Food Chronicle: Angelika ~ Week 4

Food Chronicle: Week 4

This is the fourth installment in my Introduction to Solids series. I am journaling about our experience with baby feeding since we have the unique opportunity to share this with our students and readers as we start the process of weaning our youngest child. This is not medical advice, nor is it a schedule to be followed. It is simply our choice for our baby and the first time we have done what is gaining popularity as “baby-led weaning”.

Click on these links for Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3.

We added bananas on Wednesday – she loved it! As it happens, our older kiddos like bananas, too, so that was the only opportunity I had to offer it before we went grocery shopping again. I didn’t offer more avocados like I had intended, and we didn’t do baked apples, either. It was too darn hot! Maybe in the fall.

Angelika is doing great with eating her solids, and she is still nursing like a champ. I have noticed that during the day, she drains the breast in less than five minutes. She is much more interested in seeing what her siblings are doing than she is in nursing. By the same token, she still wants to nurse before and after we spend time in the high chair. It surprises me, especially when I have seen her consume what seems to be a lot of food for a baby.

Her new foods were in the grains food group this week. She LOVED my aunt’s zucchini bread – it disappeared faster than any food to date; and she kept reaching for more. I was a little hesitant to let her eat this since it is the most ingredients she has had at any one sitting. However, she enjoyed the taste, got some vegetables into her system, and seemed to have no reactions.

The second grain we introduced was a round soda cracker. I am still nervous introducing these hard foods due to our choking incidents with our younger children. However, I am learning to trust the process: we waited for food readiness to be a developmental step, not a convenience step. We watched for her to develop the pincer grip and to sit up by herself before feeding her small pieces of food. Our baby has learned to chew her food first since she started straight with solids, as opposed to learning to swallow food like cereals before learning to chew bigger foods. In other words, her instinct is to chew what’s in her mouth before she does anything else with the food we feed her.

Notes:

Bradley Method® natural childbirth classes offered in Arizona: Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Mesa, Scottsdale, Payson

She doesn’t seem to be affected by gluten yet. The bread she ate was a baked using a regular wheat flour. The cracker I gave her is made by one of our favorite gluten-free commercial companies: Glutino. I will keep her on a gluten-free diet for the most part since that is the way our family rolls. Side note: today was pantry-cleaning day. We have literally four containers left with wheat products – everything else is gluten-free!

She went one of her longest stretches without having a bowel movement this past week. I really hope that she forgives me this part of the chronicle – I wonder if the internet really is forever – I guess we will find out!!

Anyway, I cut back on the food we were giving her, and stuck with some tried and true foods once the days stretched into three and four. We stayed with the apples, that are high in fiber and purportedly good to keep the digestive tract going in the right direction. In reading this blurb , The blurb reads that a lot of the fiber is in the skin – oops. It may not have been as effective as a “laxative” for her because I am still peeling the apples when I offer them. I feel there is no need to invite the choking unnecessarily, so for now, I will keep peeling fruits and veggies before feeding them to the baby.

This is a less crazy week, so I have already baked the sweet potato and yam for the next few days, and I have a butternut squash and some zucchini to cook tomorrow. Check in next week if you are curious to know how she liked her new vegetables!

We are also going to see how her digestive tract is working the next few days…I bought some bananas and I have more avocado for this week’s culinary adventures.

I would love to hear from you – what is your experience with baby-led weaning? How does it compare with feeding choices you have made for other children?

Food+ Diary

Tuesday, June 12

Bm in the morning

Breakfast: peaches

Lunch: apple teether

Dinner: banana pieces – 1/3 banana

Wednesday, June 13

First “solid” poop in the pm

Veggie straws in pm

Thursday, June 14

GREEN bm in the am

Breakfast: carrot stick teether

Lunch: n/a

Snack: apple teether; zucchini bread

Dinner: peaches, apple slice, gf crackers (2)

Friday, June 15

No bm

Lunch: peaches

Dinner: Veggie sticks, Glutino crackers (2)

Saturday, June 16

No bm

Lunch: Apple, veggie sticks

Not a lot of food today – second day of no “regular” morning bowel movement, plus we had several events out of the home.

Sunday, June 17

No bm

Breakfast: Apple pieces

Lunch: Apples slices, veggie straws

Dinner: Steamed Carrots

Monday, June 18

Tiny, solid bm – quarter size

Breakfast: Apple pieces

Lunch: Apples slices, veggie straws

Dinner: Steamed Carrots

Link to apple info:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/digestive-health-pictures/10-foods-that-help-relieve-constipation.aspx#/slide-9

Disclaimer:

The material included on this site is for informational purposes only.
It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult her or his healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation. Krystyna and Bruss Bowman and Bowman House, LLC accept no liability for the content of this site, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. This blog contains information about our classes available in Chandler, AZ and Payson, AZ and is not the official website of The Bradley Method®. The views contained on this blog do not necessarily reflect those of The Bradley Method® or the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth®.