We had an experiment today. It wasn't a total disaster or anything, but I thought Abby might deck me a coupla times:
Yeah, I said I wasn't going to have anything to do with solid food until after Passover…and I meant it. But see, I had these avocados and bananas that were not going to last if they hung around too much longer, and well…
Actually what really happened was that I was concerned about Ellie because she's back to not gaining weight particularly well, and I thought the fat from the avocado would be good for her if I could get it into her. She didn't mind the food, but I can't say we got much into her. I also tried some banana, thinking she might like something sweet, but honestly, I think she liked the avocado better. Either way, I gotta say, it was a whole lot of effort for not a lot of success, and the truth is, Ellie was positively STARVING later, so I'm not sure that's really the answer. Ounce for ounce, breastmilk has more concentrated calories than any solid food, and since we fortify her milk to 28 calories per ounce, all the more so. My guess is that solid food is not the magical answer to Ellie's weight gain.
Well, Sam woke up while I was feeding Ellie, so we tried it with him too. He didn't take well to it immediately and at first he just pushed everything right out of his mouth. He didn't seem to mind the taste, but he definitely still had the reflext that causes babies to push things right back out of their mouths when it gets put in there. So I put some bananas on my finger and let him suck on it and then tried the same with avocado. He was all for that, and he also didn't mind sucking down milk served on a spoon, so once he figured all that out, he did a reasonably good job with food on a spoon, though he made a MUCH bigger mess than Ellie did (but all things considered, he also probably consumed a lot more than she did, so I'm not surprised by the difference in mess).
Though my original plan had been only to try Ellie with some avocado and banana today, since I'd ended up with 2 out of 3, it seemed only fair to try Abby with some food also once she woke up from HER nap. After all, she's the only one of the three that's shown ANY signs that she might be getting close to being remotely developmentally ready for solid food (and even then, I still think they're not entirely ready, so there!). Well, Abby wasn't sure just WHAT to think about the experiment, and I have to say, I'm not sure what to think either.
So it wasn't a total disaster, but I have to admit, I'm not eager to repeat the experiment any time soon. It took freaking FOREVER to feed them, and they were all positively STARVING later, especially Ellie (and she's the one I'm worried about). It didn't make as huge a mess as I'd been worried about (but then again, I didn't use the dreaded rice cereal…ick). I contained them in the bumbo seat (with tray, though the tray wasn't strictly necessary)…though Seth just held Ellie in his lap when we fed her, which was easy enough. I think it would have been harder if we'd been trying to deal with high chairs, so I'm not sorry I don't have high chairs yet. For now, I'm okay with it being a one-time experiment that we can play around with some other time in the future, but I don't feel some compelling need to do this again tomorrow. I did freeze a bunch of mushed banana and avocado in an ice cube tray, though, just in case.
And yes, I know I TOTALLY broke that rule about introducing only one food at a time, so don't even worry about telling me that one. Neither banana nor avocado is considered a high-allergy food which is why they're both considered excellent first foods. Plus, we Americans get far too ridiculous about our approach to solid foods. I refuse to make myself any more neurotic about this than I already am. I have no concerns that any of the three is going to have an allergic reaction to either banana or avocado, so I feel absolutely no regret about serving them both on the same day.
And hey, if you have nothing but free time on your hands, here's the whole pile of pictures from the grand experiment, because, well, WHY NOT? Enjoy!
ChezPerky 
Those baby safe feeders(mesh bag on a stick popsicle type container) are WONDERFUL!! I wish I’d found them for my first 2, but I’m glad I did in time for my 3rd!! The kids can eat chunks of banana, avacadoe, and other mushy fruit/vegggies on their own schedule. I usually would mush up the food in the mesh holder a bit first in the beginning, and they would get the taste and then try mashing it in their mouth. THey are a pain to clean…but SOOO worth it…
oh goodness, they are so cute!!
Hi Karen,I’ve been reading a while but never commented. We are in week 4 of weaning onto soilds with my twins (supposed to be born after your 3 but landed up being born about a month before yours). We started weaning earlier than I wanted as we’ve been having trouble with one of ours not gaining weight either-she doesn’t like drinking. Anyway to cut a long story short, we’re really getting on well with solids (unfortunately no magic weight gain) following Annabel Karmel’s New complete Baby and Toddler Meal planner (if you don’t already have 6 000 bookson the subject).PS we also had avo and banana yesterday- the girls loved it!
Im never a fan of starting solids, so much easier when its just milk. BUT you sound like your doing an excellent job and letting the babies lead the way – my eldest barely touched anything till 9 months while my youngest was on three meals a day plus snacks by six (only 2 weeks after starting) .Im in the UK and we are all more relaxed normally, most people start with veggies or fruit (no rice cereal here either) and i have never been one for the one thing a day rule
It’s actually the second time you give a new food that you should give it separately…My first 4 children weren’t allergic to anything, but my 5th is – and she happens to be allergic to banana and actually moderately allergic to avocado too- they are from the same family.
I am glad you just went for it. It is sometimes easier to just do than it is to plan. They are precious!
Congrats on your attempt! We are finding that it does get easier — at least with only one little eater! 🙂
You traitor!! I felt better knowing you were being a chicken about it too…. LOLOh well – we’re going to give it a try next week. Katie has been really grumpy and i honestly think she just wants FOOD – she stares at us eating to the point it makes me uncomfortable!! Glad it went pretty well for your little ones.
Karen, I was laughing at this post because I’m having the same experience with our new (5 months old today) singleton. I tried solids (rice cereal- nothing exciting) with her recently and it’s way too much work for the amount that actually gets into her stomach. I remember our twins taking the solids much better at this point (we started with them at five months too). Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me.Good for you for not getting caught up in the “rules” of solids feeding. I did with the twins- our first- but with our singleton now I’m so much more relaxed (added applesauce to the cereal yesterday thinking she might eat it better). I love seeing the pictures and reading about how your kids are doing. I’m looking forward to finally meeting in person (and maybe having the kids play together!) one of these days…
Kinneret (who’s a singleton, born on time, and all that jazz) didn’t really have a clue what to do with solids until 7.5 months. She’s 9 months now, and we just started feeding her 1-2 meals a day of solids. She’s always hungry for milk afterwards, no matter how much she eats. Obviously, YMMV, but I wouldn’t worry about them being clueless now or about them wanting milk afterwards.
Karen, I remember the horror of first trying solids at our house. It took forever to feed them, and I remember thinking that I was never going to be able to do that 3 times a day. We just took it slow, but eventually they became eating machines!Emma was our slow gainer, and went from debuting on the growth charts in the 5th percentile for weight at 6 months to 50th percentile at 9 months.
Hi Karen, I just found your blog today. My first reaction was – wow, our babies’ birthdays are really close! My twins were born on September 17 (at 36.5 weeks). Then I started reading and noticed we are also both observant. Anyway…we also just started solids a couple of weeks ago. Truth is, I sorta wimped out and started with the jarred foods. Aside from the fact that I’m not sure I’m up to the prep (I work full-time out of the house as well), I tried just mushed bananas on their own and both babies looked at me like I’d just walked off another planet. But they LOVE the jarred stuff I’ve given them and they make slightly less mess with that than the “real” food (though Malka’s latest trick is to stick her thumb in her mouth after each mouthful – and last night the had a blankie over the thumb…well you can probably imagine the end result!). So far, they’re eating carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, apples, and pears. We just share one spoon and one bowl. We’re going to get the mesh feeders anon mentioned for Pesach since jarred kosher l’pesach foods are a bit hard to come by (at least in Florida).
Soooo precious!