Feeding help... PLEASE!

[abigailsmom]

Sorry to *shout*, but I am feeling clueless about the whole solid thing. I just got done reading several posts, but I'm hopeless w/out reassurance (sp?). Here's what's going on...
We are still bfeeding and ebm. We've had rice cereal, but no others. We just got done with green beans, peas, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, apples, banannas, and peaches... now what do I do? I used gerber and I'm worried about no texture. I don't know when to introduce cherrios, yogurt, finger foods, etc. Isn't cheese against the "no milk" rule? We tried some potates that I mashed (plain) and she gagged and threw up... I cried! Now I'd like to try some mashed banannas, but I'm afraid she'll gag and throw up again.

I feel really silly, but ANY advice that you might have for me would really be appreciated!


Edited to add: She's almost 7.5 mos. She just cut her 2nd tooth. Her current schedule is:
Early A.M.: Nursing
A.M.: Nursing
Lunch: Nursing then 2 jars of stage 1
Afternoon: Nursing then 1-2 jars stage 1
Evening: Nursing or bottle ebm
Occasionally there is one more nursing session snuck in there:)

TIA TIA TIA TIA

[Rachels]

Hang in there! Babies do tend to gag when they first encounter a new texture. It's worth trying again. I found, though, that she had an easier time learning to eat chunkier foods when I started with fruits. Starches were just too much in the beginning. Try applesauce rather than pureed apples, or mash up a banana and then thin it out with a little breastmilk. Avocadoes are another good choice, because you can mash them pretty finely.

She's eating a lot of solids, it sounds like, so it's proabably time to increase the texture a bit. She'll get the hang of it quickly. Once she can do chunkier foods, you can add in things like cheerios (which dissolve REALLY fast). I think Abigail was 8 months when we started trying that kind of stuff, and now by 10 months can eat just about anything. Her current loves are crackers, chicken, baked potatoes, rice, and grated carrot or apple. It took a while to get to that point, though.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[Andrea S]

We are at the same place you are. We just finished going through everything and we started some of the veggies mixes and the Earth's Best stage 2 some of them are pretty chunky. We tried mashing a banana, Andrew ate it, but did not seem real thrilled. I am going to get regular applesauce next time. I have an avacodo, but I do not know how to fix it.

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02

[Andrea S]

Rachel,

I bought an avocodo at the store the other day and I do not know what to do with it now? Do I just scoop it out and mash?

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02

[newbelly2002]

Rachel,

How finely did you grate the carrots and apples? We're at the same place as teh others, having gone through the singles and mixes. But now where?

I tried zwieback the other day and Dante (8 months)loved it. Should I try cheerios? In one of the jarred mixes there were some small, soft pieces of pasta in with the mash. He gagged and didn't seem at all happy about the prospect. He refused anything else that wasn't clearly fruit--the stinker's got his mama's sweet tooth.

The ped seems to think we should be giving him more meat but Dante hates it so far. How finely did you grind/chop up the chicken? Sorry for the barrage of questions--you just always have such wonderful answers!

Paula

[egoldber]

When Sarah was really young, I ground things in my mini-chopper. I then thinned with water or formula. I gave Sarah chicken this way, and she tried them, but she wasn't really thrilled about meats until she could eat small pieces on her own. I had better luck with outher, non-meat protein sources. Personally, I think ground meat had a really weird texture, and I didn't blame Sarah for not eating it!

I know I say this every time there's a food post, but to me Ellyn Satter's book "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" is worth its weight in gold. It really helped to baby ME through Sarah's introduction to solids.

HTH,

[Rachels]

Yep! If it looks too thick you can thin it a little with breastmilk or formula.


-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[Rachels]

Thanks! I agree with Beth-- don't sweat it if he doesn't want meat. I made sort of a Brunswick-stew consistency with broth & veggies, and that was a hit. Otherwise, Abby prefers little pieces that she can chew. As for carrots and apples, I use a cheese grater. Apples are easier to eat, so I grate them a bit larger. I tend to do a pretty fine grate with carrots. The problem isn't really the diameter of the shreds-- it's the length. Also, babies shouldn't have fresh carrots before 8 months.

As for the pasta question, I find that Abigail gags if she has a puree and a chewable thing in the same bite. She can't sort out which texture to respond to. If I give her just applesauce, or just a cheerio, she's fine.

HTH!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[parkersmama]

I agree about the pureed meats. I made them (in the food processor, chicken only I believe) but neither of my kids went for them. I thought they were pretty gross myself! I sometimes mixed in a pureed/chopped veggie with the pureed meat and they'd take it that way but mostly they didn't eat meat until they were a little older and could chew small bites of regular meat. I don't think the meat thing is a big deal at all as long as she is getting bmilk or formula and it does sound like you're doing plenty of that.

I did cottage cheese and yogurt starting around 8 months but didn't really try more solid cheeses until later. If I were you, I'd also add different cereals. I didn't introduce wheat until as late as possible (that cuts out the option of "Mixed" cereal) but both my kids really loved barley cereal and oatmeal a lot more than rice. They have a little more texture and aren't quite so pasty as the rice cereal.

Everyone introduces solids differently and all of our babies have survived getting different foods at different times. Plenty of babies have very little solids before one year and they are fine, too! Please try not to stress yourself out about this! It's just not worth it. Enjoy nursing while it's still her primary food source and use solids as experimentation. If she doesn't eat much in the way of solids for a day, feel good that she's still getting plenty of nutrition from your bmilk! You're doing a terrific job!

[Karenn]

Thanks for asking all the good questions. I'm reading the answers too. Colin is the same way with meats from the jar- he HATED them. Since the ped. suggested starting with turkey or chicken, I found some ground turkey at the grocery store (like hamburger, only turkey) and cooked that. He's eating it like a finger food and really seems to like it. It was actually kind of exciting for me because it's the first time Colin has liked what *I* prepared rather than what came in a jar!