So far Leah is a little less than keen on solid foods. I've tried several times to offer her carrots or bananas or sweet potato, and she is not amused. She picks it up and squishes it in her hands and then drops it. Either on the floor, or in her lap, or in a crevice that I cannot possibly get to without disassembling her highchair. I also bought those Fresh Food Feeders, and the only time she was interested was on a really hot day while she was teething. But I totally love the concept of them, and just want her to comply dammit!
I forgot to follow up here on it, but she is doing really well with the sippy cup while my MIL is with her. Some days she still isn't eating as much as she should, but she does so well with feeding herself and it's still more milk than she was drinking while refusing the bottles, so I call it a win.
Nursing however is getting a little more difficult. She is SO alert now that she gets distracted very easily and turns her head away from me with my nipple still in her mouth. Which sucks even MORE when I have a blister on said nipple. I literally have to bite my lip in order to not cry out in pain. It's hard to get mad though when she smashes my nipple in between her gums because she's smiling at me. That is almost unbearably cute. She is also doing this new thing where she puts one hand against my boob, while arching her back and pulling her face away from me all while (Let's say it together, class) ALL WHILE MY NIPPLE IS STILL IN HER MOUTH. I'm afraid one of these days I'll open my nursing bra to find that my nipples have absconded to the nearest American Consulate or La Leche League meeting place for salvation. Poor little things are taking a beating...
I keep telling myself to be patient, and that she will come around to eating food more regularly and easily. Maybe it's just because I am such an overachiever with eating that I wanted a child after my own heart. When really I should just keep trying and not worry, and also probably start Weig.ht Watc.hers again very, very soon.
Any tips out there, Moms?
10 comments:
Well, our situations are fairly different but, I was obsessed with their eating habits early on. OBSESSED. I felt like I was trying to make up for lost time, being underfed, etc. etc. I practically had palpitations during mealtimes because I couldn't figure out their habits--why one day they loved something and the next they hated it. Our pedi was super supportive and just told me to relax and some days they might just squish the food in their hands and somedays they'll eat it, etc.
In the end, all I can say is that my kids are GREAT eaters now. They eat anything--all healthy (quinoa, broccoli, cauliflower, chickpeas, etc. etc.) and they've never had juice, or french fries, or of course any meat since we're totally vegetarian. And even with me as a mom they've never had sweets, except a few bites of cake at their first birthday.
So I guess my point is that she will get there. Just let it be fun. I wish I could go back and not be stressed at mealtimes because I got to the point where I dreaded them, and feeding times are always supposed to be light and fun times.
Another tip: BOON high chair. AWESOME! There is literally no place for food to get caught/hidden. I love my Boon high chairs so, so much.
Oy, those blisters are the worst! I think Kellymom has some suggestions on what to do -- grapefruit seed extract, maybe? Double check me on that.
My thought on the solids is that you offer it to her and she doesn't seem interested in eating to just back it off and try again at another time.
Is she interested in the food that you our your DH are eating? My mom said that her LLL leader said that you knew it was time for solids when the baby interrupted the fork from your plate to your mouth. :)
Stells does the same thing when nursing lately - clamp down and gummy smile with nipple in mouth - and push off of me and arch her back to look around while keeping my nipple in her mouth. OUCH. I often have to leave the room and go to a quiet corner to get her to nurse when she's super alert mid-day like that.
As far as solid foods goes, just relax about it (isn't that the most annoying recommendation ever?). Some days Stells would only squish food, some days she would gum a little bit... and we just let her do it. Solids are a new experience for them, and it's as much about texture and smell as it is about taste and consumption in the beginning. Some days Stella LOVES a certain food, and the next day she won't eat a bite of it. Overall though, she is eating more and more -- give Leah a chance to just figure it out at her own speed, and she'll start eating more and more. You'll see it in her diapers! :)
Our sons are not much younger than Leah and have also recently started solids. One of them has taken to them like a duck to water, while the other is not quite sure how he feels about them.
Everything I've read says that any solid foods babies eat in their first year are really just for "practice," as they are still getting the bulk of their calories from breast milk (or formula, in our case). So I would just offer her things for the experience and not get too hung up on whether she actually eats them.
P.S. I just re-read your post, and I noticed you wrote "She picks it up and squishes it in her hands and then drops it."
We feed our boys purees, and I don't let them handle the food. (They do still stick their fingers--and toes--in their mouths, and Mason often tries to grab the spoon.) I figure they lack the coordination to effectively feed themselves and that there will be plenty of time for them to learn that later. . . . and less mess in the meantime if I feed it to them.
I don't know if you've seen it already or not, but the book "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter is a really great (and highly reassuring, I think) resource for the solid food world. So far our girls have been great eaters, but I often have to hold myself back from "encouraging" them too much and remind myself to let them go at their pace.
I agree with Gemini Momma - I don't encourage Stella to eat anything in particular. For example, I'll put a slice or two of avocado, chicken, and peach on her tray, and let her decide what to pick up and explore and eat. Kiddos are definitely getting the bulk of their calories from breastmilk right now, so don't worry about that.
Also, S said they do purees, but for us that was actually more of a mess b/c Stella prefers to feed herself, and it was a battle to try to get a spoon anywhere near her mouth without it ending up all over her face and hands. BLW has really been great for us - the whole learning to do chewing/gumming before swallowing definitely worked well for Stella.
We are doing baby-led weaning and Baby Loquacious only eats the teensiest bit of the food that we offer her. She feeds herself, and if she refuses a food, we just try again with it at another time. So far she has really loved oranges (through the feeder), yams, zucchini, Farley biscuits, MumMum crackers, toast, and avocado. The motto of BLW is, "Before one, food is for fun."
Eating is tough and just as one aspect gets "mastered", you enter into a new phase. It will come in time, just keep trying.
I try to remember that just like more grown people, perhaps they just aren't feeling the particular food that day.
Nursing has become a full contact sport over here. Q is SO interested in everything else that is going on that it is next to impossible to get him to nurse unless we go to a quiet, and familiar space, ideally his room, with the white noise on and the dog locked out. Its CRAZY! Even then he will start, then pull off to look around while milk sprays out dousing his face.
He also bit down a few times last week. I screamed and he looked totally surprised. I'm sure there is a better way to handle it, but I was just caught by surprise and IT HURT! I'm all for bf, but not sure how well I'll be able to handle this biting if it continues...
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