Evolution of Baby Meal Time

Once upon a time I had a newborn, who enjoyed a strictly liquid diet... Oh how easy that time was!

Monster first tried rice cereal back when he was three and a half months old, and since then has gained quite the menu of foods he's successfully eaten without an allergic reaction. I've been a good mommy and recorded absolutely everything. Date, time, what food, and his reaction... That was up until about a couple weeks ago.

I'm still writing down the food that he's successfully tried, liked and didn't react from but I'm more "willy nilly" about the process. Monster is an old pro when it comes to eating, so he can chew and swallow without much worry on my part (Note: Having said that I'd like to make it clear that he is never left unattended with his food). I've become quite accustomed to serving him whatever we're eating at supper time, or "sharing" whatever is on my plate with him. Within reason of course, I'm not about to give him hunks of steak that he physically can not manage eating on his own or any "fake" foods I might be eating.

I've designed his infant meal time schedule in a way that will make for an easy transition when the time comes that he wont be eating bottles as a main source of nutrition.

7:30-8:30am - Breakfast #1 (Solids; cereal/yogurt/toast and fruit, sippy cup with 2oz formula)
10:30-11ish - Breakfast #2 (Bottle)
1pm - Lunch #1 (Solids, fruit/veggie/toast/finger foods, sippy cup with 2oz formula)
2:30-3pm - Lunch #2 (Bottle)
4:30-5pm - Supper #1 (Bottle)
6-6:30pm - Supper #2 (Solids, whatever we're eating or veggies, sippy cup with 2oz formula)
8pm - Bedtime Snack (Bottle)

Essentially the way I have it set up is that Monster eats solids at our meal times, ultimately (hopefully) making it easier to "ween" him when the time comes. Slowly changing his bottles at "snack times" into snacks and slowly increasing the amount of solids he consumes at meal times.

Anyone who has just gone through this process, I welcome tips! :)

3 Cheers for Cheerios!

Feeding Monster has definitely become a favorite hobby of mine since he began eating solids.

On my fridge hangs a chart of baby foods sent to me by Heinz along with a free sample and some coupons. Thank you again Heinz! The chart has a list of "beginner" baby foods, and places beside each food to write the date and how your baby enjoyed (or did not enjoy) the food. It also has lists of stage 2, 3, and 4 baby foods with the same charting system.

It's been very handy in the process of recording how long it's been between each new food. However I think I will be developing my own similar charting system once 6 months rolls around and the types of foods Monster can eat/try widens greatly.

For about two weeks now I've been giving Monster a baby Mum Mum rice snack here and there. It's the perfect food to judge how the chewing process is developing in your infant. They devolve almost instantly, but babies have to make the chewing motion in order to break off a piece.

(Please note the APP and BC Interior Health Authorities do not recommend feeding your infant solids until they are 6 months old, everything I feed my Monster is at my own risk.)

He does really well with chewing, but like I said in my previous post Preparing for Solids I'm not really surprised at how quickly he learns when it comes to food. Today I decided to give him Cheerios for his new food. I'm not nuts, our public health nurse gave us a list of 6 month appropriate finger foods and they were on it!

He did fantastically! He doesn't quite have the pincher grasp down, so when he picked them up they ended up in his fist as apposed to his mouth. He chewed them until they broke down and softened then swallowed them like a champion!

Yes, I am one proud mama! ;)

Other Babies

I really hate to admit this, but I'm not sure that I actually liked babies (Note: Babies, not children. I love kids) until I had my own.

The day Monster was born, my whole world changed in more then one big obvious way. I now notice every single baby, family or pregnant woman! I love everything about parenting, my child, babies, talking about babies, playing with or around babies, and watching babies minds develop and learn.

Just this weekend I attended a wedding, and we had left Monster with my parents for the reception. Attending this wedding were two baby boys from different families, both at tables right in front of mine. The whole meal, toasts and desserts I felt like a creep just watching these two little boys playing with their parents or other guests at the table desperately missing my own little boy.

The boy at the table in front of us to the left was tiny, in a cute little button down with khakis', my guess was that he was about 3 or 4 months due to how he was acting, playing, and devouring his bottle. As I watched him interact with his mommy, my heart strings were repeatedly plucked because it wasn't long ago that Monster was acting that very same way. This baby was at the stage before the hair pulling, grabbing at everything in front of him and jumping around on your lap as if he was in a jolly jumper that Monster's now.

I later spoke with his dad, and found out he wasn't 3-4 months at all, but merely 4 days younger then my Monster. Even though I am well aware of how huge Monster is for his age, it's still so shocking for me to see other children his age, half his size. I don't want to brag, but Monster must either be smarter (haha!), or more inquisitive then other babies close to his age.

The boy sitting at the table in front of us to the right was about 7-8 months old, maybe older. His parents brought with them a portable high chair, and were feeding him solids like cheerios, and steamed broccoli and cauliflower. It was like I was right smack dab in the middle of two boys a little younger, and a little older then Monster, and yet, all three babies acted so different.

I do wish I had an opportunity to ask just how much older the older baby was. I can't help but compare my Monster to other children, or watch intently as an older baby acts or plays to see what I can be expecting in the near future. Developing minds are just so fascinating!

Oh, I would have also liked to apologize to the other parents in case they saw me staring at their baby, and ensure them I wasn't a kidnapper, but simply a baby-crazed mama!

My Son, the Klepto Baby

One of the greatest joys in birthing your very own offspring is watching them reach, and surpass milestones.

Monster started reaching for his toys, batting at them, and yanking on them just over 3 months ago. Since then he has been working hard to develop his fine motor skills, and dexterity. In the last two week, he has gotten ridiculously good at grabbing and stealing things!

I've nicknamed him Klepto-Baby, because each and everything I hold in my hands he reaches over and steals (ultimately to try and shove into his mouth). Actually, statement correction: I don't even have to be holding it, it just has to be in reaching distance. Monster enjoys very much "helping" mommy use her phone, or eat her food.

Which, in fact is where I think it all stemmed from. We started feeding Monster solids earlier then most. He first tired rice cereal at 3 and a half months old, and since then has a large list of fruit and veggies he enjoys on a daily basis. My theory is that since I feed him with a spoon, he thinks everything from my hands should go into his mouth.

That theory is easily dissolved with the shear fact that most babies pick things up, and stick them into their mouths.

Packing for a Sleep Over

Yesterday I let my Monster go for his third sleepover since he was born.

I am so lucky to have a content baby, and such an established bedtime routine that it's pretty easy for my mom (and a select few others) to care for him at bedtime or overnight. The worst part of the whole thing, isn't even the missing him while he's gone part, but rather the trying to pack everything he could possibly need while he's gone part.

Any parent who has traveled with an infant knows the dread that comes along with packing.

The only way for me to keep my sanity yesterday was to replay his bedtime routine over and over again in my head, checking off each item we use as I packed it up. The next challenge was with preparing enough food, solids and otherwise to send along with him for meal times. Since we've started serving solids to Monster 3 times a day, he has to have his food and bottle times planned out accordingly.

I'm not one for doing things willy-nilly and I know my mom knows Monster inside and out, almost as well I as do, but I still felt the need to write everything out on paper for her to refer to as needed. Worst case scenario, she'd just have to call me anyways.

I managed to remember everything the needed, right down to his nighttime massage lotion for after his bath, but when we pulled up into my moms driveway I realized I had forgotten the bassinet. Of course, the thing he was supposed to SLEEP IN! Fear not readers, my packing short comes were only met with my mom's over accommodation. Before Monster was even born she had invested in a playpen (Where he slept last night), car seat, high chair, and stroller.

What would I do without my mom?

The Sippy Cup!

I'm sure it seems a little young, but in my opinion, you can never stop teaching your little ones new things.

I decided when we started feeding Monster solids that it was also time to start practicing with a sippy cup. I put only an ounce of infant formula into the cup for practicing purposes, not thinking we'd actually get very far.

The first time we tried it, Monster wasn't even 4 months old yet, so it didn't go over well. The spout on the sippy cup is slightly larger, and harder then the nipple of a breast (of course) or bottle but requires a similar sucking motion.

We tried the sippy cup again about two weeks ago, and Monster was very enthusiastic once he figured out that "milk" came out of it! The only real benefit to him learning to use a sippy cup is independence when drinking. If it's not easier for me to help him with his cup, then it is to feed him a bottle, it won't be the primary liquid source but merely a way to "wash down" his food while eating.

At least he is willing to learn, so maybe my goal of being strictly on a cup during the day by 6-9 months isn't far off.