Wow, talk about irony. So, I never took pictures but I fed my baby solids
:( me of all people! I'm feeling somewhat low, but happy that my baby is happy.
Wesley had of course been doing the typical baby things, watching us eat, grabbing at my food. These are things that I don't think necessarily mean its time to offer solids. Most babies watch, grab and put anything in their mouths. So here's what changed. Suddenly, my little guy was waking up in the night again. I figured at first, must be a growth spurt. Then he seemed to get very dissatisfied at the end of nursing sessions. I thought, maybe my calorie cutting is too extreme. I weighed him and discovered that he hadn't gained anything in 3 weeks! 14lbs 12oz. So, I started eating like a starved refugee! I could tell my milk production was up and he was nursing every 1.5 hrs during the day and still up 2-3 times a night. Still he would often cry after being nursed, suck his soother and fall asleep.
I just thought, "this is crazy! he's still hungry!" So one evening I offered some mashed bananas. He gagged a little and didn't swallow much. Next, I offered a bite of my oatmeal. Same response. I thought, "nope he's not ready yet" But still the crazy nursing and night wakings went on. A friend came over. Her little guy is just 13 days older than Wesley and eating solids. She forgot a jar of baby food here, mixed fruit. I mixed it into some wheatlets the next morning. He loved it! He gobbled up the whole tiny baby bowl full! He hasn't looked back.
In the mornings I think, maybe he doesn't really need food. Then he sees us eating and gets all excited and bounces, he sees a bowl of food and starts opening his mouth in anticipation, squeaking out protests if I don't offer him any. Squeals of anger bursting when the spoon does not return to him brimming in a timely manner. I nurse him before his meals and he still eats his food!
I've commenced the weaning process and I couldn't be sadder :( But he is so happy! And he's even gained up to 15 lbs 6 oz. He still nurses every 2-3 hrs and I only offer food at breakfast and supper at this point. But he's back to sleeping well at night and is happy nursing again. Falls asleep contentedly at my breast and comes away happy and full!
My only worry and regret is the dieting. Could I have avoided the food if I had not been cutting calories to cut my waitline? Did my own quest for vanity cause me to give up on my dream of delaying solids or was he just ready for food? I'll never know for sure and I can't exactly beat myself up over it. There seems to be no turning back as this little fellow surely seems to enjoy food! I sure do miss those exclusively breastfed poo diapers.
List of things he's eaten so far. Wheatlets (cheaper cream of wheat, no additives) Jarred fruits, jarred sweet potatoes (now that I know he likes them I will buy some and make and freeze some homemade baby food), lentils (he did not care for these!), fork mashed chicken stew (a potatoe, carrot and gravy).... he loves the fruit, and stew!
Sorry for being a bad example of delayed solids but I'll keep telling myself that I still did baby-led solids!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Baby led solids.
Sometimes called baby led weaning, or delayed solids. I wanted to post about this because most things I've read talk more about "mother-nature" and the idea that "baby knows best" I believe God is in control here and that He put me in authority over my kids for a reason. We can learn a lot from the bible. Gen 21:8 "And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned." Weaning babes in the bible was usually celebrated with a feast, historically this has been show to be between the age of 3-5 years of age!!! Somehow I doubt that people back then were starting the weaning process at only a few months of age. (introduction of solid foods is considered to commence the process of weaning)
We can also learn a lot by looking at things with common sense. Our babies come into this world with the ability to suck milk and no teeth. Research is indicating that their little tummies don't have the ability to digest anything other than mother's milk until at least 6 months. This is not minimum age to start solid by. Some babies might be ready by this age and others may thrive on mothers milk until well into their second year of life. I've read many accounts of children who 'ate' nothing but mother's milk for the first 13 - 18 months of life and were perfectly healthy, happy children. Once they started eating solids they were able to chew and swallow easily and dove into eating table foods with no special preparation.
We didn't always have processed baby cereals, pureed jarred foods or blenders. So what would a baby need to truly eat their food? Teeth!!! Logic tells me that a baby won't be able to eat what I'm eating until they can chew it up. So what can you feed them if they only have a couple teeth and you're worried about chocking? Soft cooked meats, lentils, beans or egg yolks are great because they are high in protein and iron. (Just like all the infant cereals are fortified with over-processed and artificial forms of) Steamed veggies and soft fruits can be cut up into small chunks. Raw fruits and veggies can be grated. If you're interested in offering dairy you can use yogurt, grated hard cheese or cubed softer cheeses. Bread, crackers, cooked pasta and rice for grains. The basic idea is to wait until your baby has a couple chompers and can handle palming or picking up food directly from their bowls/plates/high chair trays! Messy but this way they start eating exactly what they're supposed to and if you wait until they're older and start with the softest foods they learn to chew and swallow safely!
I'm really considering this more and more. With my oldest, I started with packaged infact cereals at 2 mos old, jarred veggies/fruits at 4 mos, moved onto the jarred casseroles around 6 mos and then started the chunkier jarred foods around 8 mos. From there she started eating mashed table foods. My second born I delayed solids till 6 mos but I did start with spoon feeding blended table foods, cereals and mashed fruits.
Wesley is currently 5 months old and show no signs of teeth erupting at this point and he is thriving on breastmilk alone! He has more than doubled his birth weight, is alert and happy, can roll from back to front (then gets furious until you flip him back!) and sleeps at least 8 hours consecutively each night. I think he would be able to sit up mostly on his own if he didn't constantly kick his feet and topple over. I have no plans to start offering solids at this point. I'll keep you posted and put up pictures when we offer him his first "meal".
Of course I plan to nurse him until he starts to wean naturally onto solid foods. I do not plan to 'wean' him onto an alternate milk whether it be cow's, goat's or formula (that is what I did with Jack) and I don't use bottles at all. Until he is at least 12 months old I will be offering my milk BEFORE his meals as it contains 100% of his daily nutrition!
We can also learn a lot by looking at things with common sense. Our babies come into this world with the ability to suck milk and no teeth. Research is indicating that their little tummies don't have the ability to digest anything other than mother's milk until at least 6 months. This is not minimum age to start solid by. Some babies might be ready by this age and others may thrive on mothers milk until well into their second year of life. I've read many accounts of children who 'ate' nothing but mother's milk for the first 13 - 18 months of life and were perfectly healthy, happy children. Once they started eating solids they were able to chew and swallow easily and dove into eating table foods with no special preparation.
We didn't always have processed baby cereals, pureed jarred foods or blenders. So what would a baby need to truly eat their food? Teeth!!! Logic tells me that a baby won't be able to eat what I'm eating until they can chew it up. So what can you feed them if they only have a couple teeth and you're worried about chocking? Soft cooked meats, lentils, beans or egg yolks are great because they are high in protein and iron. (Just like all the infant cereals are fortified with over-processed and artificial forms of) Steamed veggies and soft fruits can be cut up into small chunks. Raw fruits and veggies can be grated. If you're interested in offering dairy you can use yogurt, grated hard cheese or cubed softer cheeses. Bread, crackers, cooked pasta and rice for grains. The basic idea is to wait until your baby has a couple chompers and can handle palming or picking up food directly from their bowls/plates/high chair trays! Messy but this way they start eating exactly what they're supposed to and if you wait until they're older and start with the softest foods they learn to chew and swallow safely!
I'm really considering this more and more. With my oldest, I started with packaged infact cereals at 2 mos old, jarred veggies/fruits at 4 mos, moved onto the jarred casseroles around 6 mos and then started the chunkier jarred foods around 8 mos. From there she started eating mashed table foods. My second born I delayed solids till 6 mos but I did start with spoon feeding blended table foods, cereals and mashed fruits.
Wesley is currently 5 months old and show no signs of teeth erupting at this point and he is thriving on breastmilk alone! He has more than doubled his birth weight, is alert and happy, can roll from back to front (then gets furious until you flip him back!) and sleeps at least 8 hours consecutively each night. I think he would be able to sit up mostly on his own if he didn't constantly kick his feet and topple over. I have no plans to start offering solids at this point. I'll keep you posted and put up pictures when we offer him his first "meal".
Of course I plan to nurse him until he starts to wean naturally onto solid foods. I do not plan to 'wean' him onto an alternate milk whether it be cow's, goat's or formula (that is what I did with Jack) and I don't use bottles at all. Until he is at least 12 months old I will be offering my milk BEFORE his meals as it contains 100% of his daily nutrition!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Sometimes I just feel glum
I can't quite place any particular reason, but I just feel a little glum somedays.
Today is one of those days.
Perhaps I didn't get enough sleep or could it be just being a Mom in general is getting to me at times. The hardest thing is to not eat over it. I did ok during the day and kept my calories consumption at an adequate level, but now the evening is hear, Aaron's gone to church for door-knocking and I'm sitting at this computer trying oh so very hard to not get up and eat rice crispy squares or make myself a big bowl of buttery popcorn. I'm staying on track with my goals (193 lbs as of yesterday!) so I have incentive to behave, but oh how I want to just pig out tonight!!! Pray pray pray... and then I'll pray some more.
As soon as the kids are done their movie I think we'll be working towards a dragged out bedtime, including stories, songs and cuddles just to cheer Mommy up!
But then there is the issue of the baby... his day has been weird. He was up for a feed at 4am, then up from 8am-10am. Napped from 10am-11am, up 11am-1pm, napped 1pm-2pm, and then up 2pm-5pm... so now he's finally taking a nice long nap?! Which likely means that he won't be going to bed around 9pm as per usual... weird little baby. I feel inclined to start forceful scheduling but in the past (with Jack in particular) found that to make each of us quite miserable... fighting the urge to impose rigid sleeping/eating schedule... children seem to do much better with guidance and love. Maybe I'll wake him up, that might be the ticket! I'll wake him up now (cause its 7pm - he's napped for 2 hrs) and then hopefully he'll be tired again by 9pm... that would be nice. Wish me luck!
Today is one of those days.
Perhaps I didn't get enough sleep or could it be just being a Mom in general is getting to me at times. The hardest thing is to not eat over it. I did ok during the day and kept my calories consumption at an adequate level, but now the evening is hear, Aaron's gone to church for door-knocking and I'm sitting at this computer trying oh so very hard to not get up and eat rice crispy squares or make myself a big bowl of buttery popcorn. I'm staying on track with my goals (193 lbs as of yesterday!) so I have incentive to behave, but oh how I want to just pig out tonight!!! Pray pray pray... and then I'll pray some more.
As soon as the kids are done their movie I think we'll be working towards a dragged out bedtime, including stories, songs and cuddles just to cheer Mommy up!
But then there is the issue of the baby... his day has been weird. He was up for a feed at 4am, then up from 8am-10am. Napped from 10am-11am, up 11am-1pm, napped 1pm-2pm, and then up 2pm-5pm... so now he's finally taking a nice long nap?! Which likely means that he won't be going to bed around 9pm as per usual... weird little baby. I feel inclined to start forceful scheduling but in the past (with Jack in particular) found that to make each of us quite miserable... fighting the urge to impose rigid sleeping/eating schedule... children seem to do much better with guidance and love. Maybe I'll wake him up, that might be the ticket! I'll wake him up now (cause its 7pm - he's napped for 2 hrs) and then hopefully he'll be tired again by 9pm... that would be nice. Wish me luck!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Finally a moment to sit and blog!
Last week Sunday ended our missions conference! Quite amazing! Lots of wonderful preaching, tons of great food and an awesome banquet with phenominal music to top it all off! Those Fort girls can really sing!
Weight loss update:
I've started 'weighing in' with a friend. We've committed to try to lose 2 lbs a week for the next 12 week so thats a total of 35lbs lost by the end of it! So far my first weigh in (Tues April 20th) I was down to 197 so I met my 2 lb goal!!! I'm feeling great and starting to fit back into some skirts that have been waiting patiently in my closet to go out!
Update on kids:
Since Danielle turned 4 she`s now sitting upstairs in church and loving it! She desperately wants to go up to the front and sing a special with me so I`m going to pick a song and start practising with her. I`m thinking of doing Sunshine in my Soul. I often sing it around the house and so she knows at least 2 verses of it reasonably well.
Jack wants to be outside ALL THE TIME! I`m so happy to live out in the country! He can even get his own rubber boots on and let himself out but always comes and tells me! Then I can easily see the kids from any of my windows so I can carry on puttering in the house.
Wesley rolled over for the first time yesterday. He`s been consistently sleeping 10 hours a night for at least 3 weeks now but last night woke up at 1am for some reason. He`s very smiley and friendly and since I quit drinking coffee about a month ago he rarely spits up or has gas issues. Coffee... my longed for lost friend... one day maybe I`ll get to drink it again!
Yard :
We actually got some work done on the yard and we`re discussing where to plant trees, the garden and where we want to have bon-fires when company come over. So much to decide and plan out, and soooo much more work to do! I`m very happy and excited to have our own land to do it with!
Ok thats it for blogging!
Weight loss update:
I've started 'weighing in' with a friend. We've committed to try to lose 2 lbs a week for the next 12 week so thats a total of 35lbs lost by the end of it! So far my first weigh in (Tues April 20th) I was down to 197 so I met my 2 lb goal!!! I'm feeling great and starting to fit back into some skirts that have been waiting patiently in my closet to go out!
Update on kids:
Since Danielle turned 4 she`s now sitting upstairs in church and loving it! She desperately wants to go up to the front and sing a special with me so I`m going to pick a song and start practising with her. I`m thinking of doing Sunshine in my Soul. I often sing it around the house and so she knows at least 2 verses of it reasonably well.
Jack wants to be outside ALL THE TIME! I`m so happy to live out in the country! He can even get his own rubber boots on and let himself out but always comes and tells me! Then I can easily see the kids from any of my windows so I can carry on puttering in the house.
Wesley rolled over for the first time yesterday. He`s been consistently sleeping 10 hours a night for at least 3 weeks now but last night woke up at 1am for some reason. He`s very smiley and friendly and since I quit drinking coffee about a month ago he rarely spits up or has gas issues. Coffee... my longed for lost friend... one day maybe I`ll get to drink it again!
Yard :
We actually got some work done on the yard and we`re discussing where to plant trees, the garden and where we want to have bon-fires when company come over. So much to decide and plan out, and soooo much more work to do! I`m very happy and excited to have our own land to do it with!
Ok thats it for blogging!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Cause and Effect
Life is all about cause and effect. So, what is the effect of not getting out of bed when your 4 year comes in to tell you its morning? Rice crispies all over the kitchen and living room!
What is the effect of eating more calories than are alloted to you for the day? I didn't lose any more weight :( Gratefully I didn't gain but I'm determined to be good today. I need to pray more than prayers of thanksgiving before I start eating, I need to be praying for guidance!
What is the effect of a baby sleeping for 8 hrs straight again?! Well obvisouly not a Mommy who can just out of bed the moment her 4 year tells her that 'its light outside Mommy' But I'm at least feeling fairly chipper now that I'm finally up and having my shake! I need a blender so I can make smooties...
What is the effect of a husband working on Saturday? A wife who has just decided to go to Brandon and buy a blender!!!
What is the effect of eating more calories than are alloted to you for the day? I didn't lose any more weight :( Gratefully I didn't gain but I'm determined to be good today. I need to pray more than prayers of thanksgiving before I start eating, I need to be praying for guidance!
What is the effect of a baby sleeping for 8 hrs straight again?! Well obvisouly not a Mommy who can just out of bed the moment her 4 year tells her that 'its light outside Mommy' But I'm at least feeling fairly chipper now that I'm finally up and having my shake! I need a blender so I can make smooties...
What is the effect of a husband working on Saturday? A wife who has just decided to go to Brandon and buy a blender!!!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Update on Life
Well before I got pregnant with Wesley I had just lost 40lbs... I weighed 185! After he was born (Dec 13, 2009) I weighed in at 210lbs, still 15lbs less than my heaviest. I've just started counting calories again and I've already lost 6lbs! Very exciting! I find I always do best when I consume the majority of my calories during the day and then eat a light supper or just have a shake (I use the Arbonne figure 8 go easy shakes whenever I can't find anything healthy to eat) Oh and just for the record, yes I am breastfeeding and yes you can diet while breastfeeding. You simply allow yourself an additional 500 calories per day.
We moved into our new bedroom last weekend and moved the kids into their respective bedrooms. The big kids LOVE their big room! We even had company yesterday evening and it effectively contained 5 children! (for the most part, there was some occasional spill over into the living areas) Wesley is sleeping great in his own room! He slept for 8 hrs two nights in a row, how lucky for me. Lets just see if this trend continues.
Well he's awake and wanting food!
We moved into our new bedroom last weekend and moved the kids into their respective bedrooms. The big kids LOVE their big room! We even had company yesterday evening and it effectively contained 5 children! (for the most part, there was some occasional spill over into the living areas) Wesley is sleeping great in his own room! He slept for 8 hrs two nights in a row, how lucky for me. Lets just see if this trend continues.
Well he's awake and wanting food!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Obsessed with Breastfeeding.
In my devotions today I was reading in Romans. These verses stuck out to me.
Romans 2:25 "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature."
Ok so I really think of myself now as a bit of a lactivist... someone who advocates for breastfeeding to be normalized and that all babies should be given breastmilk. This is probably because I only nursed my daughter for 6 months and not exclusively. She was supplemented with formula (because I didn't understand growth spurts), given baby cereal from 8 weeks on (to help her sleep through the night) and she grew to prefer the bottle by about 5 months old so by 6 months... I quit. I wanted to do things differently for first born son, so I researched like crazy, found support from those successful at breastfeeding, attended La Leche League meetings and when he came along... I nursed him exclisively till he was 6 mos old and continued to nurse half way through my pregnancy with my second born son! I also believe that God made our bodies to feed our children and I believe that our culture has prevented us from carrying on with our God-given roles as mothers by providing us with 'easier' and 'more conveniant' feeding alternatives. We've also lost the ability to support mothers who do choose to breastfeed with horrible advice that has been passed down through the generations and I think its time we stopped and took a look at how God made our bodies, how God made our babies bodies, how things were done biblically and stop trusting the creature (man... or in this case manufactured formulas!)
Our bodies produce milk when a baby is born. In order to maintain a good milk supply babies must be fed on demand, not be given anything else to eat or drink, and pacifiers should be used minimally (or not used at all). Simple. Somehow the world has complicated this with use of bottles (either for water, juice or formula), teaching mothers to ignore their instincts and only feed babies according to a schedule (using pacifiers to help 'tide them over'), and introducing baby cereals and purees.
Babies bodies are born with teeny tiny stomachs and require frequent feedings. They thrive optimally on human breast milk and require only this milk in order to meet all their needs for thirst, hunger and they also recieve a great deal of comfort from it. (there are plenty of verses throughout the bible that talk of recieving comfort at the breast, or as a suckling babe... etc etc.) The other side of the coin is the increased risk of aquiring a long list of diseases in adulthood from being formula fed or started on solids too early in infancy... obesity, diabetes, crohn's, colitis and MS are just a few! Why no cereals/purees? Baby's are born with no teeth and God didn't invite blenders! I believe in starting solids around the time the first teeth appear, that way you can start with soft finger foods or fork-mashed table foods! This age is different for all babies ranging from 4-14 mos, all babies are different. How long to breastfeed is another burning question. Think about this... babies start losing their baby teeth aka 'milk teeth' around age 5 and our immune systems aren't fully developed until around that age also. (I made it till age 2, so far)
Abraham made a great feast the day Isaac was weaned and Samuel was brought to the priest when he was weaned. I can't imagine that these children would have been younger than 5-7 years old! Yet its rare to find someone still nursing a child at 6 months in our culture! Whats shocking to me is that these babes are given milk substitutes... if these babies are still needing milk, why not their mother's?
So lets stop listening to the lies! You do have enough milk, its plenty rich enough and its completely normal for your baby to want to nurse every hour sometimes! No they don't necessarily sleep through the night and no, you won't spoil them. They're still completely trainable after having been nurtured and loved.. maybe more so!
Romans 2:25 "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature."
Ok so I really think of myself now as a bit of a lactivist... someone who advocates for breastfeeding to be normalized and that all babies should be given breastmilk. This is probably because I only nursed my daughter for 6 months and not exclusively. She was supplemented with formula (because I didn't understand growth spurts), given baby cereal from 8 weeks on (to help her sleep through the night) and she grew to prefer the bottle by about 5 months old so by 6 months... I quit. I wanted to do things differently for first born son, so I researched like crazy, found support from those successful at breastfeeding, attended La Leche League meetings and when he came along... I nursed him exclisively till he was 6 mos old and continued to nurse half way through my pregnancy with my second born son! I also believe that God made our bodies to feed our children and I believe that our culture has prevented us from carrying on with our God-given roles as mothers by providing us with 'easier' and 'more conveniant' feeding alternatives. We've also lost the ability to support mothers who do choose to breastfeed with horrible advice that has been passed down through the generations and I think its time we stopped and took a look at how God made our bodies, how God made our babies bodies, how things were done biblically and stop trusting the creature (man... or in this case manufactured formulas!)
Our bodies produce milk when a baby is born. In order to maintain a good milk supply babies must be fed on demand, not be given anything else to eat or drink, and pacifiers should be used minimally (or not used at all). Simple. Somehow the world has complicated this with use of bottles (either for water, juice or formula), teaching mothers to ignore their instincts and only feed babies according to a schedule (using pacifiers to help 'tide them over'), and introducing baby cereals and purees.
Babies bodies are born with teeny tiny stomachs and require frequent feedings. They thrive optimally on human breast milk and require only this milk in order to meet all their needs for thirst, hunger and they also recieve a great deal of comfort from it. (there are plenty of verses throughout the bible that talk of recieving comfort at the breast, or as a suckling babe... etc etc.) The other side of the coin is the increased risk of aquiring a long list of diseases in adulthood from being formula fed or started on solids too early in infancy... obesity, diabetes, crohn's, colitis and MS are just a few! Why no cereals/purees? Baby's are born with no teeth and God didn't invite blenders! I believe in starting solids around the time the first teeth appear, that way you can start with soft finger foods or fork-mashed table foods! This age is different for all babies ranging from 4-14 mos, all babies are different. How long to breastfeed is another burning question. Think about this... babies start losing their baby teeth aka 'milk teeth' around age 5 and our immune systems aren't fully developed until around that age also. (I made it till age 2, so far)
Abraham made a great feast the day Isaac was weaned and Samuel was brought to the priest when he was weaned. I can't imagine that these children would have been younger than 5-7 years old! Yet its rare to find someone still nursing a child at 6 months in our culture! Whats shocking to me is that these babes are given milk substitutes... if these babies are still needing milk, why not their mother's?
So lets stop listening to the lies! You do have enough milk, its plenty rich enough and its completely normal for your baby to want to nurse every hour sometimes! No they don't necessarily sleep through the night and no, you won't spoil them. They're still completely trainable after having been nurtured and loved.. maybe more so!
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