hi kelly,
i think the biggest thing is that he is still drinking a minimum of milk each day, and that you are pretty sure he is not "snacking" at his breast feeds but actually emptying your breasts and taking full feeds. if you can say yes to both of those then i would say enjoy his lust for eating and have fun with it.
one thing though, how old is your lo? until he's 1yo, he really has to get most of his calories from milk. right now is more to get him used to the tastes, textures, etc. so as you introduce more meals and increase his portions, just keep a good eye on this and make sure he's getting all the good stuff from his milk that he needs.
as far as introducing new foods, i went by the one every other day rule of thumb. i think if you are concerned about allergies and/or have a history in your family then you can wait a week.
and for your last question on cooking foods, i don't know what the 'official' answer is. but i don't think i ever cooked a fruit for ds. i didn't freeze them either, just pureed them fresh on the day which takes almost as little time as defrosting. just peel them/de-seed them.
veggies are good to cook a big batch in advance, puree, and freeze in little ice cube trays. for a young baby 2 cubes a meal is usually good (unless he is screaming for more
). however, i would not boil them to death as you said, but rather just steam them. that keeps a great deal of their nutrients, and you can use a little of the steaming water for pureeing (not for carrots, btw). i think that raw veggies will be very difficult for a lo to digest. by the time he is really relying on the vitamins in those foods for his nutrition, you will be able to give him more raw veggies anyway.
hope this helps. my ds was a really big eater too (still is)! sounds like you are really going to enjoy the eating experience with your lo...
x
