Rainy Day topic: Food

My daughter loves food. Ok, not just loves food--ADORES IT, wants to be one with it, is an eater at heart. Not that it's a bad thing or that she doesn't come by it honestly-I'm Polish/Ukrainian (you meet any Eastern European and you find that they love their food), my boyfriend is a big boy and as such loves to eat as well. So I am not surprised when, at 2 months of age, the formula wasn't enough for Aby or that at 4 months I was introducing stage foods that I thought I would be waiting on until she was just a little older. The newest addition to her diet--a bit of milk added to her formula as she got sick of the taste of her soy drink (don't blame her-I don't go in the same room as tofu!)

Topic of contention here is when to start babies on solids. My doctor, God bless his soul, is a confusing fellow-first I was told to wait on the solids until she pushed her first tooth (which could be waiting in the warm security of her gums until she is a year). Recently, he reneged that comment and told me that it is okay now to start her on purrees--blush, blush, something I have already done.

Not that I am habouring harsh opinion against the women that want to wait until baby is 6 months or that introduce milk at around 9 months to a year old. I respect everyone's decision and opinion, I am just stating my own and my prospective as an ever-learning mother.

I listen to Aby, I use my gut-which isn't to say that I don't have guilt somedays about the things I have started Aby on since she was born. I have learned that the books, the pamphlets, anything are just suggestions--every child is different, they mature at different rates. It's like, in my world anyways, comparing the maturity rate of a Thoroughbred to a Draft. You don't. Thoroughbreds, on average, are fast maturing, they can be ridden safely by the time they are 2 while Draft (or Warmbloods) typically start maturing around 4 and completely are done their growth by 7, 8 or 9. Babies are different as well, so why have all of them wait until they are 6 months to a year to start solids?

I know that it's due to the threat of allergies and sensitivities to food that can occur with starting them too early. I know that there is a chance that I've possibly opened up Aby to a chance of developing allergies to food that she loves or a common food that she needs everyday. I accepted that when I noticed that she was starting to look at our plates or when she wasn't satisfied anymore with her formula. I feel that she is letting me know when her body is ready for the more complex food that she will need to be introduced to her-every time I introduce something, I'm watching her like a hawk going in and on the way out. Every diaper change, I scrutinize (and that is embarrassing to admit that I pay attention to her poops!) and make sure nothing is amiss.

Now I just sound like I'm defending my actions with my daughter and, maybe, to a degree I am. I'm of the attitude that you can't protect your baby from everything, place them in a bubble and expect them to be strong people for it. The saying of 'what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger' comes to mind and, with some common sense of course, that is the saying I live by. The digestive system is different in every child and, with mine, she is a fast maturing baby. She ahead of herself, in my opinion anyways, in various areas--including her food. And so far she is doing incredibly well, which feeds into my belief that you can't stick every child into a strict, 'cookie-cutter' mould. Use a bit of common-sense, trust in your gut as a Mom and you should be fine.