On Starting Solids and Totally Freaking-Out

Yes, I’m making my kid eat avocado in the sink. 

You may have read my other post, “On Starting Solids and Not Freaking-Out.” If you did, just go ahead and erase it from your memory. That post was written by a delusional, dream-land Jaclyn who had no idea what chaos she was entering when she crossed the bridge into Solid Foodville. Solid foods suck, ok? They suck. Sure, it was cute the first time I saw Luca with smashed avocado all over his face, but I’m over it.

Let me break it down for you. Solid foods require giving a miniature human, with the coordination of a zombie, smushed-up food and then expecting them to somehow place it in their miniature mouth and then swallow it. Doesn’t work out so well. Add to that my increased heart rate as each tiny morsel DOES make it into his mouth and it stays elevated until see him swallow without choking on it. It’s practically an aerobics routine.

Aside from the mess and the feeling that death-by-avocado is lurking around each feeding, there’s the pressure to create healthy meals. My little zombie should only be eating ORGANIC, whole foods, and should never EVER touch the likes of BPA. Ugh. I confess, I fell off of the ban-the-baby-book band wagon. I was trying so hard not to get sucked into another baby book (or 10) but it’s SO hard. I’m addicted to knowledge. Correction: I’m addicted to feeling like I know what I’m doing. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m kind of insecure. Parenthood only exacerbates my insecurity so naturally I’ll need more books.

Well, just like before, these books aren’t really helping. They’re actually just increasing my feelings of insecurity. I’m starting to wonder if the books are actually the problem… Eh, I’ll save that discussion for my therapist. Anyway, here’s the deal: solids are no cake-walk. (Remember cake-walks? I once begged my mom to let me do the cake-walk over and over. Whenever I won, and I always won at some point, I would get a Funfetti cake. What is it about rainbow chips that make everything seem so wonderful?) Well, solids are not wonderful. They’re annoying. End rant.

I’m actually feeling a little bit better about solids today. Here’s why: I took a step back and reaached-out. In an effort to make sure that I haven’t completely wasted your time by reading this post, I’m going to share with you the little bit that I have learned about solids in hopes that it will keep you from freaking-out like I did. Maybe this will make the transition into solid foods more enjoyable for you:

1. Decide on Your “Value” – By “value” I mean, what is it that you want to be the priority for solid feeding? Is it to enhance your relationship with your baby? Is it to get the maximum amount of nutrition into your baby? Is it to foster their independence? Maybe you want it to be as educational and exploratory as possible. Choose your “value” so that you can make decisions with this as the foundation.

2. Keep it Simple– Don’t overwhelm yourself with recipes and fancy baby-food-making tools just yet. There’s a great website called: Wholesome Baby Food by Momstatic. I really like the way the site is organized. Pick the topic you need and then seek more information as you need it.

3. Talk to Other Mamas See what other real people are doing. Reach-out for support. Talking with other Mamas has made me feel less guilty about my frustration with this milestone. The trick is to let it encourage you. Don’t let this become a compare-a-thon which WILL make you feel guilty.

4. Be Realistic- Do you love to cook? Are you all about finding new ingredients and recipes? Or are you more of an on-the-go kind of an eater. Pick a philosophy that realistically fits your lifestyle.

Alright, that’s pretty much all I’ve got at this point. As I continue on this journey I’m sure I’ll have more to share. If any of you have some solid food tips or encouragement for other Mamas, please leave it in the comments section. Thanks!

If you liked this post, you may also like:
– Questions for My 5 Month Old

– The Madonna-Whore Complex and Me

– True Attachment Parenting vs. Helicopter Parenting