I've read the "What to Expect" books. I thumbed through The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (which I highly recommend). I've referred to a hand-me-down copy of Breastfeeding for Dummies (it's actually quite useful). I'm a regular on the websites of Dr. Sears, La Leche League, and KellyMom.com. All of my resources seem to agree: if a baby is healthy and gaining weight, there is no reason to feed him anything but breast milk for at least the first 6 months of life. Some of my resources even said a year!
... but at about 3 and a half months, I couldn't help feeling Felix wanted a more substantial dinner.
Every night it was the same story. Felix would breast feed on demand - basically every two hours around the clock... (yes, even overnight). Even with feedings every two hours, the kid would be ravenous at 5pm. I'm talking really hungry! Kicking and screaming for more booby hungry. His tantrum would last until 8pm-ish, when he finally fell in to a food-induced sleep coma until the next feeding (yes, a mere two hours later). My breasts were sore. My arms were tired. And most importantly, my milk supply wasn't keeping him satisfied! I would squeeze at my chapped nipples, checking for little white drops, as Felix angrily unlatched looking for more milk.
Then I noticed the way Felix eyed up our forkfuls of food. He reached for our plates and would stare, fixated on every chew. Could it be? Could my baby boy be ready for solids already?
I am still determined to continue breastfeeding as long as possible, so I was concerned that adding solids would deter Felix from wanting to drink from the breast or bottle. However, I needed to give him something to satisfy his appetite. Instinctively, I am turned off by baby formula. I don't knock anyone who does use formula, even exclusively, and it is entirely possible that I will need to include formula in our routine someday... but there is something about a powdered drink mix concoction that turns me off. I feel that Felix can get adequate nutrients from his mainly breast fed diet and a few mashed vegetables - just to tide him over. I'm not a doctor, I'm not a lactation specialist... I'm just an Italian mother who wants to see her kid's belly full.
So at a little less than 4 months, we set up the high chair and hit the local natural food store. I bought a bag of Plum Organics brown rice cereal and few jars of mashed sweet potatoes. I'm not a big fan of the rice cereal thing (especially bleached white rice cereal). I want Felix to have a more rounded palette than empty carbohydrates, which is what rice cereals essentially are. The Plum Organics cereal contains probiotics and is iron fortified, so I added it to the sweet potatoes for a little more "umph" (even though sweet potatoes are already loaded with vitamins and other good-for-you stuff). I thinned the rice cereal and vegetable mixture with warmed breast milk, making a soupy bowl full of mush perfect for baby's first "bites."
As expected, the little piggy gobbled up his dinner. I was nervous and skeptical over the next few days, anxiously inspecting his diapers and worriedly rubbing his belly, looking for signs of indigestion... but he was fine. Actually, he as more than fine - Felix was happier than ever. There is no more evening fussy time and I have pretty much stopped using lanolin cream for chapped nipples. Over the past two months, he has started sleeping a little better - but I think that's just maturity and growth, not the addition of solids.
Felix's menu now includes nearly a dozen fruits and vegetables, which are now served twice a day. He loves bananas and peaches... he scrunches his face up in distain over mashed avocado... I think apples give him gas... and if I could find a decent mango in the grocery store, it'll be his next new food.
Moral of the story: An instruction manual doesn't fall out of your vagina when you give birth... instead you got "a mother's intuition." What to Expect..., La Leche League, and even your pediatrician may give great advice - but the best advice comes from that little voice inside your heart saying "Hey, you know what's best for your kid." Trust your instincts and enjoy the results.
... but at about 3 and a half months, I couldn't help feeling Felix wanted a more substantial dinner.
Every night it was the same story. Felix would breast feed on demand - basically every two hours around the clock... (yes, even overnight). Even with feedings every two hours, the kid would be ravenous at 5pm. I'm talking really hungry! Kicking and screaming for more booby hungry. His tantrum would last until 8pm-ish, when he finally fell in to a food-induced sleep coma until the next feeding (yes, a mere two hours later). My breasts were sore. My arms were tired. And most importantly, my milk supply wasn't keeping him satisfied! I would squeeze at my chapped nipples, checking for little white drops, as Felix angrily unlatched looking for more milk.
Then I noticed the way Felix eyed up our forkfuls of food. He reached for our plates and would stare, fixated on every chew. Could it be? Could my baby boy be ready for solids already?
I am still determined to continue breastfeeding as long as possible, so I was concerned that adding solids would deter Felix from wanting to drink from the breast or bottle. However, I needed to give him something to satisfy his appetite. Instinctively, I am turned off by baby formula. I don't knock anyone who does use formula, even exclusively, and it is entirely possible that I will need to include formula in our routine someday... but there is something about a powdered drink mix concoction that turns me off. I feel that Felix can get adequate nutrients from his mainly breast fed diet and a few mashed vegetables - just to tide him over. I'm not a doctor, I'm not a lactation specialist... I'm just an Italian mother who wants to see her kid's belly full.
So at a little less than 4 months, we set up the high chair and hit the local natural food store. I bought a bag of Plum Organics brown rice cereal and few jars of mashed sweet potatoes. I'm not a big fan of the rice cereal thing (especially bleached white rice cereal). I want Felix to have a more rounded palette than empty carbohydrates, which is what rice cereals essentially are. The Plum Organics cereal contains probiotics and is iron fortified, so I added it to the sweet potatoes for a little more "umph" (even though sweet potatoes are already loaded with vitamins and other good-for-you stuff). I thinned the rice cereal and vegetable mixture with warmed breast milk, making a soupy bowl full of mush perfect for baby's first "bites."
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| Ok, it's not ALWAYS smiles and "yum-yums!" |
Felix's menu now includes nearly a dozen fruits and vegetables, which are now served twice a day. He loves bananas and peaches... he scrunches his face up in distain over mashed avocado... I think apples give him gas... and if I could find a decent mango in the grocery store, it'll be his next new food.
Moral of the story: An instruction manual doesn't fall out of your vagina when you give birth... instead you got "a mother's intuition." What to Expect..., La Leche League, and even your pediatrician may give great advice - but the best advice comes from that little voice inside your heart saying "Hey, you know what's best for your kid." Trust your instincts and enjoy the results.
I am with you in so many ways. Mothers' intuition rocks.
ReplyDeleteI also agree. And I'm more naturally feeding Maya than I did for Nola. See, second child doesn't ALWAYS get the short end of the stick! :)
ReplyDelete