It has been over 3 weeks now since E started on solids and she continues to eat her cereal with gusto. The other foods I introduce, not so much. She is eating both rice cereal and oatmeal (baby oatmeal, that is) really well. After a week of doing well with both, I decided to introduce some pureed sweet potato with her morning oatmeal. She was not having it. I tried it over the next few days by mixing in a small amount in both her rice cereal and oatmeal as it can take quite few exposures to a new food for a baby to like it. She did okay with it after that, but still only ate small amounts.
Of course around this time, she became constipated, which isn’t all that unusual when a baby first starts solids. So after a few days, I went ahead and introduced prunes. Prunes are one of the few baby foods that I will buy versus make my own. I tried making my own prunes with C and I could never get a good texture with it. He loved prunes, but E is definitely not a fan. She refused to eat the prunes by themselves and mixing in with her cereal was a no go as well.
I consulted with our pediatrician as it had been 5 days since her last bowel movement and decided to try pear juice (my local grocery store was out of organic apple juice so this was the next best thing). I normally do not believe in introducing juice to an infant, except in cases of constipation where there aren’t many other options. I mixed the juice with an equal portion of water and tried her drinking from a cup, which she somewhat accepted. We also tried feeding it with a spoon to her but she was not very cooperative. We tried several different ways of getting her to take the juice, even mixing it into her cereal rather than breast milk, but she just wouldn’t take more than a small amount. Finally after a few more days, a series of sneezes brought about the long awaited bowel movement.
Since then I have also introduced avocado, smashed with a little bit of breast milk to reach the desired consistency. Avocados were one of C’s favorite foods as a baby. E isn’t particularly fond of them either just yet. So far, she really only likes cereal. I will keep persevering though and introducing a new food at a minimum of every 3 days.
The one surprise that we just discovered in the past few days is that E loves water. One evening my husband was sitting on the floor with her with a cup in his hand drinking some water. She kept reaching for the cup and making all kinds of noises like she wanted it. So finally he put it to her lips and helped her take a sip. She LOVED it! She kept asking for more. It was so funny. Whenever either of us has a cup of water now, she wants it and she has become quite good at drinking from the cup. We are careful though that she does not get too much water so that it doesn’t fill her up. Breast milk still needs to be her primary source of nourishment and fluids. Now if only she would drink breast milk that easily from a cup or bottle when I am not around (but that is another story!).
If you are interested in 2 of my favorite “eating out” with baby products, you will see them in the picture above. The first is the Boon Squirt that my husband is using to feed E. This is a great spoon for purees – the food goes in the bulb and then with a slight squeeze, you refill the spoon as you wish. So simple. The Summer Infant Tiny Diner Placemat is something we received from my husband’s cousin when C was born. It is a great travel mat that covers and suctions to the table with a little tray for spills, or toys! I have NOT received any compensation or free product for mentioning these here, they are just 2 things we use often and love.
So it has been challenging at times the past few weeks, but not nearly as much as it was when C first started on solids. It is interesting how different the whole experience has been from one child to the next.
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