I am totally stressed about food and beverages for my girl. I read other people's blogs where their baby is already drinking out of sippy cups while Natalie still uses a bottle. Other babies have tried 47 different kinds of food while we're still working with about four "real" foods (green beans, sweet potatoes, bananas and peas). One of my biggest hopes as a parent is that Natalie is a good eater and does not develop picky eating habits. I'm afraid that if we're not introducing the right foods at the right times that she's going to be a picky eater. Sigh. I know that she's not ready for finger foods yet because we put the tiniest piece of tortilla in front of her and she DID NOT know what to do with it. I also gave her a little bite of mashed potato the other night and she was a little hesitant as well. But then when I try to give her those things I second guess myself and worry that I'm doing more harm than good and that she's going to choke on everything.
I am a total rule follower and if you tell me to do or not to do something I adhere to it to almost an obsession. I guess I don't really like making decisions without knowing that I'm making the "right" decision and when it comes to parenting, there is no "right" decision, there is only trusting your gut....which is so incredibly difficult for me. And since every kiddo is different what is right for another person's child won't necessarily be right for mine and that frustrates me. I feel like I'm in a dark room desperately searching for the light switch.
And then I get stressed because maybe she's not sleeping at night because I've totally screwed up on how much and when to feed her.
So this is what she eats everyday. She will be seven months old on Friday. She is a big baby in terms of height and weight - but her weight is only big because she is so tall. She is built like me - I'm 6'0 and a long, lean and athletic build. All times are estimated because everyday is different, everyday SHE is different and I do want to develop a baby that can adjust herself and roll with the punches when necessary. Or maybe that's part of the problem. Anyways.
7:30 - 6oz. bottle of formula
9:30 - 3 tablespoons of oatmeal with a scoop of applesauce, followed by 4-6oz. bottle of formula
12:00 - as much of a "stage 1" baby food jar (fruit or veggie) that she will eat, followed by a 4-6oz. bottle of formula
3:00 - 6oz. bottle of formula
6:00 - as much of a "stage 1" baby food jar (fruit or veggie) that she will eat, followed by a 4-6oz. bottle of formula
Bedtime - 8oz. formula/rice bottle
I'm almost scared to put her eating schedule out there because I'm afraid that someone is going to see that I'm totally doing it all wrong and I'm going to be a "bad mother." Eek. I know that rationally, my baby is gaining weight and growing like a weed so therefore she is getting the nutrition that she needs, but the irrational side of my brain is telling me that I don't know what I'm doing and that I'm completely screwing up my child's eating habits for the rest of her life.
So. Yeah. Some advice would be greatly appreciated.
2 comments:
I've been EXACTLY where you are. In fact, I have a similar blog post. As far as the sippy cup, Preslie had hit or miss days with it. She would take juice/water, but never formula. Try feeding Natalie with a straw, as in using the straw as a dropper. This will teach her the sucking motion out of something other than a nipple. You can buy sippy cups with handles that actually have a straw instead of a spout (munchkin) and begin trying that one. To make you feel better, Preslie dropped the bottles at one year exactly. When we transitioned her to whole milk, we decided to nix the bottles. I have pasted a link below on all of my posts labeled "feeding" which covers me meals and sippy cup woes. Make sure to read the comments people left me for more advice. Lastly, the meals are a never ending battle. Preslie has NEVER been a picky eater, and in a matter of weeks, has begun to be. :(
http://dreamsarelikestars.blogspot.com/search/label/feeding
I love this post! First of all, at our 6 month pedi appointment our doc told us we could introduce a sippy cup which I personally think is WAY too early. So, I'm just ignoring that comment. As far as foods, J is 6 months and a week...we've only had apples and cereal. We tried bananas once but he threw them all up.
So, don't feel bad about the food. Do it at your own pace! Everything will be fine. And I'm pretty certain every child goes through a picky eater stage no matter what!
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