solids

I tried to start solids a month ago but it was miserable so I held off. I started trying again 1 week ago and they seem to be actually eating the solids now, so I am thinking they are ready this time. I could be wrong and I might stop for another month, but I suspect that the reason they aren't eating solids is because of me, and not because they aren't ready for it and that makes me feel guilty. A lot of times I feel like I'm just stretched to the max already and that I can not add one more thing into our daily routine. So I am having a hard time with the solids.

What I hated about it so much last time was the amount of time it takes me to feed solids to 2 babies and the baby food is the biggest mess and stained their clothes. Does anyone have any tips they can share with me for making solid feeding time more enjoyable? Do you strip them down to their diapers first? Do you just suck it up and mop the floor after every meal? I need some advice from some experienced moms!

TIA,
Aimee

 

I found that if I stuck with it, within a week of feeding them daily they got A LOT better. I also feel like I don't have time to sit and feed them, but I stuck it out and now they eat great. I know it's frustrating in the beginning because you wonder if they even actually digest anything because it seems like most of it comes right back out again. Mine have been eating solids for a few weeks now and when I put the spoonful in their mouths, they know how to swallow and keep it in there instead of just spitting it out.

I've also found that I had to try a few different kind of spoons until I found one that they liked.

As far as getting their clothes dirty...I use disposable bibs so when they are done I can just throw them out so I don't add to my already gigantic laundry pile.

 

Sorry to hear that feeding is difficult right now. It will get better. Solids are a new experience for them so unfortunately...messes are inevitable. I did find that certain items made cleaning up easier. Bibs helped a little with the clothes and stains. We also got rid of our high chairs because there were too many places that crumbs, etc. accumulated in and it was taking me about 20-30 minutes cleaning it up. We purchased Stokke Tripp Trapp Chairs for them after their 1st birthday. I realize your children are much younger, but they do have an attachment which allows smaller babies to sit in them. Honestly, had I known about these chairs sooner...I would have bought them right away instead of investing in high chairs. Cleaning these chairs is sooo much easier. We also bought an oversized spill mat. We have hardwood floors and this mat makes clean up faster, too. This way I don't have to mop the floor after every meal. We still use these mats! Hope these tips help and good luck!

 

[SIZE=10pt]I think the important thing to remember is that is all just for practice right now and don't stress yourself out about it. I can totally understand not wanting to add one more thing to the day. There were days at that age that I just skipped the whole thing. At that age you can get away with one meal a day and if they don't want to eat don't try and make them. When they are ready and want to eat they EAT! If they just seem fussy and don't feel like eating, just pack up shop and try the next day. They will eventually get more interested and it won't be such a messy ordeal. Good luck and just don't stress about it.[/SIZE]

 

Where do you get disposable bibs from? I don't think I've seen them, are they at BRU? Are they inexpensive?

 

I feed mine their bkfast in their pjs since they go right into the wash anyway. At lunch, I let em eat naked and at dinner they make a mess. I just spray n wash their clothes before I put them in the hamper and I've only had stains on the bibs.

I tried a few spoons too and found the smaller ones better.

Mess? Of course, but its so cute!
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/m...an/IMG_3871.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/m...an/IMG_3872.jpg

 

QUOTE(aimeethomp @ Mar 31 2008, 10:00 AM) [snapback]696534[/snapback]
Where do you get disposable bibs from? I don't think I've seen them, are they at BRU? Are they inexpensive?


They have them at Target if you want to try them (probably at BRU and Walmart too) - they are made by Pampers. I used them with my first for dining out (so we didn't have to take a dirty bib home) but since there is much more work involved with these two - I use them all the time now.

Since I use them a lot now I buy them in bulk from Amazon (120 bibs for $20).

 

Aw, it's not your fault! :hug99: ITA with everything Ericka said. If it's stressing you out this much, it's probably not worth doing yet. The babies will pick up on your anxiety, and the last thing you want is for them to associate mealtime with any kind of unpleasantness. Aside from all the health benefits of waiting to do solids until 6 mo, it's also a lot EASIER when the babies are older. They go longer between naps, so there's more time to fit it in. Also, the more ready they are for solids, the less messy they get. We do 3 meals a day + snack, and all I have to do is a quick wipe of hands and face at the end of every meal (unless we do something really messy, like letting them feed themselves blueberries). I just roll up their sleeves, put bibs on them, and we're good to go. (Since my dining table is on a hardwood floor, I put foam puzzle mats under the whole high chair area, so I don't have to worry about damaging the floor whenever they spill something and I don't have time to clean up right away.) And like pps said, whether you start up again now or at 6 mo, it's just for practice. It doesn't matter if they don't swallow a single mouthful of food, or if you only try feeding them every few days. When they need it, they will eat!

 

It was hard in teh beginning, very messy and very time consuiming, it would take 30 plus minutes to get them to eat 1/2 a jar of babyfood. But now they've gotten the hang of it (and I've gotten the hang of it), and they are able to down 2 jars of babyfood plus oatmeal (between them) in about 10 minutes with way less mess. My secret especially with DS is to double bib and roll up his sleeves. He loves to chew on the bib and his hands, so I have the top bib that gets really messy but then the bottom bib is underneath to keep him clean. The other thing I found is that just doing the cereal alone the babies hated, once I added in some 'real' food they liked it much better. There is no rule that says you have to start with cereal only, mix in a fruit or veggie and see how they like it, just be sure to do it one at a time!!

Good luck and happy feeding!

 

You've gotten some great advice here. Just a word from our experience:

It really did get easier over about six weeks as the time between naps stretched out and I figured out what we were doing. In the beginning, since it was only for practice, we did it when there was time and they were in a good mood, which came out to about every 2 or 3 days for the first couple of weeks. They didn't mind that a bit, and taking it easier on myself made it all more fun. We gave them their first solid meal around 5.5 months because it was Christmas and my Mom loved feeding them, but we weren't really in a regular routine for a month after that.

I also decided to feed them breakfast first so that it was their already-slept-in sleepers that were getting covered with wet concrete, aka. cereal. Then we could change right after...And they were in a better mood at that time of day, anyway.