Milestones with a side of oatmeal

First of all....why is he growing up? I have a love/hate relationship with growth in my baby. I'm happy he's healthy and getting big and on track with milestones but I'm so missing my teeny tiny newborn nugget too. This stage he is in is so much fun and I am just amazed at how quickly he is learning new things. For instance this week, he held his arms up for me when I walked into his line of vision for me to pick up. And I caught it on camera.

Melt me! Then he started doing this thing where I lean in to kiss his little face, which I do nonstop, and he puts his arms out, wraps them around my neck and holds on tight and smiles so big at me. He's such a momma's boy and I LOVE it.
He is happy baby screetching now  and loves to hear his own voice (cooing video). He babbles and makes noise constantly but what did I expect? Both of his parents could strike up a conversation with a chair. Neither of us ever stop talking and I have a feeling Henry will be the same.

 He started rolling over a few weeks ago and he is trying to sit up, he is getting really really close. He uses his core muscles to lift his head and shoulders off the ground almost like a sit up and brings his legs up too. I sit him up and he doesn't need much support from me anymore. He held himself up for about an minute here before he toppled over.

AHH! Now he grabs for his toys and plays with them in his swing, play mat, carseat etc. We got this snappy new mirror so we can see him in the backseat, I'm kicking myself for not buying that sucker 4.5 months ago when I was stabbing him in the eye trying to find his mouth for his pacifier to get shoved into whilst he was screaming and I was driving down the road. But, it's so much fun to watch him play and watch him look at everything around him and watch things go by out the window.

 He notices Cora now and watches her walk around. He even stuck his hand out and petted her the other day while she was laying next to him. It was adorable because she just stayed perfectly still until she was finished. I'm pretty sure she held her breath for a minute while he touched her. 

But the biggest thing has been that he watches us eat. I've noticed lately that he stares us down while we eat food and the other night we had him in his bumbo seat on the coffee table while we ate dinner there and he was grabbing for my hands and fork while I ate.

He was leaning way out of his seat trying to get to me and literally watching me move my food from the plate to my mouth, bobbing head and all. I have read that is a sign that they are starting to get ready to try food/ cereal. Our pediatrician gave me the go ahead to start on foods anytime between 4-6 months and he suggested to watch Henry for signs he might be "ready", this was one of them. So the other day Taylor and I got out the baby bowls and spoons we got as gifts for my baby showers and went to Babie's R Us to get a few more things to be prepared including organic oatmeal cereal.

Now the jury is apparently out on baby food and what to start with, when to start it, what is best for baby, what to skip etc. There are all sorts of confusing things like "baby led weaning", "gentle introduction", avoiding and monitoring for food allergies, things to never feed your baby, things to feed first, how much to feed them, when to feed them during the day, how many times and with what combination of foods/nursing etc. It's a very confusing and scary world for this mommy. My infant knowledge stops at baby food. I have only ever given it in the NICU once to a baby that was a chronic kid hospitalized for 7.5 months. So this is foreign territory. But the thing I have realized most is that MOMS ARE SO JUDGY! Why is that? Do what works best for your family, offer advice when asked for it and leave everyone else the heck alone. I read alot of mom blogs and Q &A mom groups on facebook and other sites. I like to hear the answers and opinions of other moms and advice most of all. I really have learned so much! Veteran mommies are the best for teaching us rookies, but part of that learning is that these veteran moms can be so harsh. Some are super aggressive about their opinions. I have literally read "how dare you feed your baby store bought baby foods, what are you thinking?!" and "I never gave my baby cereal, grains are too hard to digest, skip all cereal! " or " I did baby led weaning and it's the only way to go, my baby was too advanced for purees". I'm sorry but who the heck do you think you are? Unless you are a pediatrician or a pediatric dietician, shut it. You are no better than the rest of us and we are trying to find our way and do what is best for our babies. Every mother wants that, so be nice! Rant over. 

 So I'm flying by the seat of my pants (with the gentle guidance from our pediatrician) and taking a collective look at all of the info I have found and winging it with the best of them. I rarely ask questions on these sites because I am afraid I will sound like an idiot and get verbally beat up with set in stone opinions and start an online debate or argument in my question's response area so I just observe, do my homework, ask my nice mommy friends and go from there.

So here is my baby food game plan and the reasoning why:

• We started Henry on organic store bought oatmeal (I am just starting to care about being organic, I didn't care at all before I had the kid and was a junk food junkie. For shame! *hand slap*) I care now. Moving on. I don't know how to make baby cereal by hand and as long as it's not packed with preservatives, I'm cool with it. So store bought organic it is.
• I will do oatmeal for now, I have heard rice cereal constipates them and is just empty with no nutrition and that oatmeal at least is more gentle on his tummy and has a little more substance to it. So I skipped rice, total personal preference.
• I'm feeding him on the nights I don't go to work for now. Nursing is fast, we have it down to a science and we make a good team. He is quick, I can multi-task while he does it and we are much cleaner than we used to be with it. And baby food is messy! (he hasn't figured out to swallow all the time now, he spits it out, tried to help, grabs for the bowl and spoon, rubs his eyes with his grubby hands etc.) Ain't nobody got time fo dat before work. I'm already trying to cook a fresh healthy meal for me and Taylor every night, feed the dog, feed the baby, feed myself. Get myself dressed in decent scrubs after showering, doing my hair, putting on socks and my badge. Making sure my pump parts are clean and loaded into my bag with clean bottles, enough lids and my frozen lunch bag to bring all the milk home. I pack my lunch and put my shoes on and let the dog go potty and change Henry and make sure he has enough pumped milk for the night with Taylor etc. Baby food taking 20-30 more minutes means that much less sleep for mommy in our afternoon nap and sleep is precious. So 4 out of 7 nights is what he gets for now. He will be fine.
• When we get the hang of this more, I will start having Taylor feed him oatmeal after I nurse him and leave for work so he can take his time with him.
• Then we will add in a "breakfast" meal of oatmeal with nursing so he gets 2 meals/day of baby food.
• When he is ready for more foods like fruits and veggies I will start with veggies first and just add it to the "dinner" meal. I have read to start with green veggies first. These aren't loaded with sugar and baby will take them easier than if you start with sugary fruit. Then veggies seem horrible in comparison if you do fruit first. Makes total sense.
• I will probably start with mashed up avacado. It doesn't need cooking, just a good mashing, it's full of good fats and nutrients, it has a fairly bland flavor and it's easy to prepare (and mommy loves it!).
• I will then add in a fruit for his "breakfast" meal with oatmeal. So he will end up getting a meal of fruit/oatmeal and veggie/oatmeal daily. Seems good to me.
• When we start with veggies and fruit I will make my own baby food from there on out. I bought a babyfood machine that steams and purees in one container from a friend for a good price. I love to cook and I want my baby to get as few preservatives and shelf stable junk as possible. It's something that has recently become important to me. I'm working on clean eating for me and Taylor so we can be healthier for our son, makes sense to just do the same for him. We limit how much we eat out now and have cut out fast food completely and as much processed foods as possible. We both feel so much better and are losing weight and feeling great. Henry deserves that from me. I'm not judgy about it, if you don't like to cook or don't have time, the stuff at the store is fine or they wouldn't sell it. They make alot of organic or simple stuff now and I've yet to see anyone lose a kid from store bought baby food. Go on wit ya bad self. it's just not my cup of tea.
• If I am cooking fresh food all the time anyway, I am just going to buy a little more of what I cook for the week, make some baby food out of it on sunday afternoon, freeze it into trays, pop the frozen cubes out and into a labeled ziplock bag and this way I can just grab a cube or two of veggie and fruit to go with his oatmeal and such each day. Small price to pay for a healthy kid getting no chemicals.
• And from there, I'm totally lost! I've got time to figure out the rest. But I did find a good resource on which fruits and veggies are good to start with based on baby's age. 

So how did oatmeal go? I'll let you be the judge!

HE LOVED IT!! He was leaning out of his seat trying to get to the bowl and spoon, he made a mess but he swallowed most of it, didn't gag or spit and seemed content afterward. He even grabbed the bowl and spoon out of my hand when he was finished after I set it on him to take a picture of it empty.  The kid loves to eat in general but this whole real food thing might be really fun to watch playout.

I did not hand this to him, I was taking a picture (the one below) of him with his first empty bowl and he grabbed it and wanted more! ha

He grabs my hand and loves to help.

Some of the baby food stuff I have that I like so far:

snack containers with lids These are awesome because when he is ready for things like goldfish or raisins or cheerios, I can load these suckers and he can put his hand through the soft silicone lid opening to grab a few and if he drops it (or chucks it at me) it won't spill. 

baby tupperwear- These have been great to put some cereal in and take with us on the go, they will be great for when he is on fruit and veggies too. It's good that they are bright colors to keep separate from our other tupperwear with adult food and they are small so it's great to stuff in the diaper bag or hold in your hand to feed him out of. I also got these on sale, an 8 pack for $2.99.

loaded spoon- this thing is awesome to load with baby food and squirt onto the spoon, makes it super easy to take with you with the lid to keep it clean and mess free. Then there is no bowl and spoon, just this!

tommee tippee soft spoons-  I have several spoons for him but these are our favorites by far, they are silicone and soft and flexible so they are easy for him to eat off of. They are also pretty flat and shallow and fit in his mouth well. 

oatmeal- This organic oatmeal wasn't too expensive, it goes a LONG way, the container is plastic and has a flip top lid with an opening big enough to put a baby spoon in and spoon out a few scoops or pour a little bit out into a bowl. Plus it apparently tastes good and has vitamins added. And it's gerber, I trust gerber. 

babyfood maker- I have't tried this out yet because he isn't on fruits or veggies, but I bought this from a friend and it steams and purees in one container, it holds ALOT of food and comes with a recipe book. Would I buy this for full price? Maybe, maybe not. But since I got it cheaper, I am super excited to use it instead of cooking everything myself and using my food processor or blender.

silicone food tray- I love these! They are 1oz cube size trays that are silicone, I can load them with fresh babyfood, freeze it and pop the cubes out easily into a ziplock to save for later. That way I can make fun combinations for him. I can grab a cube of applesauce and a cube of sweet potatoes to mix up. Or I can grab a cube of peas and a cube of pears. This way he can have variety and it can still all be fresh. Plus I can make all of it ahead of time and not have to do it daily. I bought 3 of these suckers. 

Tommee Tippee Bibs- These are a god send. Seriously stock up! We have 4 now. They are silicone (my favorite baby item material can you tell? ) Wanna know why? it wipes clean!!!! I rinse these puppys off after meals and put them on the drying wrack. EASY! and they catch all my drips and his spits and drools and they cover most of him up so we don't make a mess on his clothes. Love!