About 6 weeks ago we started Alex on "solids." And by "solids" I mean oatmeal cereal mixed with breast milk to the consistency of soup. The doctor had suggested we start her eating solids at 4 months but we decided to wait until she was 5 months for no other reason than we felt more comfortable with that age. So, at 5 months we set her in her bouncy chair and set about trying to teach a 5 month old how to eat food. It was less of a challenge than I expected and by the time we finished her first meal she seemed to have a grasp on what was expected of her.
After about 2 weeks of nothing but oatmeal cereal we decided she was ready to make the next big jump and introduce her to real people food. We started with carrots. Our decision was based on reading that babies tend to like root vegetables better because they're naturally inclined to like sweet tasting foods. So, we set out to the farmer's market, purchased a bunch of carrots and headed home to begin our adventure in making baby food. (By the way, making baby food takes about as much time as it does to go to a store and purchase it. In other words, it's totally worth it.) Right away Alex loved carrots and she ate them with unbridled abandon. Maybe it was more like reckless abandon but you get my point. She really, really liked carrots and we were pleased that A) She liked our cooking and, B) She didn't turn her nose up to her first real solid.
That is where the fun ended. Without going into much detail it turns out breastfed babies who start solids can sometimes have trouble in the digestion department and a week after eating her first carrots we had to do the unthinkable. Actually, Marcus did the unthinkable while I happily cleaned up the aftermath of the unthinkable. Now here we are about 3 weeks into Alex's people food adventure and things are starting to look better. She's had carrots, sweet potatoes, and peas, all of which she's enjoyed, and her digestive tract is starting to get back to normal.
Which leads me to my next thought. Why can't I just breast feed her until she is potty trained? I mean, it wouldn't be that weird to breast feed a 3 year old, would it? Other than it not being socially acceptable in the United States and potentially psychologically devastating I don't really see the issue. Because, to be honest, for the sake of my nose and gag reflexes I think it's the only right thing to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment