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Moms - food & nap question
If you made most or all of your baby food, when did you introduce meats? Did you make a puree with them? I don't eat much meat at all (only a few times a week) but I want Georgia to be introduced to it. I'm just not sure if I should feed it to her with "stage 1 or 2" foods or wait until she can have it as a finger food.
I didn't post this on my bump month board because most of them are just as new at this as me and I think most of y'all know what you're talking about! 
She has also REALLY started fighting naps. I know she's super tired because her eyes are red and she's rubbing them and doing all of the things she normally does when she's tired. But she cries for what seems like forever when I put her down. I hate that she will sometimes cry for 15-20 minutes (I go in and calm her down) and may only nap for 30-40.
She seems to calm down when I go in but the second I leave gets hysterical. She is also not really letting me out of her sight around the house without whimpering, so she may just be going through an attachment thing.
I don't want to nap with her on my bed (she will nap that way) because I don't want it to become a habit. She was always able to fall asleep on her own until lately.
Any advice?
Re: Moms - food & nap question
I gave Ian pureed meats but he wouldn't eat them alone; I had to put something sweet on the spoon with it to get him to eat them (sweet potato or a fruit). And I always had to heat up the meat a little bit too.
Ian was a crappy sleeper until he was 15mos old, so I'm no help there. He got better using Dr. Ferber's method but it wasn't a cure-all for us. He still wakes up in the night screaming for this or that - last night it was 1AM for a '55 Chevy Hot Wheels.
We introduced meat with purees. Making my own baby food didn't work out for me so we used Gerber products. DD wasn't a fan of their pureed meat so we mixed it with veggies and it was still hit or miss.
I have known women who have pureed their own meat...but I don't know anything about it first hand.
Since DD has been on finger foods, we have found that she LOVES chicken. We usually give her shredded chicken - from a can or some that I've made - and she gobbles it up. She is still not a fan of beef but will eat a little bit of it now and then.
For naps, I always just make sure DD has a full belly before laying her down and that has helped...
I made Tori's baby food and attempted chicken once. It was a disgusting mess. And there was no way she would touch the meat in a jar.
So she didn't eat meat until she started on foods with more texture and we could finely chop the chicken for her.
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I didn't puree meat, we did it as finger food - small pieces of shredded turkey and chicken on her tray probably around 7-8 months. But she didn't have teeth so she mostly played with it or spit out what did make it into her mouth.
I don't have any advice on napping. L was a terrible napper until someone flipped some magic switch and she dropped her morning nap and started taking a single 2.5-3 hour afternoon nap. It was glorious. I hope you find the magic switch.
How old is she now? Does she have any teeth?
With DS we did BM exclusively for 6 months. After that I made his baby food, but he didn't eat the purees for long. I only pureed veggies and fruits, never meat. By 8 months he had 4 teeth with 2 more coming in so I just gave him small pieces of meat (whatever we were eating) and he was fine with it.
How many naps is she taking? DS did that when he was ready to go from 3 naps to 2 longer ones. He's still on that schedule. Sleep through the night, awake for 2 hours, nap for 2 hours, awake for 2-3 hours, nap for 1.5-2 hours and then awake until bedtime.
Collin Thayne 10.11.2010
I gave Kyle a little organic store brought baby food with meat in it. However, most of the food I gave him was homemade vegetable and fruit meals that I added baby rice cereal to.
He really did not like meat at first. He actually would fight me everytime I introduce a new textured food, now he eats everything in site.
I am sure Georgia is going though a phase. She maybe fighting you this week and happy when you put her down next week. Kyle did not want me to leave his sight for the longest time. Now he does not want his dad to leave his sight and I am yesterdays news. I miss him wanting me all the time but know it is a phase.
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I waited on meat until she could do finger foods. Pureed meat just looks gross. She started finger foods around 7 months though, and by 8 months she wanted NOTHING to do with being spoon fed anymore.
Maddie started hardcore fighting naps around 4-5 months, too. She would be exhausted, but only sleep for 30-40 minutes. By 6 months she only needed 2 naps a day and her naps did lengthen out some. I have always found that milestones mess up her naps, so if she learning something new (like sitting or rolling) that may be the cause of her crappy sleep.
Evan was not a good eater and it is still hit or miss. I was worried about his lack of solid foods (he refused solids until almost 10 months) so I talked to the pedi about it and he said that no kid ever suffered from not having liquified meat.
I think if you are up for making it, it can't hurt to have her try it, but if you want to wait that isn't a problem either.
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Truer words were never spoken. I made some baby food and bought some. we liked the organic brands that come in pouches not jars. I wasn't down with blending meat, I offered a few of the "meal" store bought foods that included meat but I don't recall Cooper ever actually eating them. Around 7 or 8 months I started offering him whatever meat we were eating, I just chopped it into small enough bits that it didn't require much chewing.
As for napping and attachment issues, eh, they go through phases. How many times a day are you trying to get her to nap? Cooper went to one nap a day (2-3 hours) before he was a year old and that's still what he takes, at 6 months I think he was pretty consistent with two naps. But he's generally a terrible sleeper, he just doesn't sleep as much as "they" say he "should" --- yet he's not cranky or suffering so.... I just rack it up to they are individuals and have to find their own pattern, whatever it may be.
This exactly.
I also used jarred (organic) foods with meat in them. I didn't want to try and puree meat myself. Earth's Best has some good ones. LLL says chicken/turkey are great 1st foods b/c they are high in protein and very low risk of allergy.
Maybe she needs her schedule adjusted? This happens every once in a while. Also, if her eyes are getting red and she is rubbing them, she may have passed in to over tired territory.
For the crying, try this approach (worked like gang busters with Mathis): hold her for a couple minutes until you feel her body relax but she is not asleep. Put her in the crib and keep contact with her (M was a tummy sleeper so I kept my hand on his back) by rubbing her head, back or tummy until her eyelids are really heavy. Before you take your hand off, make a very soft shushing sound and then remove your hand and back away from her crib, still shushing. head toward the door and sush. If she starts to cry, don't pick her up but shush and rub some more. If you rub her to sleep the 1st few times, just wean her off.
It sounds like a long process all written out but it's literally 5-10 minutes that would prevent all that unnecessary crying and help her through this transition.
We tried that with Noah. he's never been a "good" sleeper and he sleeps very lightly. It worked really well~
Meat didn't start until solid foods.
i want to say my pedi suggested starting meat at 9 months...but to introduce as many veggies as possible first because jarred meats reminded him of dog food, but the ones with meat and veggies weren't bad.
i also admit to distracting abigail when i leave, so she doesn't see me leave. she doesn't mind being alone...she hates seeing me leave. so i point her away from the door and give her a fun toy.
i also find that if i wait until abigail is really tired, she fights naptime, whereas if i put her in her crib at the first sign of being tired, she'll play with a toy for a little bit then go to sleep.
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