Introducing Solids =)

Let's just say my little Isabella sure LOVES to eat! This blog entry may not interest all of you who follow our blog - but it will be a great resource for me in the future! =)

So, my baby girl is now nursing 6-7 times a day (depending on if she wakes for a night feeding) and she's enjoying 3 solid meals a day! I've decided she enjoys nursing....not for the nutritional value of it - but for the total experience of snuggling up close with her mamma! She would pretty much nurse all day if I let her! I'm thinking it's going to be hard to cut feedings in the future! She also loves solids too! She gobbled it up from the first time I put a soupy little bite of rice cereal in her mouth!

I have to put a plug in for this awesome, amazing book I was given by a friend! It has been so informative and helpful! I decided a while back that I was going to do everything I could to nurse Isabella for the first year of her life along with slowly introducing her to an all natural/organic diet! This book has been such a helpful tool!

Isabella will turn 6 months this weekend.....here's an update on her solid food diet!

(boring for most of the readers I'm sure!)

At 4 1/2 months we started organic rice cereal mixed with breast milk once a day. I gradually increased it to 3 times a day. (2-3Tbsp. at each meal)

After a about a week of rice cereal, we introduced organic oats mixed with breast milk just in the mornings for breakfast. She enjoyed her rice cereal for lunch and dinner.

Then, we introduced avocados, sweet potatoes, bananas, pears (not a huge fan yet), nectarines and peaches. I plan to introduce her to winter squash and plums this week!

Of course, we are going by the 4 day wait rule (eat a new food for 4 days before introducing another food) just to make sure she doesn't have any food allergies.

At this point here's a typical feeding routine....

7am Nurse/Oats w/2 cubes of fruit

10am (upon waking from nap) Nurse

12 2 cubes of veggies w/ 1 cube of fruit

1 (before nap) Nurse

4 (after nap) Nurse

5 3 cubes of veggies w/rice (I usually give her 2 different types of veggies.)

7:30 Nurse before bedtime

**She usually wakes once to eat around 3 or 4am and then wakes at 7am for breakfast!

I'm looking forward to sharing with her pediatrician how she has taken so well to solid foods! At this point, she is eating the serving size of a 7 month old!!! Plus, she nurses lots too! =)

I'm definitely looking forward to running the official "Super Baby Food Diet" by her pediatrician to get his feedback. I'm not quite sure if I'm going to use it w/Isabella due to her milk allergy at this point. But....this is the diet...

Breakfast - Super Porridge meal (homemade grains - gradually adding more ingredients)

Lunch - Yogurt Based meal (I gotta check w/pediatrician about alternative yogurt since she has a dairy allergy)

Dinner - Varies each day!

I'm so thankful that my baby girl loves to eat and has such a good appetite! It will be fun taking her to her appointment next week and seeing how she has grown! =)