Food for thought

So we did it... we introduced A to her first food. We pushed a banana into one of the mesh feeders showed her what to do with it and let her go.... It took a minute... then there was a look of "WHAT The Hell is this?" Followed by the realization that what ever it was it was worth another try. Then happy as a clam she sat there sucking on that bag for 15-20 minutes. Mikey I think she likes it.

Just that quickly our child has become one of the solid eaters. She is no longer " exclusively breastfed." It is as if we have been invited through the doors of an exclusive country club. We now are on the road of being able to offer her the food that we are eating. No longer is she forced to sit and watch as we chow in front of her, it is as if a part of her babyhood has fallen away.

I have had mixed feelings about the introduction of solids. I have come to relish our nursing sessions. We lay quietly on the bed and share with each other in a way that only a breastfeeding mother can fully understand. Every now and then D will come and we make an A sandwich on the bed, those are times of true contentment that I want to hold onto forever. I am looking forward to breastfeeding until she is at least 18 months. I have had friends who with the introduction of solid food have had to ween their baby because of disinterest in the breast. So I find the introduction of solid foods somewhat threatening.

I am not a total sentimental sap... there are other reasons I have wanted to put off solid foods. Entirely valid reasons, otherwise we would have introduced them long ago my mother needs not withstanding. With the eczema that we have been fighting since she was 6 weeks old I have been purposefully waiting so as not to create food allergies. ( Which is why we have started with bananas rather than a cereal) There are so many allergies in my family that it seemed prudent to wait until she was a little older. Not to mention most pediatricians are suggesting that you wait until 6 months to start food.

I would gladly have waited until she was 9 or 10 months old. That is the age at which it is suggested that children need more nourishment than breast milk can provide. Her daddy has been pushing to start solids however... and as I believe that it is because he would like to be a more involved in her feeding I have given a little. That is not to say that we will be starting her on a new food every week or that in the next few weeks we will have introduced every food in the fruit and veggie group... to the contrary we will be introducing foods slowly and with plenty of space between so that we can be sure that she is not having a reaction... and she will receive that food only once a day, saving the rest of the time for nursing. I am strongly in favor of ensuring that she gets as much benefit from breast feeding as I can provide for her.

Meanwhile I enjoy watching her excitement when she is given a banana, and her Dada's excitement when he hands it to her ( if he were only a little more excited about the clean up : ) I love looking down and making eye contact with my daughter while she is nursing. I adore it when we make a love sandwich out of her. And the introduction of those bananas hasn't caused even a pause in our nursing... so we are talking about maybe moving on to peas in the near future.