feel like we're far behind

[JHBmom]

Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding where my lo, who is now 8 months, should be with his solids.  So far he eats between 2-4 oz of either pureed fruit or veggies at each meal time.  I looked over the sample routines on here and noticed some 8/9 month-olds are eating toast and sandwiches??  I didn't realize that was possible at this age?  Am I far behind or doing the right thing for my lo?  He still takes about 30 oz of breastmilk (I pump and use a bottle).  Should I be introducing other foods at this stage?  I try to puree my own foods so I'm struggling with simply introducing him to new fruits/veggies.  With pumping and trying to make my own food it is quite time-consuming. 

Any advice would be great!  Thanks!

[abaker89]

That is a lot of breastmilk, he is likely just not that hungry.  How is teh weight gain??  DD1 never ate much till after 11 mths.  Before that it was maybe 2 times a day and maybe 2 teaspoons of fruit or veggies.  She was gaining great on my milk and just didn't need anymore.  I wouldn't worry at all if he is gaining well.  And my hat is off to you for exclusive pumping, what a lot of work and dedication to get him the best nutrition possible!!

[Lolly]

Don't worry about being behind - you really aren't, and just like all areas of development these babies do things at different times but it al evens out in the end!

You can start giving finger foods from pretty early really and it's good to offer a variety of textures and tastes. Both mine started with finger foods from 6 months and had purees as well which I gradually thickened by mashing rather than pureeing. We sort of did a combination of puree and baby led weaning (BLW).http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=92560.0

There are different ways of offering finger foods, we went with the BLW theory and offered finger shaped chunks of softish foods that they could hold in their hands and control for themselves. Both were eating buttered toast at 6 months along with things like carrot sticks, broccoli, sweet potato etc.

His milk intake is good and you don't want that to drop too much yet, so I would probably start adding more texture to the purees and offer some finger foods for practice and see how he does! Milk needs to be their main source of nutrition until 1 year when solids take over so you have plenty of time!

HTH!

Laura

[gogomama]

Hi there,

Before 12 months, solids are just for "fun" and all about introducing the baby to new tastes, textures and getting them into the habit of eating. We were still on purees until I think about 10 months when DS started getting more interested in finger foods and feeding himself. There is also the baby led weaning route where the baby explores food for themselves and they start off with finger foods instead of the spoon. Its your choice what type of food you want to be feeding your baby, there is really no requirement at this age as milk is still their main form of nutrition. So don't feel bad, you're not behind!

[JHBmom]

Thank you everyone!  That definitely makes me feel better.  I guess I didn't educate myself enough on the solids, as I thought pureed fruits/veggies were the only option.  My son does gag if the food is not pureed well so maybe he's not ready to tackle anything else just yet.  If I were to try finger foods, what would you all suggest?  It does make me a little nervous introducing finger foods but I guess there isn't anything to worry about.

Thanks again!

[JHBmom]

Oh and the weight gain has been great.  We go to the dr. next month so I'm interested to see how he has progressed lately.

[Lolly]

They do gag in the start,but it's ok to gag! Gagging is a self defense mechanism which helps them learn to move food around in their mouths and protect their airways from choking. If you can, find out what to do if they do start choking to give you confidence,  but when they gag if you stay calm they are generally able to sort themselves out. Neither of my two have ever choked on food - gagged until they have thrown up yes but they have been fine. They always did that when I was alone with them - so no help to clear up .

Have a look at the BLW link, that will give you ideas for finger foods. We never gave really small pieces of foods, I always made sure the bits were big enough to hold in their hands with a bit sticking out for them to gum. Food needs to be softish, firm enough to be picked up but soft enough to mash between gums.  It's also good for their motor skills - peas and sweetcorn kept mine amused for ages trying to pick them up and get them into their mouths!

Laura