When To Start Solids-Part II

A couple of days ago, I discussed a little about starting solids with my babies. You can find that article here. When you have issues with food allergies like my children have had, it is important to stick with introducing one food at a time. This will help you determine if there are any issues with the foods you are introducing. Otherwise, with infant led feeding, the idea is that you go slow, and let your child eat what you are eating so that they slowly learn what real food is all about. In our family, we have decided to … Continue reading

When To Start Solids-Part I

Every family is different and every baby within that family is different too. Often, you will hear conflicting information on when it is appropriate to start solid foods for your child. I know some parents who are putting a little rice cereal in the bottle from a very young age to help with reflux issues. Some parents start their kids on solids at around 4-6 months old. And, others rely on a baby led solids approach where they skip over baby food altogether and let their child lead the way as to when they are ready for solid foods. When … Continue reading

More

Recently our son has been asking for more. More, if you’ve been following this blog, is one of the most useful terms our son has learned in sign language. He’s employed it to great effectiveness for everything from books to apples. He’s truly enjoyed being able to tell his parents that he wants and needs “more” of whatever it is that he’s currently eating or doing. It’s helpful to us as well because we can more efficiently detect exactly what he’s asking for. Sometimes the 30th straight reading of a very bad children’s book (and there are bad ones) will … Continue reading

How to Teach Your Baby Table Manners

I think sometimes we forget that table manners are learned behavior. We’ve been eating our spaghetti with a fork for so long that when we’re confronted with the task of teaching our babies how to eat, it’s a little overwhelming. Sometimes it’s just easier to spoon feed them or limit them to “neat” foods. They’ll never learn, though, unless they practice on their own. Bring out the bibs, the miniature forks, and the spaghetti; it’s time to learn table manners! First of all, have a list of goals or milestones in mind and work towards just one at a time. … Continue reading

Reducing Gassiness in Babies

Little babies (and big ones, too) often have a lot of gas in their systems. While many will happily pass gas anywhere at all, much to the embarrassment of a mom or a dad out in public, gas can also cause a lot of discomfort for the baby. Reducing the amount of gas that gets in to your baby’s system or produced by it can really help a fussy baby feel better. Here are some ways to reduce gassiness in your baby. Whether you breastfeed or bottle feed, make sure that the baby is positioned correctly when feeding. This means … Continue reading

How to Stop Night Waking 3

If you are struggling with getting your baby to sleep through the night, you are not alone. Most parents I talk with describe night waking as an issue with their babies. It is a serious challenge to have a contentedly sleeping baby all night long, but once the problem is solved, the benefit helps everyone involved, including your baby. Now here are some more physical reasons why your baby may be waking at night. Hunger In very young babies, this is probably the number one reason for night waking. Little babies have tiny tummies, and then just need to eat … Continue reading

Two Tricks for Feeding Solids to Twins

This is not really a blog on the what, and when of starting solid foods. I’ve written several articles on starting solids with babies and I’ve linked them below. That aspect of starting solids is no different than starting with a singleton. However, when you have twins, you quickly learn that you need an extra set of hands that are frequently not available. You need one hand to feed one infant, another hand to feed the other, and a third hand to wipe up the ensuing messes. Since I have yet to meet a three handed woman, I thought I’d … Continue reading

Mushy Food Makes Picky Eaters

The idea that you have to feed your baby pureed baby foods is a very cultural one. Here in America at least, many moms are told to start feeding solids (and by solids I mean that mushy stuff in a jar or rice cereal) around 4 to 6 months. Then we spoon feed them until they finish the jar or ‘eat a good meal.’ We fret if they don’t eat and we fret even more if they at a whole jar yesterday and only want two bites today. However, advice may be changing as UNICEF and others start to talk … Continue reading

What Child Led Weaning Is Not

We’ve recently been discussing how old is too old to be breastfeeding in the forums. As a result of this discussion, I’ve realized that there’s lots of misinformation regarding child led weaning. Since we were already talking about weaning in the baby blog anyways, I though it would be helpful to start our discussion with what child led weaning is NOT. It is extremely rare for babies to wean themselves before one year of age. I would actually go so far as to say it is not the norm for babies to wean themselves before 18 to 24 months. Yet … Continue reading

Ask a Baby Blogger: What Solids Should I Avoid?

Question: My baby seems to have a sensitive stomach. He seems to react to foods that even I eat. He is 4 months old and I want to start him on solids soon but I’m not sure which solid foods will make him constipated or irritate his stomach. Any advice? I think that as parents we spend most of our time with our babies feeding them. I can think of nothing else that takes up as much time as does feeding. Consequently we also spend the most time worrying and wondering about the how, what, when, etc. of starting solid … Continue reading