Solids

So Babyzilla went for his 4 month appointment a couple weeks ago. He's HUGE! (Duh, that's why I call him Babyzilla, right?) No, but for realz. He's in the 110th percentile for length and 90th percentile for weight, but he's not fat. Seriously.

He's a happy, secure, healthy kid. Just huge. Our pediatrician asked about his feeding schedule and how breastfeeding was going. Well, our kiddo eats about 42-45 oz of formula a day plus whatever he sucks out with nursing. Her jaw hit the floor.

Pediatrician: He sits up well when he's supported?
Hubby and I: Yup.
Her: He shows interest in what you're eating?
Us: Yup. He chews right along with us.
Her: Oh yeah. Time for solids.

Now in my head a billion bells are going off. Aren't you supposed to wait until 6 months or more? The pediatrician explains that with a normal baby, if I were breastfeeding, I'd be right, but this kid is not normal. Our kid eats at a rate about 2 months ahead of his actual age and has doen so since he was born.

On his 4 month birthday (the day after the appointment) we started him on brown rice cereal. He loved eating! Nothing but smiles. The pediatrician had mentioned that he might push the first bit out with his toung, but that was not an issue for us.

On a side note: Have you ever read the ingredients in rice cereal?!? It's crazy what gets put in there. I'm not all about organic, but this is one of the exceptions. Earth's Best doesn't have half the garbage that Gerber has. Definately worth the extra $.75 a box, in my opinion.

Anyway, we've since started him on stage 1 squash puree (also Earth's Best). Holy moley! The kid LOVES squash. Last night he grabbed the bowl from me and tried to dive in. Good thing the Mama has super reflexes. The thing that really sold me that Babyzilla is ready for solids? The kid will take hold of my/Hubby's hand and bring the spoon to his mouth. Such a smarty pants! Right now he's getting a full jar of squash and a serving of cereal if he's still hugry. He takes down a 4 oz bottle after his bath and he's ready for bed.

He's been a bit gassy since starting solids. Nothing crazy. He's always been a bit of a frat boy in that regard. Everybody said that we'd stop using cloth diapers when we hit solids because the poo changes. So far, we haven't had any issues. Maybe it's because Hubby bought me a diaper sprayer for our anniversary (my request). That thing is awesome!

The next new food is going to be peas. That starts tonight. Unfortunately, I'll be at school. :(

All of the stage 1 purees are from Earth's Best. I have issues with the Gerber Company. Everything from the way they market formula to adding high fructose corn syrup to baby food. It just doesn't sit well with me. Besides, my favorite store, Earth Fare sells Earth's Best for relatively cheap. Combine the already low price with the 10% discount we get for buying a full case (12 jars) and coupons I get from the Earth's Best website and they're actually CHEAPER than Gerber. And I don't feel like I've compromised my values.

We bought 2 variety cases; one veggies, the other fruit. Those give us 6 varieties plus we bought some loose jars in 2 more fruits.

Babyzilla's meal plan looks something like this for the next month or so:

4 days of peas and rice cereal
4 days of apples and cereal
4 days of carrots and rice cereal
4 days of bananas and rice cereal
4 days of sweet potatoes and rice cereal
4 days of  prunes and rice cereal
4 days of pears and rice cereal

Hubby wants to switch to an oatmeal or barley cereal some time in there, and we'll add in more meals with solids. Any tips/ suggestions/ experiences from people that have been there, done that with solids are welcomed!