Catching Up: Solid food

Spending the majority of my time on beach photos have really put me behind on posting all the other stuff we've been doing in July! Its been a busy month!

The kids have been begging to start Jocelyn on "real food" (you know, cause my breastmilk is just fake and all that). Its just not fun to watch a baby nurse or eat a bottle for 5 straight months. The big kids needed some excitement to go along with this baby.

When Jaina was an infant, the AAP recommended starting solids at 4 months with a single grain cereal being the preferred first food.

When Jayce was an infant, the AAP started to change their recommendation based on research evidence that suggested that waiting until 6 months would be good for families with severe allergies.

Now, 7 years later, the AAP recommends that breastfeeding be the sole source of nutrition for babies until 6 months. Also changed is the recommendation of rice cereal as the "perfect" first food. AAP recognizes that rice cereal is less likely to cause an allergic reaction, but also admits that it is nutritionally devoid except for the added iron. Nutritionally good first food for babies include avocado, bananas, and sweet potatoes.

(Just so you know, I don't always agree with the American Academy of Pediatrics. I totally disagree with their co-sleeping and bed-sharing statements. I also disagree with their immunization stance and schedule. The only reason I am spouting off AAP facts now is because it is the generally accepted source of information that pediatricians get their ever changing information from.)

Anyway, Jocelyn had become very interested in our food anytime we ate. She can hold her head up, sit up supported, and her tongue thrust reflex had disappeared. So I told the big kids that as soon as we got back from the beach, we'd feed Jocelyn some food. 

Brian broke open the avocado we had bought from a local grocery store to find that it was ROTTEN! Ugh! I don't like avocado anyway, but to smell rotten avocado... gross!

On to plan B...

I bought a container of Gerber Bananas. I know, I know... the hippie in me says I should be making my own baby food. Or practicing child-lead weaning (more about this later). Honestly? The hippie in me is totally lazy so Jocelyn got purchased baby food from a store. 

She didn't quite know what to think about her first bite.

Jaina, who had waited impatiently for weeks just to see this moment said, "EWWWW! That's gross! I think I'm going to throw up watching her eat!" Drama Queen much?

By the end of the feeding experience, Jocelyn thought bananas were OK. She ate 1/2 the container.

Ironically enough, she hates avocados. We've tried three times, mixing it with breastmilk to a soupy consistency. She does not like the texture and gags a bit when its in her mouth.

You know what she does like?

Rice cereal.







Just goes to show you that the AAP doesn't know everything :)

I wanted to mention another option for starting solids. Its called "baby led weaning" and can be attempted around 6 months of age. It basically skips the spoon-fed stage completely. You offer your baby bite size pieces of soft foods that your family is enjoying at the same time.

Why did I not go with this method for Jocelyn? Mainly because of tradition. Sometimes its just hard to change your ways. I started with spoon fed rice cereal with both my other babies and had a hard time veering away from that mentality despite having more knowledge about all that now.

I'll probably start her on finger foods much earlier than I did with my other kids and keep this pureed stage at a minimum. So I am learning. Just taking baby steps here!

(By the way, Jocelyn LOVES sweet potatoes now. She tolerates applesauce and green beans.)

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