Time for Solids!

Wow, we have officially started solids for our little Baby Angel :) Between her 4 month Plunket check up and her 5 month Plunket check up, she only gained 50g despite eating very well and being a totally contented little baby, and so my Plunket nurse and both our moms suggested thinking about starting solids, or at least seeing if Emily is ready for solids, to help with her weight gain.

And so on Saturday we started with Watties Baby Rice Cereal, mixed with a little water after a full breastfeed at lunchtime.  And boy, did Emily dive into it!! It actually took us both by surprise as we didn't really think she was showing too many signs of being ready for solids, but apparently she was!  She just loved it, and so we have done the cereal at lunchtime (for the past 2 days we have mixed it with baby formula, which I haven't used before, but I think it gives the cereal a nicer taste than just water) for 3 days in a row, just to check she is ok with it and doesn't react to it, and then we want to try pumpkin. 

Apparently it's good to try veggies first so your baby doesn't get too used to the sweet taste of fruit, and then may not like veggies later.  SO I have steamed up some pumpkin and popped it into my cool little OXO Tot ice cube tray, especially for baby food, ready for when we do the pumpkin taste test.  Yum!  

I was really nervous to start with the rice cereal as we weren't really thinking about solids till Emily turned 6 months old, so we are about 4-6 weeks earlier than I had thought.  But it just went so well and she was so into it, my nerves quickly disappeared!  I am just so used to providing everything for her myself as I am exclusively breastfeeding, it is a change, but an interesting and fun one!

Yum yum!

First taste of baby rice cereal!  Yum!

Pureed pumpkin ready to freeze.