Luckily Dec had started on solid, but the solid feedings are not really regular though. He’s only fed cereal whenever I am around and free to feed him. His grandma didn’t feed him in the afternoons, his dad won’t feed him in the evening when I’m not around unless being instructed… So much for initiative from the 2 child bearing advocates…….
Dec doesn’t seems to be particularly enjoying his solid food anyway. I think he’ll rather live without it for the moment. He eats only a small quantity at a time.
Last Sunday, I tried cooking some carrot porridge for him and of course I got interrupted in the kitchen. Instead of ME cooking the porridge, my mil took over and insisted she’ll cook. I know it’s all done in good intention but if she don’t allow me try, how will I ever learn????
I’m also stupid enough to try introducing new food to my baby in the presence of my super panicky mil AGAIN! I’ve did it once while introducing cereal when she’s around and I did it again this time!
She suggested adding some soy sauce into the porridge to which I objected because I read somewhere saying that we should delay introducing such flavorings to babies. I also naively thought that the shredded carrot would make the porridge “sweet”. She didn’t persist. Ok, porridge done! Got baby out, tied a bib and proceeded to feed him. He “test water” the porridge with the tip of his tongue and then his face got all crumpled up and he sealed his lips tight! No matter how I and my SIL tried he just refused to eat… SIL suggested heating up the porridge a little since it’s already cooled.
Ok! Porridge heated up to lukewarm. Kiat held baby, I tried feeding again. Still no go… He just refused to swallow any… arghhhh. SIL took over to try. By now MIL was screaming away saying he did not know how to eat so don’t force him. In the first place, ain’t she the one who said she wanted to feed him porridge when he was only 4+ months old? Always double standard! Angry!
Now I really wondered whether the porridge tasted lousy. I tried a little, YUCKS! It’s so blend!! Like plain water! No wonder baby refused to eat. Hmmmm who is the smart alec who inculcate in me the idea that just adding carrot to the porridge will make it sweet and savoring for a baby?? SIL suggested adding 1-2 tiny drops of soy sauce… relentlessly…. I gave in…
OK! Soy sauce added. I carried baby, SIL pushed a small mouthful of porridge towards Declan. He eyed it suspiciously and opened his mouth a little. SIL seized this opportunity and push the little spoon in. The moment the spoon went in, wahhh Little Botak’s eyes lighted up! You could literally see him widening his eyes as if he just tasted some heavenly delicacy. His face became “crease free”. So funny!! He was wide eye from that mouthful onwards and readily swallowed the following spoonfuls. Now that we succeeded in feeding him porridge with presuming 2 tiny drops of soy sauce, MIL was still jumpy and kept screaming for us to stop feeding him in case he got too bloated….. She then went on to smirk at me saying :” Just now I already told her to add soy sauce, she say don’t want mah! I brought up 7 babies in total liao you all think I still ignorant ah!” blah blah blah…
Although Dec seemed to enjoy his first few mouthfuls of porridge, he lost interest in it very quickly. He finished only about half. We thought he was full so we stopped. Shortly after, he was crying for his milk… Ain’t solid food supposed to last longer? Aiyoh…. Never mind… I’ll trial and error and hopefully I’ll get the feeding routine right….
Pray for my baby! In case I starve or overfeed him.
3 comments:
I buy about $1 or $2 worth of chicken bones from the market and make chicken broth, then freeze them into stock cubes for one week of supply. They really make the porridge much more tasty. Or cook the porridge with pork rib (I use the soft bone) to get the flavour. Mashing up the pumpkin and carrot with the porridge make the porridge sweet also, maybe you didn't blend them with the plain congee? I use more carrots, but don't blend all of them for the baby to consume. Too much carotin will turn her yellow. IMHO, it is better to advoid salty flavouring at this tender age. But I can understand your frustration, especially when there are pressure around.
It is usually difficult introducing solid food, a lot of mess to clean up and a lot of rejection from the baby. You might want to check the consistency of the porridge or try again at a later time. Good luck!
Hey Thanks!! Will try out ur suggestions and many more other recipes from experience mums which I read on other baby forums. Starting this baby on solid food really isn't easy.. For one he hates to sit still.. i tried putting him on high chair and he end up curling into a shrimp position and gumming the high chair table.... put him upright and seconds later his head will down trying to bite of the table again....
Oh yes, feeding the baby in a sitting position gave me a lot of headache too. So in the end, we fed her in a semi reclining position on her bouncy chair, with her legs strapped and her hands restrained (by putting her hands into the harness as well). The food went into her mouth and down her throat easier also, less messy, though I am not sure if it will cause any choking hazard. This lasted until she was about 8mths old. Tough!
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