so far so good

So far I'm digging the blog revamp.  It feels fresher.  Now on to more important matters.

Myself and my mama friends have been all in a tizzy lately about feeding these wee bairns.  There are so many theories on what's "right" and so, so much information to plow through that it can be a bit overwhelming.  Luckily, we are about ten moms, all with kids around the same age, all with different ideas, and all open to sharing them, so we are very efficient about pooling information and taking from it what works for our families.

The first 6 months, however frustrating they may be, are actually a no-brainer in the baby diet department.  I am of a mind that there can be no argument that breast milk is best for an infant.  All the studies in all the world-over agree that this is the case.  Seems simple, but breast feeding may not be best for every family.  And that's fine, because, wouldn't you know it, there is another choice that is pretty great and it's called formula.  So if you can't/choose not to feed baby Option #1, Option #2 is still pretty fantastic and your baby will live and thrive.  That's it, the end.

I miss those simple, simple days.  We did a little of everything at our house - breastfed, pumped and bottlefed breastmilk, then when I lost my milk we started on formula.  The transition between all stages was smooth, no nipple confusion, no digestion issues, and no concerns about seriously fucking up my kid's digestive system.

Now we're in FOOD territory.  Admittedly, we started food very early.  I read all kinds of books and articles and everything except the pediatrician said that after 4 months if the kid seems game, go with it slowly.  So that's what we did, at almost 5 months.  We chose to go the traditional route and offer purees of various fruits, veggies, and cereals, one at a time in small quantities.  (I have a friend who is doing Baby Led Weaning, and am rather jealous that her baby is into whole solids - M gags at the smallest lump in her velvety purees - Priss.) 

And so far it's going well.  M loves to eat (most of the time) and the only things she will consistently turn her nose up at are meats and lumps in the purees.  She seems to love all flavors, it's the textures that are the problem.  The only digestive issue was a few weeks in:  whoever the hell thought it would be a good idea to suggest rice cereal, bananas, and carrots as first foods without issuing a disclaimer that they are all BINDING should be shot.  Perhaps it should have been obvious to me that she shouldn't eat all of these food within the same 24 hour period, but it wasn't, and our poor little Chicken was crying while she tried to pass one of her first solid stools which was WAY too solid.  (no other instances of this since I clued in to which foods should go together and which shouldn't.  And we also keep prunes on hand for such emergencies as they tend to get things going pretty quickly.)

SQUASH

Now it's time to worry about the big things, namely highly allergenic foods and when to introduce them.  My major concern is actually with wheat/gluten because I know several people with Celiac's disease and it is nasty.  Previous theories said you should hold off on wheat until baby is older, but there are some new studies that say introducing it earlier is actually better... And some of our mama friends from Israel have never seen peanut allergies there, where peanuts aren't withheld. 

So, for any mamas I haven't already had this kind of convo with, if you can add something to the mix please do.  How did you deal with allergenic foods?  Any advice for stressed out parents who don't want to break their kid?  (I'm pretty sure the warranty ran out a while ago....)