Starting solids

While I was pregnant, and then also while I was pumping, I had a lot of time to read What to Expect the First Year. But now that J is taking formula, I'm either working, taking care of him/household, or sleeping, and haven't read much. Now that we've introduced some solids (rice cereal, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes), I wanted to make sure we were doing it "right". Meaning we weren't forcing Jacob into it and also weren't triggering food allergies.

Well, I finally got around to reading the Fifth Month chapter in the book where they talk about starting solids. I have to say that I'm disappointed in myself for introducing solids without reading this chapter. I don't think that J has had any adverse reaction to the foods we've given him, but we should have started off slower and introduced each food one at a time, each for a period of several days. Also, we should have started off with carrots and sweet potatoes, and then peas (since some kids can be allergic to peas, and peas have a stronger flavor which some kids reject at first). But like I said, J has been slopping up the 3 foods we've given him, with no adverse reaction. Reactions like gassiness, diarrhea, or mucus in the stool, to vomiting and rashes. Other symptoms include a runny nose, watery eyes, wheezing that doesn't seem to be due to a cold, and unusual wakefulness or crankiness — day or night. J does have a runny nose but that started before we gave him any veggies. If we notice these things, we should wait a week & try again. If after a few times, we notice the same reaction, J's probably got a sensitivity or allergy to the food & we should wait a few months before trying the food again.

So, we're going to stick with the sweet potatoes for a week & see what happens. If all is good, then we'll move to carrots and other yellow or orange vegetables. We can then go back to peas, string beans and other green vegetables. And then comes fruit (bananas, baby apple sauce, pears, but no citrus fruit until 1 year). Also, we should hold off on wheat, strawberries, and tomatoes until he's 1 year old. I think I read that nuts shouldn't be given until 5 years old.

Minced meat (chicken, lamb, turkey, or beef), mashed egg yolk (no whites), and avocado can be introduced at 7 or 8 months (and to think, I almost gave J avocado now! Eeeek!). By 9 months, we can give J  whole-milk yogurt, cheese, pasta, beans, and tofu (a Chinese favorite!). Between 9 and 12 months, J will perfect his pincer grasp (though he pinches with all of his fingers now...mostly on the neck of the person who is holding him!), he can have finger foods that he can easily gum to a paste (since not all his teeth have sprouted).