Another solids update

Cameron is doing awesome with solids!! It was a slow start but she has really taken to it now. The past 4 or 5 days she has eaten a full 2 ounces! She would have eaten more but we ran out of what I had thawed for her. So far she loves sweet peas, sweet potatoes, pears, and apples. I think apples are her favorite, she would kind of squeal in between bites like "come on mom, you aren't spooning this stuff into my mouth fast enough!" I'm still making all of her baby food myself and it is super fun. I did make her some avocado and that did not sit well with her. All of the other foods I've given her she has either liked or just spit out. Not the avocado. The second the food hit her tongue she started gagging so hard and ended up throwing up. I was so surprised by that reaction, I thought it must be a fluke since babies can have some gagging issues when they are first learning how to eat solids. I tried a second bite and the exact same thing happened, as soon as she tasted the avocado she gagged until she threw up. So no avocado for Cameron. Let me tell you, this girl knows what she wants and what she doesn't want. She has had a very strong will from the beginning and it's only getting stronger ;) I introduced another new thing to her, a mesh teether/feeder. It is a mesh sack that you can put whole fruit in and let the baby suck on. Cameron loves it!!! Of course I had to take a photo shoot of her first experience. So far I have only put pears in it and boy does she love to suck all the juice out! Here is her and her mesh feeder!

This growing up stuff needs to slow down!!!

I just recently updated on how solids were going with Cameron and they weren't going well at all. So I tried them again yesterday and wouldn't you know, she eats 1.5 ounces of sweet peas!! She was loving it! Cam was talking up a storm the whole time, opening her mouth for the spoon, and swallowing food like a big girl. She desperately wanted to grab the spoon out of my hand and do it herself, but we all know how that would have ended (0% of the food getting into her mouth and 100% of the food on the floor). She also drank a little bit of water out of her sippy cup, I can't believe it. And so it was time to set up her high chair. Which means tomorrow I will feed her in a high chair. WOW does that blow my mind, she seems like such an old baby! And not too long ago I was thinking it would be FOREVER until I would have that experience. I've said it a million times before and I'll say it a million times again but where on earth did my little preemie go? It feels like yesterday she wasn't even able to breathe on her own and now she is eating sweet peas in a high chair!? Where the heck have the months gone? It makes me excited for the great things to come like crawling, walking, and talking but it makes me sad at how time is flying. I will miss these days so much. I already miss those days like crazy when Cameron would sleep the whole day away on my chest, now I'm lucky to get 20 minutes a week. It's the catch 22 of motherhood, you get so excited about the new experiences but miss the days of your completely dependent baby. Cam used to be entirely dependent on her mommy for nutrition, but now she can get it from fruits and veggies. Sometimes I think I'm ready for more independence but then I get it and I realize I'm not. I can't slow time down though so I just have to soak up and enjoy every second of the ride. Regardless of all the ups and downs I can't imagine a more rewarding experience than having a baby and being a mom. It truly is the greatest thing on earth.

Eating my sweet peas!!!

Solids update

My plan was to start solids at the end of April or the beginning of May. We tried oatmeal a couple of times at the end of April and Cameron was not a fan. She wouldn't even think about swallowing any of it, just pushed it right back out with her tongue. So I waited a week or two and tried again with sweet potatoes. Same response. Tried again with squash a little while later. Same response. So as it stands Cameron is just not ready. She is only 4.5 months adjusted which means we have plenty of time. But for now breast milk it is!

Sweet Potatoes

I have been planning for a while to make my own baby food for Cameron. With the plan in place to start her on solids in about 3 weeks, I figure it's time to start making it. I am freezing it for now and then can have stores of food to thaw instead of having to make it as I go. It's not hard. I have a baby bullet that I use and I am storing it in ice cube trays which portions out the food really well into small serving sizes. I started today with organic sweet potatoes!

Step 1: Bake sweet potato

Step 2: Spoon out from skin

Step 3: Put in baby bullet 

Step 4: Blend

Step 4: Portion 

Step 5: Label and store

When I take it out and thaw it to actually feed Cameron I will need to thin it out a little bit. You can use water, formula, or breast milk but formula and breast milk add extra nutrition. And since I have about 400 oz of frozen breast milk that's what I will be using! You can thin it before freezing it but I can't thaw the breast milk and re-freeze it so I'll have to add it afterwards. Which is just as well because sometimes if you freeze the food pre-thinned it can thaw more watery, this way I'll be able to get it exactly the consistency I want it. I have glass baby food jars which I will put the thawed food into. I also plan on doing avocado and a few others over the next couple of weeks. And there you have it, that's the whole baby food making process! It's easy and fun (not to mention cheaper and all organic)!