My current dilemma is when to start solids. The pediatrician was telling me that as of six months breast milk alone does not provide enough nutrients. But because I am now less confident in her, I'm looking around for other opinions on the matter. She still has another month till she hits the magical 6, but if she doesn't seem ready then, I'm going to hold off. Part of me is afraid I'm just thinking she might not be ready cause I'm in denial about how grown up she is getting! Although, it sort of doesn't make sense that biologically we would need food before we can really eat it on our own without crazy special puree preparation. I'm worried that we have a common practice of feeding babies baby food because we have a booming baby food industry. Opinions like this change every generation. When I was a baby my mom breastfed me exclusively till I was a year old, and 10 years later they recommended starting rice cereal at 6 weeks (I used to babysit a little boy who got a rice cereal bottle twice a day starting at 1 month). Simply put, just because they recommend something, doesn't mean they actually know anything! haha! So, I haven't decided yet, these are just my current musings on the subject.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
To eat, or not to eat... and a few other fun stats
Claire is babbling! And what does she say the most: /ma ma ma/! She also has a /b/ and a /g/ in her inventory. We're working on /da da da/. She went to the Dr. on Friday (I'll post later about why we're now looking for a new pediatrician... such frustration!) and weighs 14.4 pounds and is doing well. She sits up a lot more steadily now and is practically crawling. She can scoot backwards really well, and is starting to get up on all fours and rock back and forth. She also really loves to suck on her toes. Kevin said that the other day while he was changing her diaper, she had all ten toes in her mouth at once and was happy as a clam!
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It seems to me that Claire is the best judge of what she needs...and will make it clear to you when she needs something more. She'll slow down in gaining weight...she'll need/want breast feeding much more frequently, she'll watch you intently when you are eating and maybe even try to feed herself. Probably lots of other things too...but as long as she is gaining weight and looks and acts healthy, she's doing fine.
ReplyDeleteyou have my support ten-fold! thinking of and praying for you all, all the time. love.
ReplyDeleteSadly I've lost the ability to do the ten toe thing anymore...youth is so fleeting. Midget
ReplyDeleteI agree with the first comment. Claire will tell you when she's ready as long as you don't refuse to see the signs. And every baby is different! Norah started watching us eat and making chewing motions a little before 4 months old. I held off on the rice cereal until 5 months, but when she had it for the first time she looked at us like, "Finally! What do I have to do to get some real food!?!" She has cereal twice a day now but she gets milk or formula FIRST. Solid food is like dessert. We're starting her on friuts and veggies now too.
ReplyDeleteAlso, when you're ready to give her solids besides rice cereal you could make it yourself. Store bought rice cereal is iron fortified, which babies need. Making baby fruits and veggies is super easy (I'll get you the name of our how-to book), WAY cheaper and it makes us feel good to know exactly what's in her food.
The downside of all this is that Norah is showing less interest in nursing and I'm not ready to give up that bond yet. That side of my brain say that you should nurse her as long as you can! If you want a super pro-nursing perspective, look up your local chapter of La Leche League. They could probably also give you references for pro-nursing pediatricians.
Sorry for the long post. I think I have some definite oppinions on this subject. :-)