So you're having a baby...

Hi everyone, today's post is in response to a writing prompt at SocialMoms.com asking "What two pieces of important advice would you share with first-time or soon-to-be-parents?"

Well I'm a first-time mom myself and still new at this, at 6 1/2 months deep. But I will share some advice, based on what I've learned so far. The main thing for me: what was I going to feed my baby. That became the main focus. So my first advice of course, is to BREASTFEED your baby. It has been the best, most rewarding thing I have ever done in my whole entire life...besides having a baby of course, ha ha! :-)  Make that strong commitment to breastfeed your baby for at least six months, before you conceive and/or give birth, that way quitting will not be an option and you will stick with it through both the easy and tough times. Six months are the recommended bare minimum...but why would we only want to do the bare minimum for our babies right?? My epiphany: I did not wait this long to have a baby to half-ass it. That's my philosophy with all things baby-related anyway :-P  My goal was to do it for one year, but now I'm really confident that I will go longer, maybe 1 1/2 years. The benefits of breastfeeding are numerous and I have experienced these benefits first-hand. To give you an example, my baby as I mentioned is 6 1/2 months now and she's never had stomach problems, colic, fever/cold, diaper rash, she sleeps good at night, has gained the proper amount of weight, and our bonding experience has been amazing and beautiful. You can read more about all the wonderful benefits of breastfeeding if you peruse my blog here, or visit my section The Benefits of Breastfeeding.

My second advice, again, has to do with what to feed your baby. I recommend making your own baby food. It's not as hard or time-consuming as it sounds. And babies in the beginning, only eat about 1 tablespoon (if that) of food per sitting. I recently introduced solids when my baby turned six months, which is when it's best to do so. I even wrote a little song about it called the "12 Days of Solids." Up until then, all she ate was breast milk and she is healthy and very active. You will also save so much money since you won't need to buy any formula or baby food jars and boxes. I buy her fresh, organic vegetables, steam them, purée them with a little bit of breast milk instead of water until I get the right consistency and viola! I recently started making her brown rice cereal as well which is super easy and she loved it! I got great advice on introducing solids and some recipes from the fab moms over at SocialMoms.com. You can store the food in the fridge for a couple of days or freeze food in ice-cube trays (one ice-cube of food is about 1 tablespoon, which is all you need per feeding) that will last you for weeks. If you dedicate one day during the weekend maybe, you can make the food and then freeze it so you have it ready during the week. The benefits of making your own baby food, is that you know exactly what is going into your baby's body. No preservatives, no sugar or salt or extra flavorings, just fresh food from the earth. I hope this has been helpful and encourages you to consider getting your baby off to a great, healthy start :-)

The verdict on squash: fuchila!

What's going on in solids land this week? Well, not very eventful. I introduced peas and green beans which bambina ate. She seemed to like the green beans more. But then along came the butternut squash and she was not having it. I think I got through one, maybe two feedings in those four days. I thought she would like it more since it's a bit sweeter but nope. She gave me a fuchi face ha ha. I then introduced carrots on Wed and she just does not want to eat at all now. Not sure what's going on. A nurse told me it may be her teething that's making her uncomfortable and not wanting to eat. I don't know. The carrots I made were pretty good too. Fresh, organic, a good sweet flavor to them, mixed in with a little breast milk and puréed at a good consistency. She is just not interested in eating the solids right now. If this continues, I may try this mesh feeder I read about, that babies can use to feed themselves. I worry though that she won't learn how to eat with a spoon. Ah what to do what to do.

I did notice though, that the few times she has eaten the solids, has already helped with my milk supply. I am able to store more bottles for her in the fridge now, and yesterday I was able to freeze 5 ounces, hurray! Hopefully she will get better and better at wanting to eat her three meals of solids a day. So far I've managed one, maybe two meals per day. Patience, patience, patience.

Another thing I noticed now that she's feeling more discomfort from the teething, is that she's not so quick to take the bottled breastmilk anymore. She wants to be breastfed. I'm thinking that nursing is also soothing for her gums which is fine for me, since I really don't want to have to give her any drugs like Orajel or Tylenol or anything like that. So far I've been using the cold or frozen teething ring, distractions like toys or playtime, a lion crinkle teething toy I have, and nursing her to comfort her. Hopefully that will suffice in the future as well, we'll see. When I nurse her she bites down now though, and she doesn't even have teeth yet and it hurts! I really can't imagine how it's gonna be to try and nurse her when she has teeth in...that sound scary and painful. But, like everything else as a breastfeed new mama these days, nothing I can't handle :-)  And now, I leave you with this link to this cool Hug & Hide Owl Activity Toy I just came across that is on my wish list for bambina.

Adventures in solids

So far so good with the introduction to solids. We started giving bambina peas on Saturday, and she did fine with that. She was able to eventually digest them properly. I did notice she got a little constipated because she hadn't pooped in like three days. And when she finally did, it was pasty. So my husband gave her about 2 ounces of warm water yesterday and that did the trick. It was more of the runny, seedy poop she usually has...but green from the peas, lol! So the key at each feeding, is to feed her one tablespoon of the solids, and then give her about 1 to 2 ounces of water (or however much she wants to drink) right after to wash it down so she doesn't get dehydrated, which can happen after introducing solids. My pediatrician said giving your baby water after 6 months is fine. I've also started to introduce the sippy cup to her. So far that's not as successful but I'm sure it'll take some time.

So now that I've waited the four days per new food, I have moved her on to the next veggie today: green beans! I tried giving her some this morning but she just wasn't in the mood for eating period. It comes and goes right now for her, since it's all so new I guess. I'm gonna try giving her some more in a bit for lunch and see how she does. She usually does better at eating during the afternoon and finishes the entire tablespoon. A tablespoon, if that, is all they need at each serving right now, and you can do three servings a day...if the baby wants though. I would say, go by their cues for right now, until they get used to it. Take it slow and don't try to force feed. This is the time to experiment with various different foods, so it's not about quantity but variety. So far I've only managed to get about 1 1/2 tablespoons per day.

The first two meals I've prepared for her are very basic and easy. For the peas I steamed them, then added a little bit of the magic ingredient, breast milk, instead of water to get that good, runny, puréed consistency. Then I placed them in my Magic Bullet processor and mashed away until I got a nice, smooth, purée consistency. And viola! Easy. I did the same with the organic green beans today. I would say it takes about 30 minutes to prepare baby food that can be frozen and stored for two weeks worth of food. See, anyone can do it! All right, it's off to some adventures in green bean land with bambina. I'll let you know how it goes :-)

"12 Days of Solids: Day 12"

“12 Days of Solids” by Chichi Power
Day 12:
On the twelfth day of solids my baby sent to me,
Successful intro to solids!,
Butternut squash for freezing,
Fresh peas for first food,
Sippy cup for training,
A veggie steamer,
Magic Bullet for mashing,
Homemade purees recipe book,
Fiiiiiiive feeding spoooons.
Booster seat with feeding tray,
Organic peas recipe,
A beer to increase my milk supply,
And drank all the milk in the freezer and fridge.