So, Ezra is ten months, three weeks, and 3 days old. And he's still almost exclusively breastfed. Really, I think it's mostly my laziness combined with my always-changing schedule. Nursing is so much easier than preparing foods for him to try, putting him in his little seat, and watching him throw them at Django (we've had to start separating them so Ezra actually attempts to eat and Django doesn't get fat). He refuses purees (which is fine), and often meal times are squish-this-item-and-smear-that-item times.
I know food under 1 is just for fun, but he's still just not that interested in food. Dr. Attachment-Parent (oh, you know, that guy) says babies will eventually start "mooching" off your plate, and that's when you know they're ready to try food. Well, E's come up to see what we're doing as we eat, but any time I hand him a piece of food, it goes from one hand to the other, back to the first hand, and then gets dropped as he toddles off in search of more interesting toys.
He'll eat things like whole grain crackers and yogurt melts, but I'd like for him to eat real foods and, you know, vegetables and such. It's really not so bad, and I'm sure he'll be eating plenty of foods before I know it, but sometimes I start feeling like I'm never gonna be able to leave him for more than a few hours for the rest of my liiiiiiiiife!
...ahem. I start feeling a little trapped. So, you brilliant mommas, you. Any advice?
Zuzu started leaned towards my plate at 5 1/2 months, but I made her wait until 6. She gobbled up anything we tried to feed her. Swallowed it whole!
ReplyDeleteBut...We're in the same boat with Eliza. She still nurses every 3 hours and once or twice at night. She's just not that interested in most food. However, she does like yogurt. If I need to leave the house and she gets hungry, Jason can give her some yogurt to tide her over. I can get 6 whole hours out of the house that way! I keep reminding myself this is a short season and some day I'll miss her.
I can't get Ezra to let me feed him with a spoon. In hindsight, perhaps we shouldn't have let him play with spoons. They're one of his favorite toys, the big metal ones. He bangs on everything with them. He's just too strong for me to be able to actually steer into his mouth with him grabbing for it with both hands.
DeleteNo advice but Lucy was pretty similar. She loved anything but would only eat one or two bites per meal - and 6-8 bites of food a day doesn't really add up to a lot of calories. But it does get better! Before you know it, you won't be able to share a kids meal at Chick-fil-a anymore because your tot will eat all the nuggets and fruit and leave you will just the apples peels.
ReplyDeleteOn a bit more practical note, Lucy hates purees too but loved little foods. If he likes little cheerios and yogurt melts, he might like beans (just dry them off so they aren't super slippery). Frozen foods like peas, corn and blueberries were a hit too. I think she liked the challenge of picking them up and they ate them just to get them out of her hand so she could do it again.
Haha! This has been the funniest - to watch him try and get peas into his mouth (and keep them in his mouth) is pretty great. I haven't tried beans - good idea.
DeleteMy youngest two were totally breastfed until after a year old. It wasn't until they were weaned that they actually ate any real food. They didn't like the baby food either, so we just struggled through those months as there is no magical answer. Try small pieces of cut up green bean, toast, olives, little pieces of noodle, tiny pieces of soft cheese, tiny pieces of deli meat. I wouldn't worry too much. You're doing great! Way to go on the breastfeeding! I totally understand the feelings of being attached to the baby every few hours! ---Becca
ReplyDeleteWell, I actually started solids a smidgen early with each of mine so far because I could.not.keep.them.fed. on my own, but as far as getting them to try veggies and such, the frozen ones worked like a dream! Anything small and not choke-able is great. And those little puffs? They're not much of anything nutrition-wise, but they're great for teaching the pincer grasp for future eating.
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