Feeding and other updates
More and more people are waiting to feed their babies cereal and solids. Meg and I were planning on waiting until 6 months, but life happened. I didn't post anything when we first started because I figured we were going to take a lot of flak, BUT we haven't hidden anything else, so why start now.
We started feeding Avery one tablespoon of rice cereal (BY SPOON) around dinner time a little over a week ago. Our biggest reason for doing so was to help her sleep through the night. While we realize that sleeping through the night is a developmental thing and is different for all babies, it seems as though Avery needs more food than we can physically get in her belly during the day (every time we try to increase her ounces we see an increase in the amount and frequency of spit up)
At first, Avery was a little skeptical because she didn't know what the hell to do with the spoon and I think the consistency freaked her out. Fortunately, Meg has years of experience feeding babies and knew just what to do.
This is a video of Avery's first time trying cereal...
A little over a week later and she's totally into it. (she was slightly distracted in this video because of the camera!)
Since incorporating cereal into our daily repertoire, Avery has been doing longer stretches at night, but still has yet to sleep through. We're okay with one night feed though provided that we're moving in the right direction.
Other Avery updates:
1. Avery's tooth has yet to break through. We're still dealing with a bump.
2. We recently moved to Level 2 nipples. Avery has handled the change well!
3. We switched pediatricians. Avery has her 4 month checkup in September.
4. Avery sat up in a high chair at a restaurant without support (it was unexpected so we had to use a receiving blanket in place of our super cute chair cover)
5. Her laugh is contagious!
We started feeding Avery one tablespoon of rice cereal (BY SPOON) around dinner time a little over a week ago. Our biggest reason for doing so was to help her sleep through the night. While we realize that sleeping through the night is a developmental thing and is different for all babies, it seems as though Avery needs more food than we can physically get in her belly during the day (every time we try to increase her ounces we see an increase in the amount and frequency of spit up)
At first, Avery was a little skeptical because she didn't know what the hell to do with the spoon and I think the consistency freaked her out. Fortunately, Meg has years of experience feeding babies and knew just what to do.
This is a video of Avery's first time trying cereal...
A little over a week later and she's totally into it. (she was slightly distracted in this video because of the camera!)
Since incorporating cereal into our daily repertoire, Avery has been doing longer stretches at night, but still has yet to sleep through. We're okay with one night feed though provided that we're moving in the right direction.
Other Avery updates:
1. Avery's tooth has yet to break through. We're still dealing with a bump.
2. We recently moved to Level 2 nipples. Avery has handled the change well!
3. We switched pediatricians. Avery has her 4 month checkup in September.
4. Avery sat up in a high chair at a restaurant without support (it was unexpected so we had to use a receiving blanket in place of our super cute chair cover)
5. Her laugh is contagious!
Every baby is different and I don't think you should regret for a moment any decision you make for Avery. No matter what the "books" say is right and wrong. I am starting to learn that everyone has an opinion on raising kids. I just try to process what I am told and then Kara and I make what we think is the best decision. If it makes you feel any better our pediatrician said we were going to talk about solids at the boys four month appointment. Our pediatrician thinks cereal might help with Jakob's reflux and even mentioned at his 2 month appointment that had Jakob not been a preemie he may have recommended cereal in his bottle at that point. BTW you have a cutie on your hands!!
ReplyDeleteWe actually consulted with our pediatrician before making the decision. The one doctor in the practice said that he would suggest it at her 4 month appointment (which is only a week and a half away) and the other doctor said that she would check to make sure Avery was "neurologically ready" and then start closer to 5 months. I asked what qualified as "neurologically ready" and she told us holding up her head and the ability to swallow and not choke. I just laughed. Avery has no problem holding her head, so we ultimately made the decision that she was "neurologically advanced."
DeleteYou're absolutely right that everyone has an opinion. It feels as though lesbians have VERY strong opinions!
Our final factor influencing the decision was that they suggested putting cereal in her bottle before she was even 6 weeks (because she was spitting up)
We figured if we were to introduce it and actually teach her how to eat the supplemental food might actually sustain her.
In fact, last night, Avery went 12+ hours without a bottle. She did not sleep through the night because she thought 12-2 was party time and just wanted to talk. I had to go in several times. I changed her diaper (which was soooo heavy) and she slept the rest of the night. Prior to that I tried to give her a bottle (this was at 2am) and she got mad at me. So, yea...
Avery is something else. She's definitely cute! She LOVES being the center of attention! I'm starting to think she understands how cute she actually is and plays it up in front of strangers!