Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Baby Talk :: Starting Solids

Happy Tuesday mamas....it's time for another addition of BABY TALK!

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{1} Write a post on ANYTHING baby related...pregnancy, parenting, products, stories, advice, you name it!
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Easy as pie!

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As I mentioned yesterday, Kenley hit a major milestone over the weekend - Starting Solids! 
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests exclusively breastfeeding for the first 6 months, so after committing to breastfeed I knew that I didn't want to start Kenley on solid foods before then. I was reassured after Kenley's 4 month check up when she was gaining weight and growing as she should - our doctor told me there was no reason to start her on solids unless we wanted to.

Over the past few weeks it's become clear that Kenley is not satisfied on milk alone. She has been waking up earlier that normal and is quite angry when she polishes off a bottle, so we decided that it was most definitely time to start our little one on something more substantial. 

Once it came time to start thinking about solid foods, I did my research. Our pediatrician gave me some great resources and I also found this fabulous website: http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/ 

I had decided a while ago that I wanted to make my own baby food, and this site really put my mind at ease in terms of the time and commitment that it takes. Being that I am only a few days in to solids, I can't say much more on the subject but I definitely plan on doing a post down the road on how it works for us {whether it works or not}. 

So after learning all I needed to learn, I devised a plan for introducing Kenley to solids:

While it's possible to start babies on foods other than Rice Cereal, I decided to stick with the tried and true to start. I also listed out all of the "first foods" and then created a schedule of when we would try each of the foods alternating between fruits and veggies and also adding in the Rice and Oatmeal Cereals. It's important to wait at least three days after introducing a new food so that if your baby has an allergic reaction you are able to pinpoint which food is causing it. So, with that in mind, here's what I came up with:



This first month will allow us to introduce Kenley to the first foods and then next month we can start experimenting with different combinations and recipes. We'll stick to these foods until Kenley turns 8 months and then we'll start to introduce the second foods.

While Kenley adjusts to these new foods as well as eating with a spoon we are keeping her menu and feeding schedule simple. Her diet is still mostly comprised of breast milk and formula {more on that later} and will continue to for the next several months. For now her daily menu looks like this:

Wake Up :: Nurse
9:00am :: 5oz formula
12:00pm :: 5oz formula & 2tbsp Rice or Oatmeal Cereal mixed with 1oz breast milk
3:00pm :: 5oz Formula
6:00pm :: 5oz Formula & New Fruit or Veggie
Bedtime :: 5oz formula


Do any of you mamas have any words of wisdom on starting solids OR making your own baby food?



18 comments:

  1. I love how simple the calendar is. It helps to see that it's not as daunting as it seems to make your own food.

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  2. Thanks for this - Lady M will be 5 months on Sat and this post is very helpful!

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  3. OF COURSE you created a handy dandy, amazing calendar!! LOVE IT ;-D You're such an amazing mama. I love how you're so thoughtful and purposeful with everything that you do for sweet K :-)

    YAY for linking up for the very first time, woohoo!! ;-D

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  4. this is so great Kristin! you are so thoughtful and mindful for Kenley! I'm glad solid food has been going well! YAY!!!

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  5. We make all of my daughter's food and it really is that easy! Weve been doing it for about 2 months and wouldnt change a thing..and it only takes a little bit of time to make the food :)

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  6. Kenley is getting to be such a big girl!! :) YAY!

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  7. What a helpful chart- I'm totally bookmarking this for the future!

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  8. I love the resources! Thanks for sharing them. My little one isn't even 2 months old but this got me thinking.

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  9. I love that you have decided to make your own baby food! I have made the same decision and since starting Harper on solids a little after 4 months, I have only purchased one thing of baby carrots (apparently the nitrates can be tricky when making it at home)! The website you found is wonderful and is where I go to get different recipes. I will say that I purchased the Munchkin food processor and it works wonders, but you can't really make a ton at one time. I just love the satisfaction of knowing exactly what she is getting!

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  10. Seriously Kristin... best mom ever :)

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  11. I love that website! It's the one I found when I decided to make my own baby food. I firstly gave her applesauce and she loves it. Her favorite thing to eat right now is Butternut squash. I started feeding my daughter solids for that exact same reason! Right now she's getting brown rice mixed with applesauce for breakfast, nursing for lunch and in between and a veggie for dinner. This girl is a eater. I love your link up. You'll see me sticking around haha! Xoxo

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  12. a mother knows best!
    i absolutely love your calendar. such a good idea.
    way to go kenley!

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  13. youre are so organized, love it!

    i made all of avrie baby food, never bought a single jar of baby food. i 100% that this has helped in making her a really good eater! she isn't picky at all and eats everything! meat took a little while- but that was all due to texture. meat is tricky.

    i used a baby food maker that seamed and pureed BUT... after a while i found that an immersion blender worked AWESOME and was so easy for making food when away from home for a night or two.

    avrie's favs as a baby were blueberries, mango, cranberries, avocado, oatmeal and carrots!

    good luck & have fun with it! i think that introducing solids is one of the most fun and entertaining milestones!

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  14. Hi!! I'm a new follower and a fellow new mommy :) love your blog- great job with it! Hope you'll drop by and read about my new SAHM life to a 6month old baby girl.

    All the best,

    Christina @The McGuire Family

    MarkChristinaMcGuire.blogspot.com

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  15. I love all the information about making food. I will defienitely have to remember this when the time comes.

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  16. Hey! It is so exciting to start solid foods. I had fun with it. I wrote a huge post about all the foods I made and updated it each time I tried a new one. Hope it helps!
    http://stroutman.blogspot.com/2011/09/mama-monday-baby-brezza-review.html

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  17. That is a great calendar to have! I have a link on my blog for how to make your own baby food that is SO easy, you will have to try it! You just make little ice cubes of different fruits and veggies!

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