Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Starting Solids

I have been reading books and researching online for weeks about starting solids. As we approached 4 months, I constantly questioned, "when will she be ready?" Well, for whenever she decided to be ready, I wanted to be ready.

We decided that once she was full on eating solids we would make a lot of her food, but to start we would try out some brands to get us started.

Over the weekend I decided to take a test run with the solids. Everywhere I looked it appeared that rice cereal was the first place to go. I bought a can of Happy Baby rice cereal a while ago and cracked it open. I mixed it with formula, making a really soupy little bowel of bland looking mush. I sat Kirsten down in her bumbo and tried to feed it to her. She wanted nothing to do with it! She absolutely hated it!



Discouraged, I figured she just wasn't ready for solids. Yesterday, however, we were home in the morning and I decided to try to see if it was just the taste that she disliked. I cracked open a jar of the Earth's Best sweet potatoes (pictured) and figured if she didn't like it, then we would hold of for a few more weeks.

And you know what? She really enjoyed them! She ate almost half the jar! I was so impressed and excited that she liked the sweet potatoes! I gave her a bottle afterwards and she was a happy baby all morning!

This morning I tried the sweet potatoes again, and this time she gobbled down the whole jar! Not one bite left. She chewed on the spoon, opened her mouth when she saw it coming at her, and could not get enough. I'm sure if there was more she would have eaten it all!

She loves to wipe her own face with a towel, and look up at me with an orange colored face, smacking her lips and smiling.

I did call the doctor before starting the solids. He asked us how much she was eating as far as formula, and said that really it is up the baby whether they are ready. A lot of families wait, and a lot start around 4 months. So whatever our decision, he was fine with it. Kirsten was sucking down 6 oz bottles all day long, so she definitely had the hunger for it. And really, if she showed that she wasn't ready, we would be very willing to wait.

I will continue with the sweet potatoes this week and venture into something else next week.

We also have a lot of the Plum Organics food packets and are excited to try those out as well. But one step at a time!

6 comments:

Bekah said...

Sweet potatoes were a raging success for Jack as well. I make my own, its super easy!

Erika said...

I have a few recipes for my own. I think this weekend I may try to make them and see how she likes it. I am enjoying popping open the jar for now... but once she is like "nom nom nom give me more!!!" we'll be making her food!

Mar Biggs said...

Marlee hated rice cereal in the beginning. So I switched to oatmeal, and she hated that too. So I tried the rice ceral again and she LOVES it. Don't give up on things she seems to night like. I read in a mag. that it takes most babies 10 times to try a food before they really like it. I introduced carrots, the first day she hated them, spit them out everytime. And the second day she loved them. they're fickle little things!

Erika said...

hmmmm good tips! Maybe we will try rice again at the end of the week. Happy Baby makes these things you can mix in with the rice cereal to sort of flavor it like a fruit or veggie.... they're in the freezer section. I may try those!

Unknown said...

V hated rice cereal too. So I skipped that and went straight to prunes (yeah, weird I know, it's just what I grabbed lol). Now she's eaten several veggies and loves them all, but she also really loves oatmeal cereal.

Amy said...

I started Olivia on cereal at 4 months too. She hated it, so I used to mix it with different baby foods like applesauce, sweet potatoes, etc.

I think it was so much fun experimenting with foods. :) Now she's eating all table foods and sitting in a booster seat at dinner. :(