First Foods and her 4 month check-up!

4 month photo shoot

On Monday, Samantha had her four month check up with her pediatrician.  We were really excited to see how she was developing and talk to him about some feeding issues we’d been experiencing.  The last week and a half, Sam’s been drinking me dry.  By the last meal of the day, I was running on empty.  She’d gone from eating every three hours or so, to eating every two hours or so.  It was such a sudden shift that my body just didn’t seem able to catch up with her!  I was pretty upset when Richard suggested supplementing with the leftover formula we had from when I was super sick.  I even pumped one night, just before her last feeding, to see how much I had left – 2 ounces.  No wonder she was still hungry! 

First Food, vanilla yogurt

So we talked it over with Dr. S. and he said that it sounded to him as though she was ready to start on some “solid” foods!!  We suspected as much, based on conversations that I’d had with my mother and the little bit of reading we’d done.  Dr. S. suggested that we start with a few simple things – bananas, apple sauce, and yogurt – wait three days between trying new things and see what she likes.  He said that they no longer suggest waiting to introduce certain foods, like eggs, until after their first birthday.  He advised that we try a variety of foods (over time).  For the next two months, we can start introducing her to fruits, veggies, cereals (rice, cream of wheat type things), and dairy products (cottage cheese, yogurt, etc.).  At her six month checkup, he said he’d go over the next step – adding small amounts of water from a sippy cup and things like that.  In the meantime, we’ve got a WIDE variety of exciting tastes ahead of us!




Daddy's Lil Honey Bee

He also said she was developing beautifully, falling in the 80^th percentiles for height (26”), weight (16lbs, 13oz), and head size (42cm).  Sam received her second/third round of shots, which she handled like a trooper!  Then, we headed off to Costco and Target!

We knew we were likely to get permission to start Sam on some “big people” foods and I really want to make my own baby foods, so we planned a trip to Target for a high chair and a food processor after our doctor's visit.  I'm not sure how I've managed to go this long without a food processor, but there ya have it.  Since we’ve got a good stash for the yogurt, apple sauce, and bananas, it will be a week or two before I start making my own stuff though.  I’m super excited about baby food recipes – so if anyone has a favorite they’d like to share, I’d love to give it a whirl.  Yay!

I’ve added two videos to the blog today.  They are both from Monday's first meal.  I admit, they’re kind of long.  The first one is two minutes and the second video is just over a minute, I think.  It’s probably pretty boring, unless you’re really into babies or especially attached to mine.  ;o)  But I wanted to be able to share it with family and friends.