Baby Food Bonanza

I found that there was an overwhelming amount of support out there for breastfeeding. There is lots of information online, there are support groups galore, and there are lactation consultants. There were classes before having the baby and in general I just found that there was a lot of breastfeeding information. So when Daniel's doctor said that he was ready for solid food, I thought there would be a similar amount of information. I don't think that there is, and the information that is out there is even more conflicted than the typical baby advice. I really didn't think that was possible.

The doctor's instructions were on the order of, "Give him some rice cereal and then some fruits or veggies once a day and he will probably move to twice a day pretty soon." They also gave me a sheet that has about two paragraphs of information. Don't they realize that they are talking to an engineer? I need amounts and specifics. There are lots of choices, too: organic, regular, homemade. How am I supposed to know what's best? The general consensus seems to be, feed your baby enough, but not so much that it interferes with breastfeeding. Ok great. Does that mean one jar or two?

So we are just winging it here. Daniel seems happy, so we must be doing something right. The one challenge with this approach is how to tell a babysitter or the nanny what to do when I'm gone. I really can't decide these things so far in advance. Oh well, Daniel will survive.

As far as the organic/regular/homemade thing goes. I'm kind of using a mixed approach. I'm making things like sweet potatoes and carrots which require fairly little effort, and I'm buying the rest that is available organically. Since he is still under six months, his choices are limited. In an effort to keep expanding his diet, I'm introducing some regular baby food. The don't make organic stage 1 squash. Thankfully my grocery store now carries a store brand organic baby food. The Earth's Best was a bit pricey.

Daniel really loves eating. He sometimes makes the Mr. Yuck face when we give him new foods. He was not fond of pears or bananas at first, but seems to like them ok now. I just can't give him two big bites of either one in a row. His favorite food is peas. He absolutely loves them. I had to stock up at the store this week. The only green things out there for stage 1 (under 6 months) are avocadoes and peas.

I wonder if every new thing for the next 18 years is going to be like this?