. We're not investing in a high chair yet, because it's just as easy to feed her in the bumpo, and it doesn't take up nearly as much space. Brett got the video recorder started, and I tentatively offered her a "bite." Was I ever surprised! She lunged for the spoon, mouth opened wide.

Although she is definitely still working on moving the food from the front of her mouth to the back, I was so impressed with how well Lucy did! It was absolute proof to me that my "mama's instinct" is in good working order.

On a personal note (and I'm only mentioning this because I think it shows the effect of the mind on the body), I regained my fertility the next day. Coincidence? I think the ability to take solids instills confidence in mama that baby is developing well and moving from infant to toddler.

Friday's feeding went even better. I was (again) surprised at how much she ate. We end "dinner" as soon as she stops opening her mouth expectantly. We are still waiting for the first "real" diaper following starting solids (I am aware that cereal can have a constipating effect on babies), but we decided to preemptively set up our diaper sprayer in the bathroom. This way, I only have to spray diapers, not dunk them (more about our set-up for this in my next blog).

And now, some pictures! (I also have video- it's currently on facebook, and I'm working on getting it loaded onto youtube so I can post it here, also.)




Postnote: I forgot to add that Lucy LOVED her cereal. She smiled and laughed the whole time. I think eating was exciting to her, in a challenging-and-new sort of way. That'll be more evident when I get the video posted.

5 comments:

Beth said...

Yay for Lucy! We feed Eleanor in the Bumbo half the time because it's so much easier to clean! We have a space saver high chair that we got at a shower and I use that sometimes, especially if she's eating herself and I'm using the tray. It's not nearly as easy to wipe off though.

I "regained fertility" at when Eleanor was just over 4 months old. I was pretty shocked because I pump VERY rarely and she wasn't eating anything besides breastmilk yet. I'm glad I wasn't depending on breastfeeding as birth control!

Emily said...

lol beth- i was suprised i made it to almost six months (next week) as well- especially since i started pumping so much (back to work) when lucy was only 9 weeks. i credit to to co-sleeping and still nursing so much at night!
but.....while it is def. possible to ovulate before that (i.e. you get pregnant without ever having a period- ask my mom about that one), it is pretty rare- like less 10%. most of the time the first cycle following childbirth is annovulatory. that's why i was comfortable "taking our chances" until now. hello again, fertility friend!

Ida Mae said...

We are starting on Monday I think. I already went out and bought the cereal and spoons, etc. We have our 6 month Dr's that day and I want to see what my pedi has to say about it all.

Thanks so much for sending me that article link!

Unknown said...

Yay! :)

bidetsprayerman said...

Bathroomsprayers.com has the best selection of Diaper/Bidet Sprayers which are actually hand bidet sprayers meant to be used to clean yourself, not a diaper originally. Great way to save allot of money on toilet paper and help the environment. They even have some stainless steel models that come with a 5 year warranty = the best in the industry!