Introducing Solids

johnhartfitness.com

So….we’ve started solids!!

I love the process of introducing solids to a baby. The funny reactions they give, the excitement as they learn to like it, and the experimenting with new recipes.

To say that it is probably in the top 5 of my favorite milestones is easy!!

When it came time to introduce solids to Lil Mister, I was bombarded with everyone’s expertise. You all know how I feel about peoples’ expert advice!

I was told I had to give him certain things a certain way. I was told white potatoes must come before sweet potatoes and that I couldn’t give him eggs before he was a year old.

The endless contradicting information was a lot to handle.

As a new mom, we’re already worried enough if we’re ‘doing it right.’ To add to the pressure everyone’s advice becomes overwhelming.

Being that I am a Google fanatic…I did what Googlers do…I Googled!!!

I came across an ah-mazing website that answered all of my questions and more!!

Seriously, if you have a child or will have a child to introduce solids to, this website has it all!!

The pages are so simple to navigate and they gave me precise information in a format that made it fun.

What caught my attention almost immediately were the feeding charts! These awesome du-dads start right from the beginning allowing you to track what you introduce when and even separates them into age appropriate foods.

Surprisingly, there was just as much advice I’d been given that was wrong as was right!!

Wholesome baby foods walks you through each step whether you want to go the old fashioned way of introducing puree’s or if you’d like to push a little longer and jump straight into LED weaning.

What was even better is each major food is broken down. So when it’s time for LJ to start eating carrots; there is a whole page dedicated to carrots. I can learn about the nutritional values of carrots, the allergic reactions to watch out for and some delicious recipes (a lot of combinations that I would never have thought of!).

When starting out, they even guide you through how to prepare, store, and reheat puree’s and other foods.

Personally, I loved the simplicity this has brought to what should be a very fun time in your babies life! I know that as a mom, I’ve stressed many a times that my child is getting the nutrition he should. They take all the guess work out of it. You can sleep easy knowing exactly what you’re giving them.

As I mentioned before they even discuss allergicreactions which is great. So often allergies go unnoticed because the child doesn’t immediately swell up or start getting sick.

With Lil Mister it is thanks to this website that I learnt he had an early allergy to bananas. Who would have guessed!?! This is often a great starter food for babies, but Lil Mister started having problems from day one.

We’ve always battled with sinus with him and flem build up on the chest was nothing new. But we noticed it started getting worse and worse. He would hack like an old man who had smoked his entire life.

I decided to read up a little more on the allergies one day and realized that bananas could be causing this.

We cut bananas, banana flavoring, banana cereal…anything banana for two weeks and his chest cleared up!

Luckily, he grew out of this and sure enough loves bananas now!

For some parents, it might not be so simple so it is great to know what to be on the lookout for before you begin a new food.

I’m very excited to share with you the process of LJs introductions and some awesome recipe combinations I’ve come across over the last couple of years!

We started with the traditional rice cereal. Being that it is sweet, we usually have no problems here! Watch out for the different brands. Some include milk while others do not. Personally I use the ones that contain milk. Obviously watching for any signs, but if your child is fine on normal formula or breastmilk and you drink and eat dairy there should be no problems!

As you can tell from the picture…LJ loves his cereal! He eats so nicely too. He barely pushes anything out and typically if he does it means he is full and doesn’t want to eat any more!!

He gets very excited, kicking his legs and squealing, each evening when we sit down to eat. He knows it’s his turn and opens wide for that first spoon!

After about a week on cereal, I decided to move forward with foods. We’ve only introduced gem squash as of now. Since he is only 4 months old now I’m not in a huge hurry to introduce everything. We can introduce a new food every four days, but I’ll take it slower and allow him more time to adjust and enjoy.

His first bite of gem squash was less…well taken! He squinted his eyes and then spat it out. He was definitely expecting his cereal! But after a couple more bites…he liked it too!!

The texture is much grainier than the cereal, but still in a smooth puree.

Our next adventure is banana. I can’t wait!!! ;-)