Time to Eat!

When we had the twins' 4 month checkup, our pediatrician suggested that we start solid foods.  I couldn't believe it!  I felt like I was just getting into a routine and able to nurse them successfully, and he wanted me to do something else?  Plus Rhett was starting physical therapy and it was just too overwhelming to me.  So we waited.  I was thinking we would start around 6-8 months, since technically they don't need any other nutrients aside from breast milk for the first year.  

Then we went back to the pediatrician when the twins were 5 months old, and he really encouraged me to start solids.  He thought it might help with Rhett's spitting up.  (Have I mentioned how much that kid spits up? Oh.my.goodness.  I could write an entire blog post about the spit up, but just believe me when I say it is A LOT.)  I didn't really want Rhett to be on medication since he seems happy most of the time.  He is always smiling when the gallons of spit up come pouring out of that tiny body.  I figured it was worth a try.  It was time.

I was completely overwhelmed.  What do I feed them?  How much?  Should I make the food?  Or should I buy it?  Does it need to be organic?  How do you make it?  Do you serve it warm, room temp, or cold?  Do I have to cook?  How will I know if they are getting enough?  What if they are still hungry?  Not hungry?  Yes, I was completely overwhelmed.

And then my mom bought me this book.

It is true that knowledge is power.  Once I skimmed through this book, I thought to myself "I can do this."  This book is awesome!  It has so much information for scared, overwhelmed, first time mommas like me.  It tells you what age your baby needs to be for each type of food, how to prepare each food, and tons of other great info.  It also gives sample recipes and discusses time saving tips for the kitchen....and who couldn't use a little more time, right?

After much debate, we decided to start out with the traditional rice cereal.  I bought the Earth's Best brand because I wanted it to be brown rice and as natural as possible.  We got the Bumbo seats ready, I made the cereal, and Tim got the camera ready to video.

We put Rhys in her Bumbo and she saw the video camera and got scared.  She started crying and was upset before we had even tried to feed her.  So we had to calm her down and then start over.  HA!

The first bite...

Rhys

Rhett

So you can see that Rhett did not enjoy his first taste of cereal as much as his sister!  He acted like we were physically trying to harm him!  He cried and cried, so his meal was over.  We gave Rhys a few more bites.  She didn't love it, but did okay.

The next day, we decided to put Rhett in his bouncer seat instead of the Bumbo.  It is still hard for him to hold his own head in the Bumbo and we thought he might enjoy eating more if he was more comfortable.  It really did help!

We fed them the rice cereal for 4 days in a row.  Then we moved on to....

BANANAS!!

Banana was a big hit!  Rhys really got the hang of eating during the second week.  And, Rhett?  Well, let's just say that he started making progress.  He stopped crying during meals, and I consider that a success.  Rhett still didn't understand the concept of eating.  He thought we were trying to play with him.  Hilarious!

Rhett trying banana for the 1st time...see that little smile?

Rhys enjoying her first taste of banana

After a week of rice cereal and banana, we tried oatmeal cereal.  

They really liked the oatmeal, and still prefer it over the rice cereal.  Since then we have had avocado and sweet potato.  

Each day is getting better and better.  The twins eat a "meal" of solids around 11:30 a.m. and again at 5:00 p.m.  

Rhys caught on to eating quickly and is pretty neat.  She keeps the food in her mouth and swallows it fast.  She grunts between bites as if she is saying "hurry up."  She is definitely a little Miss Piggy and will finish off anything!  Her favorites are oatmeal cereal and banana.  She doesn't love avocado but will eat it.  

I love meal time!

Rhett took a little longer to get the hang of having the spoon in his mouth.  He likes to play with the spoon and tries to knock it out of my hand.  He is not so neat, and has food everywhere!  Today he had it on his helmet and his big toe!  Rhett's favorites are oatmeal cereal and avocado.

I'm learning!

We are all learning, and what a fun time we have had!  When we first started out I had a bowl and spoon for each of them.  I would feed one a bite, then put the spoon down and pick up the other spoon.  What a joke!  That lasted for about one day.  HA! Now....I use one bowl and one spoon.  We share everything....even our germs!  It's a twin's life...

You might think that I am a little bit crazy obsessing so much about my babies and their meals.  And maybe I am.  But when the babies were born I knew that the most important thing I could do for them (besides loving them) was to feed them the healthiest diet possible.  That is why I chose to breastfeed them.  And now that they are eating "real" food....I want to continue to give them the best.  I feel like it is part of my mission as their mother to choose for them what they cannot choose right now.  So maybe I am crazy...but I love my babies and I just want what is best for them.

I am planning on making the twins' baby food.  I know it will be a huge cost-savings for our family, as well as better nutrition for the babies.  I think I convinced Tim that I need a new food processor (our's just broke) and our blender isn't really working that great.  So if you have one you recommend, let me know!

Stay tuned for future updates!