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And secondly, based on your tweets, I'm assuming that your financial situation has been worked out since you're ordering bows from etsy.
Great!
I also add whole fat plain yogurt, which is a dairy, around 8 months.
So yummy to have nutritious foods!
I LOVE this post! I dont have kids yet but I am for sure gonna have some one day and I hope I will be such a great mom as you are!!
Is there a book you got this from or where did you get the idea? I copied this post and saved it to my computer!!
The other day while babysitting I heard that they arent going to start their baby on fruit so early bc they said once you start with something sweet that will make them more likely to like sweet treats later. Is that true??? I have heard that a coupld of times now but dont know what to think of it!!
Ohh and I have a book about diary. Humans are basically the only living creatures that drink "breastmilk" of another living creature. The book says that its made for the baby cows and not us. I read parts of it and its really interesting. Everyone thinks the calcium thats in milk is good for your bones, well calcium is but the calcium in the milk takes something away from our bodies and actually can harm our bones. I really have to read that again! I forgot most of it! But I think its great you are feeding your kids so healthy! I LOVE milk and havent been able to stop. I wish I could one day!!
Have a great day!!
-Hannah (MN)
which leads me to where I have learned most of this -- from our family doctor. I run almost EVERYTHING health/nutrition by our family doctor to get her opinion since she has a degree and all! :)
I am so sorry that you feel "bombarded" and that you think I think parents that feed their children dairy are less of a parent. That statement could not be further from the truth. We do let our children have limited dairy -- we just don't let them have it early on. I absolutely believe different things work for different people.
All of this information is just what works for us and what I have learned through years of study!
please take what you want and leave the rest! :)
Britt
I truly will ask our doctor if any of you would really like to know how this would work if your situation is different.
Britt
I love the idea of using the teeth as a guide, wish I'd known that when we were navigating early eating for sure!
I made all of their food and never rushed feeding. The littlest guy actually started eating "late" as he just didn't handle food at all until around 10 months (gag reflex). I've even done the chew it myself method as you've described and I still peel apples for the little guy this way when nothing else is around (he still gags to easily on things like peels).
As for the teeth method, we have had two late teethers, my oldest didn't even have one tooth until he was 10 months old. For us it didn't make sense to wait for teeth, but instead look for cues that he needed more than just what he was getting from me (constant feeding, waking, not sleeping, etc).
I love that you share all of these tips, and are so open to all the views we all have. I have to say you have defintely helped inspire me to work on our eating habits. I was so proud when at the store yesterday our 3 year old grabbed a HUGE bunch of fresh organic carrots (with full leaves) and demanded we buy them for him.
I might just be posting my own foodie post soon - more of a work in progress we are on our way to eating better, rather than a this is how we eat well post (does that make sense)
ok....I guess this novella needs to end...
Liz
I enjoyed reading this post. Maybe when I have #2 I will follow more of your suggestions, but as you said every baby is different and every family is different so you must do what works for you!
Oh, and we ended up introducing yogurt at about 10 months. I didn't want to give him dairy but he was on antibiotics which were causing digestive issues and this did seem to help!
Also, how long have you breastfed your kids? My son just gave up the boob at 19 months. I feel like we had a good run at it!
thank you! and your kids are SO cute!
I don't get why people think you are trying to force your opinion on them, like you are the baby food police, seriously.
I've heard a lot of people talking about skipping purees all together and giving them very soft fruit and veggie pieces when they can grab, what are your thoughts one that?
We went through a week of homemade purees and then a half week of chunky purees before he wouldn't have anything to do with a spoon and ate only soft foods he could pick up... at about 7 months old.
Laurie in Minnesota
I wouldn't have been able to follow this regiment of eating with my kids though. Eve stopped nursing cold turkey at 11 months - she was exclusive breast. I fed her yogurt and homemade muesli because I wasn't going to put her on formula at that late of an infant age but she wasn't anywhere ready for adult food. As a first time mom I was panicked. But, she did really, really well.
Judah started on a supplement of rice cereal and breast milk at 2 months because he was so stinkin' hungry. Nursing exclusively wasn't enough for him. He stopped nursing shortly after his first birthday.
Eliza stopped nursing at 10 months (I think :) ) and was eating fruits, veggies, and rice cereal with rice milk. She has always wanted whatever we are eating - and handled it very well.
I did things a lot differently yet I don't feel judged by you. And others shouldn't either. We all are doing the best we know how. Whether we have fed our kids following this regiment or not does not have any bearing on how much we love them. It's just food... :)
-Andrea
Re: Dairy: dairy can create a morphine like effect in the brain, which is not only addictive but lowers the pain tolerance of children and can put them in a trance like state from time to time. This is mostly seen in children who are on the spectrum of developmental delays, but we hesitate to give dairy as well.
RE: water- it is common knowledge that all a baby needs for the first year IS breast milk or formula. Not willing to take my word for it, just ask your pediatrician.
As for cereal. It is totally unnecessary and has very little nutrition. Babies used to be started on cereal because it was iron fortified. But now formula is iron fortified so it's unnecessary. And while breastmilk has a lot of less iron than formula it is absorbed at a much higher rate than the iron in formula. As long as the mom is not anemic then you don't need to worry about their iron levels.
See kellymom.com for information on that.
Great post...I did NOT know about the avocado and I am on my fifth baby(almost 10 mts old),but if there are more(hopefully will be)...I will be mashing that avocado..lol..
Have to say I could not use the teething rule as my kids are LATE teethers. My 3rd born and only son did not cut his first tooth until 17 months..yep..that late..
and my sweet LeeLee does not have not one pearly white..
I agree with the nursing as the primary nutrition and my sweetie can sure marathon nurse...that is OK..it is the most complete form of nutrition for her.
I actually nurse so much...that it is called ecological nursing and this actually spaces your children..fertility does not return for an extened length of time..can be bad or good..depends on how you look at it...lol..
I look forward to reading your future posts..
Annmarie
I'm curious how you have dealt with weaning with your babes. My oldest pretty much self-weaned at 14 months. My still nursing 17 month old, well I feel like he'll never wean! He eats a ton of food other than breast milk, but he still LOVES his nu-nu!
Great post!!
I love, love, LOVE your decision to start with actual FOOD for your babies. Babies don't need "baby food" or "baby cereal," they need to learn how to eat food, when they are ready for it. Until then, mama's breastmilk is their perfect food.
Your advice makes SO much sense to ME and I know you know what your talking about. Thanks for sharing about baby food...I learned something new :) Oh and by the way, some of your commentors again crack me up!
~Elyse
I'm not sure if you have a blog frog forum/community set up, but this would be some great conversation in that setting!!
My oldest didn't want or need solid food until she was almost a year old, and then it was just a little bit of Earth's Best Organic baby food. The younger one was a little bit younger when he grabbed at our food, and was able to swallow solids.
I just watched for the signs that they wanted solid food, and went by that. I had never heard that about the teeth, but that makes total sense.
Both breast-fed for YEARS, not months. :)
As for following the teeth for feeding, I find that interesting. With 2 kids mine got teeth at such different ages, that I don't think it would have worked for us. My son got teeth WELL before he needed "real" food and my daughter would have been the opposite.
It's one of those things you have to look at all the info and decide which you think is best. My son is 17 months and breastfed and used to have a dairy allergy and oatmeal allergy so we were terrified of peanuts. However we let him try a little inside his doctor office and he seems to be fine but we don't give it to him often. Hardly ever.
About the teething thing I just don't believe that's how you should do it. My daughter got her first teeth at 5 months. My son got his bottom two at 4 months and EVERYONE pushed me to feed him babyfood. I did NOT feed him until 6 months. People looked at me like I was crazy?!
I do find it hard to believe that giving water is a BAD thing, but hey I don't feel like you're pushing your opinions on us. I like that you share your way of living!!
Thanks for posting!
We don't take as an extreme approach as you, but we do try to make healthy choices & your food post encouraged me to do my research. I always learn something!
My boys hated avocado at first, but last night after reading your post we tried it again! This time - they LOVED IT!
I would love to hear what (if any) vitamin supplements you use with your girls. I breastfeed & the doctor insists I need to give iron supplements - what do you think?
I've always followed my baby's cues when it comes to food. Most of them have gagged on bab cereal so I start with veggies, then add fruit. Meat and dairy (minimal) comes much later.
My kids have all grown up loving veggies, in fact they still snack on frozen veggies when they are hungry.
I agree with one of the signs being teeth telling when they're ready to "move up".
Ethan had his first tooth at late 3 mos. old!
All had first molars by the time they were 11 mos. Second shortly after.
So we offered solids a little sooner then the average.
Except for Ella...
Ella nursed exclusively until she was late 8 mos. She didn't want anything to do with solids even though she had many, many teeth.: ) We went straight to a food mill, beans, fruit & veggies from there on. She had enough teeth to handle it all right then!
Depends on the baby and other signs they give but in general I think the "teeth sign" is a great way to tell!
Thanks for the baby food memories!
That mango looks sooo good! I want some!
I do think it's great how you feed your children though. Raising children eating healthy is one of the best things you can do for their future to continue that way!
I'm curious to know a little more about the avocado. Our 3rd is the first one to LOVE this..she just turned 12 mo. The reason I tried it again is I found out yes it's fatty but a good fat but I heard it was to reduce cholesterol too. I asked our Dr about it as my children if you can believe it have high cholesterol when we have them checked at 12 mo..total hereditary. He said yes it is good, but to be careful..do you know any more on it?? thanks!
Anne
We do something a bit similar. Timing is different but the introduction is about the same. Start on avocado and banana somewhere between 6-8 months of age and slowly begin to introduce healthy options. The twins are still nursing a ton at 12 months. :)
I'm glad you are always quick to say it's what works for YOU and that you have the wisdom to see it simply isn't true for everyone.
I find my kids are ready to start solids when they begin greedily eyeing my food as I eat, lunging at the sight of a fat dinner roll, drooling over a meatball, suddenly waking more at night to eat. They want more, teeth or not. Their tummies do the talking and their teeth don't always get the memo.
Of course I don't go from breastmilk to sausages in one day. We do the normal slow introduction of appropriate baby-friendly foods, pureed freshly at home or from a jar in a pinch.
If I waited for their teeth to tell me what to do, my fifth child wouldn't have been able to eat his own birthday cake. He only had two teeth.
Thanks for the info! I just want to learn more for myself. My husband doesn't quite believe me when I say I read it on a blog! Although, I've totally cut back on what I was feeding Levi. He wasn't eating the grains that I was feeding him. Loves sweet potato and mango. I need to reintroduce avocado by itself.
Sorry for the long comment! I feel like I'm sitting, or walking behind you in your house picking your brain! (walking because I doubt you sit much!)
Josie (3rd year med student)
Some babies are very late teethers, and some like my son are very early teethers. He had 2 teeth by 4 months, but was in no way ready for food yet. You can't go by teeth alone. And older babies with no teeth still have chewing/mashing abilities and should be experiencing and exploring pureed foods, etc.
Also, there are no studies, no nothing, that says grains and other foods stay in babies guts for months. That is simly NOT TRUE. Especially with breastfed babies, their systems are so efficient with breastmilk acting like mild laxatives, that nothing stays in there long at all.
HOlding off on introducing grains until a child is 18-24 months can actually cause more reactions, than introducign them slowly earlier on. No reason to hold off on meats until they get their canines, which appear at varying ages. at about 8 months, a few sips of water in a cup, is a good way to learn, but not to replace milk, it's not harmful at all.
Please add in some references, from medical community, natural/holistic sites, etc. to back up your posts.
...are my doctors/pediatricians and all mothers before me wrong? I have never, ever heard that cereal "sits" in a baby's stomach for months. For a first time mother, this is downright scary to read. Do you have factual information to back this up??
Great post...thanks for sharing this! And congrats for doing your best to feed your babies well!
I know about no meat, dairy, and water, but the no grains thing is new to me. I could see how it makes sense, but would you mind sharing where I could do some reading on this? Maybe the books or online resources that you recommend on nutrition (esp. for babies). I have 6 month old twins who aren't eating solids yet, and one older daughter who never liked baby cereal, but I didn't realize that it wasn't good to give them. I would like to learn more about this.
If you want to email me a response, my email is skdorn@gmail.com. Thanks so much!!
People in my family that cannot afford to buy organic food have live long and very healthy lives, and You are always talking about your kids getting sick. That's sad.
I wish you and your family the best. However, sometimes, I feel that you think you are perfect, and that you know everything. Live your life, and let other people live their lives.
If you are going to talk about health, and if you are going to be giving advice you should go back to school and get you degree.
You should have finished school or do something with your life before having kids. I think you are frustrated with your life.
Become a nutritionist if you like to talk about food. Don't you just open your mouth.