So I am trying to get the hang of feeding Lincoln food. I probably haven't been giving him as much as I should have, just because it's so expensive. I am, however, now getting sick of breast feeding so dang often (still like every 2-2.5 hours!) and so I need to feed him more solids.
Right now, I feed him a jar of food in the mornings (usually some kind of fruit and yogurt blend) and 2 jars (one veggie, one fruit) in the evenings. (And let me tell ya, he EASILY downs these 2 jars. He could probably eat more).At some point during the day, I give him a snack, usually consisting of some pieces of bread and some cut up bananas or pears. He usually wants to nurse in addition to these meals, and still wants to nurse, like I mentioned, every 2-2.5 hours. He doesn't love rice cereal or oatmeal. He will tolerate it if I mix it with juice, but if it's with formula he won't even look at it. He does like the jarred baby foods and he likes the food that we eat too. He is too the point where he wants to eat if he sees us eating. The doctor said that this should happen by 9 or 10 months, but Lincoln decided to do it at 7! He is getting pretty good at chewing with his two teeth and gums (so cute) but still has somewhat of a hard time. He also gets frustrated when he can't pick up soft things like chunks of pear or banana b/c they are too slippery. It's kind of funny, actually. Bless his heart. He seems to like pretty much every thing that I have fed him and has only had a reaction to sweet potatoes.
Anyway, I have been looking at suggested menus, etc. online but they vary (which I know they should because babies vary) but I am not really sure what to go by. I mean, I know that since Lincoln will eat what he wants and when he wants, I just have to go by what he tells me.
I guess what I am trying to know is what worked for any of you? How often did you give meals and snacks? What did you give? Any advice?
This may seem so dumb, but I am still a new momma tryin' to figure this all out! :-)
Southern Utah Trip || Candisco
9 months ago
4 comments:
have you tried mixing the rice cereal or oatmeal into the baby food? i think that would make it more filling for him and if he likes the baby food he might not notice the rice cereal in there. you might have to add some water or formula too so it doesn't get too thick.
I did what your friend above said - mixed his rice cereal with applesauce or green beans (although I did it to make sure he got enough iron, but it worked to bulk up his meals too).
Also I read a suggestion to toss the pear slices (or any other slippery food) in ground up oats (or baby oatmeal) so it's not so slippery that they can't pick it up. This makes it easier and less frustrating for them. (doesn't have to be coated, just enough to help them get a grip on it).
You wouldn't believe it because Collin is so small but he eats like a horse (usually eats 3 eggs with cheese and hashbrowns for breakfast alone...he's also eaten 3 regular sized while wheat flax pancakes I've made too. Anyway, by 7 months I was still in the same solids schedule that you are....but Collin nursed every 3 hours. I would start trying to increase Lincoln's mid day solid intake if you want him to nurse a little less. (Collin nursed every 3 hours until he was about 9 months old (including a 2 am feeding). Then once he was 9 months we dropped the midnight feeding and went to nursing 4 times a day. Then we dropped to 3 times a day (just at meal times) and then by 12 months he was only nursing right when he woke up and sometime in the bedtime routine (but never right before...otherwise he use it as a crutch to go to sleep). Then within 2 weeks he weaned himself off both of those and nursing was over :(. Also, are you nursing Lincoln before or after his meals?
Lastly - make your own baby food!! We hardly ever bought canned baby food (only for traveling and for Collin's food storage) and it is way cheaper and way easier than you think. For instance we'd buy a whole butternut squash, bake it in the oven, scrape everything out once it was done, puree it an then put it in icecube trays. Each cube serving was 2TBL and so we'd throw 3 cubes of it in the microwave and heat it up for 20 seconds and there ya go! It costs like $1.00 for two jars of baby food but we bought a whole butternut squash for $2.00 and it would last us almos a whole month. (lasts about 3 months in the freezer...strawberries last for 6 months). Anyway, if you want more info let me know. Definitely easier on the pocketbook! ;)
Sorry I wrote a novel :)
Also sorry for any grammatical errors... I typed my response on my phone and half the time it thinks I'm trying to say something else and changes the word or a letter is omitted. So sorry if it's confusing ;)
Ditto to the mixing food with the cereals. That is how I got my boys to eat it and it definitely fills them up better. Also with Jacob I made all of our baby food and froze them in the ice cube trays too. So much more healthy and cheaper. It also lets them transition to eating "real food" better cause they are used to the taste. I usually food processed extras from our regular meals and then froze them. As for snacks we loved the Gerber puffs, they melt in their mouth. Good luck! That boy sure has a healthy appetite!!! Feel your pain with breast feeding too. Hang in there!
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