The boy seems to like solids. I've read that most babies take 5-9 tries to decide whether they like a food or not, but Harry seems rather opinionated right off the bat.
Rice cereal? Good.
Oatmeal? Also good. 
Butternut squash? Yummy. 
Sweet potatoes? Fantastic.
Green peas? Perfectly tasty. (He actually likes them far more than this photo indicates.) 
Carrots? Awesomest food ever. 
Green beans? Um, not so much. Apparently, the smell is gross:
And so is the taste:
And so is the aftertaste:
These were from an early try. By now, the mere smell of them approaching his face causes him to purse his lips and shake his head. If I mix them in a 1:2 ratio with sweet potatoes, he'll eat them. As the ratio approaches 1:1, the eating becomes more begrudging, turning to refusal. I'll keep offering them every now and again (if for no other reason than because watching his reaction is hysterical) but they may be a no-go.
(And, yes, we own more than one bib. But somehow almost all the firsts ended up being in the same one. Easy enough, since we can rinse and reuse it. Big fan of the bib.)
Now, questions, for anyone who has any info (we'll ask these questions of the pedi as well).
- When should we start giving him a second meal? A third?
- And how much should he be eating at each meal (and/or overall), as far as solids go? Right now, he gets 2 tablespoons of cereal (mixed with 5-6 tablespoons of breastmilk), followed by 4 tablespoons of vegetable (about 2 ounces). (He'll have his first fruit tomorrow -- I think I'll start with bananas.) I'm pretty sure he'd gladly eat more if offered more. With carrots, he tends to get more, since he bangs on the tray of his high chair when they run out. (I hope this isn't a sign that he prefers the jarred food -- carrots are the only veggie I bought rather than made, just because I couldn't find nitrate-free carrots at the grocery store.)
- When can/should we introduce finger foods?
- Should he be having water post-meal? We haven't given him any, since most of our friends didn't this early, but the Super Baby Foods book seems to think it's essential.
6 comments:
For water - this is a good time to have him start playing with a sippy cup. Fill it with water and also try to get him to slurp while you hold it. The "experts" recommend not putting BM or formula in the sippy cup since that is how he'll transition to milk at a year old.
As for 2 meals - we had been doing 3 but our guys weren't eating their bottles well. So we are back to 2. After their 11 am "lunch" bottle and after their 3 pm bottle with a bottle before bed. Wait 20-30 mins after the BF/bottle.
Finger foods - good question but we are waiting until their pincher grasps are a little more developed and will probably try around month 7.
I am usually in favor of giving as much as they'll eat - 1 whole jar per kid per meal is fine (or 1/2 of veggie and 1/2 fruit). If you start to see a huge dropoff in BFing/bottles you can scale back but some drop is normal. There is also no real need to do rice cereal or oatmeal unless you want some variety and/or he isn't eating enough BM/formula at each feeding. Rice cereal/oatmeal is also good in the last solid meal to help them sleep better (but I know that isn't an issue for Harry).
I hope this helps!
I don't have any advice since you are going ahead of me here. But Harry sure is adorable!
We're not starting solids until next week, so I got nothing to offer. I'll just mention that my understanding is that the majority of their calories and nutrition is supposed to come from milk until they're somewhere around 8 months old. The main reason to give them solids now (other than as a slight nutritional supplement) is to get them used to texture, to get them used to swallowing, and to test for allergies. The amount of the solids that they get doesn't matter a whole lot.
Adorable photos! And we have the same bib. :)
My two love solids, we do 3 bottles and two solid meals at the moment. Naan eats until it is clear there will be no more, which is often a jar of veggies, a tub of yoghurt and some custard at a sitting. She's a greedy gutsache, though.
I don't think the details are a drama as long as the general move is towards solids which become lumpier with time. We started with a few spoonfuls of formula and rice cereal and just added in things over time. :)
The water is more about dental care, I think, than anything else, so it depends if your little man has teeth.
J
We're only about a week ahead of you (and behind you in # of foods tried - we're slow I guess!). Our pediatrician told us 1 solid food meal at 6 months, 2 at 7 months and 3 by 9 months. Though, she's definitely on the more conservative end of things - she wouldn't ok any solids before 6 months.
We offer water in a sippy cup with the meal (and I also allow K to try to drink out of my glass whenever she expresses interest). She loves drinking out of the cup/glass though most of the water ends up on her shirt.
No idea about finger foods since we haven't started those either. I'd love to chat with you about making baby food and nitrates - we're trying it too and in talking to the dr. I decided nitrates weren't a big deal - I'd love to know what you've read! When do you go back to work? I start on Wednesday...
No food assvice. But I must say those are some of the cutest pictures ever!!!
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