Thursday, July 31, 2014

Confusion with Solids vs. Bottles

The babies are loving their solid foods so far, with a few minor exceptions.  Even the few that they didn't like at first, they later decided that they were at least tolerable.  We've mostly done purees and cereal to this point.  I have given Ayden a few tiny pieces of bread.  Their Uncle S tried giving them a few Puffs and Yogurt Bites, but that didn't go over very well.  Probably the funniest food faces they've made to date! Didn't get any pictures though!  I'm not sure if it was because of the taste or the texture.  And then Rylee choked on a yogurt bite so we gave up at that point.  They aren't ready for that yet.

We started with rice cereal and then oatmeal.  Then moved on to veggies for a few weeks and have done only a few fruits so far.   

Veggies
Sweet Potatoes
Peas
Green Beans
Carrots
Avocado

*We debated over whether avocado is a fruit or vegetable.  Tony thinks it's a fruit, but I put it under veggie, only because it's not sweet like a fruit normally is. 

Fruits
Apples
Bananas

When they wake up, they get their usual morning bottle.  About an hour to an hour and a half later, they get oatmeal (made with formula), and I have now started adding a fruit with that.  I've been giving them a veggie in the afternoon on most days.  Occasionally we aren't home and we just skip the veggie.  Today I'm going to give them their first meat along with the veggie in the afternoon.

Here's my confusion:  even though they are now getting some solids, it has not made one bit of difference in the frequency of their bottles.  I thought that since they are actually getting a decent amount in the morning with the oatmeal and fruit, that they wouldn't need a bottle quite so soon.  I was putting them down for their morning nap without another bottle, but they would wake up after only 30-45 minutes.  I think it's because they were hungry.  This week, I've been giving them another bottle even though it hasn't even been quite 3 hours since their first bottle and they've had solids in there too.  Now they are back to their usual 2.5 - 3 hour naps.  Praise the Lord.

When does the transition occur so that we start giving them fewer bottles?  How much "real" food do they need to be getting so that they are satisfied with that?  I've been feeling rather overwhelmed with transitioning to solids and how to go about it.  My sister has helped a lot and answered a lot of my questions.  I'd be lost if I had to figure this all out on my own!  Thank goodness we are old, geriatric parents and have lots of people that have ventured into parenthood before us to help with all our silly little questions!

Don't they look a bit confused also?



13 comments:

  1. Adorable pictures and comment to go with your story! I love the geriatric parents comment! I'm glad that you are finding lots of advice that will add to your confusion!!!! Your children will probably let you know how it all will come down before anyone else can!!!! LOL Just keep having fun and enjoying those ADORABLE little ones!!! Love to all! Auntie

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    1. Welllll, I did have a stamp on my file that labeled me Advanced Maternal Age! lol

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  2. I'm glad that your geriatric butt is going through it before my geriatric butt does. I've got your phone number on speed dial!

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    1. Haha! I love you. Seriously, you can call/text me ANY time!!! I'm glad I can pave the way, but I'm even more glad that others have also paved the way for me! :)

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  3. I highly recommend the book "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter, for the transition to solids. She is very reassuring and focuses on the feeding relationship. She believes in the "division of labor" for feeding -- you are in charge of what, where, and when your children eat. They are in charge of whether to eat and how much. It makes a ton of sense and can really help avoid having picky eaters.

    Have fun!

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    1. That does make sense. Thank you for the book recommendation. I'll have to check it out!

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  4. I am having the EXACT same issue right now. When do I cut down on how many times they nurse and how much I give them in a bottle. They nursed / had a bottle / had some solids when they woke up and then 2 hours later, before their nap, they nursed / had a bottle. They have been asleep 90 minutes now and I know it's because they're nice and full. But when do I get to quit feeding them every 2 1/2 hours?!?!

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    1. Exactly! When you figure it out, let me know!

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  5. Geriatric parent over here too. For my kids the turning point seemed to be about 9 months. Up until then, both just ate for fun, not much nutrients. Once they started eating mostly table food it changed and the nursing sessions dropped. Alice nurses about 3 or 4 times a day, as opposed to the 6+ she was doing. She eats almost as much as my 3 year old now and she's 14 months.

    I just love the expressions on your kids. Riley always looks so concerned. :-)

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    1. Thanks for sharing your experiences with feeding your kids! I guess we'll just ride it out and see what happens!

      Babies sure do make funny faces that are so sweet and adorable!

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  6. If you want to get technical, avocados are actually berries. ;) I'd personally lump them into vegetables though. We're considering starting solids with avocado in a few weeks. I predict my daughter will not like it!
    I haven't done it yet, but just from knowing what friends and family have done, I'd say food starts replacing a bottle around 9 months or so. I think they'd have to consume about the same number of calories through whatever food they're eating to match that of a bottle of formula or breast milk.

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    1. I get that that the calories have to replace the bottles, which they aren't consuming as much in food yet of course, but I did think that it would at least delay their next bottle. I was wrong! I have heard that it changes around 9 months, as you said. Good luck when you start with the solids! I have been told that if you mix the avocado with breast milk/formula (whatever you are giving) they do tend to like it better because it has a more familiar taste.

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  7. Izzy is 8 months old and I feel like when we introduced solids it brought us back to feeding her all the time again! She is still drinking 29-30 oz of bm/formula a day and as of today, has started to have three jars of homemade food (I think they hold 2 oz of food?) a day.

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