Feeding the Baby

This is a random post for me because I figure I'll forget all this at some point and maybe someone will ask or I'll want to know or whatever. Kind of boring unless you're oddly interested in the feeding lifecycle of my baby.

I've had lots of questions about feeding the baby along the way: When he's breastfeeding how do I know if he's eating enough? When should I start pumping? How much should I pump? When should I stop pumping? When can I give him (dairy) milk? When can I give him whole eggs?

Here's how it's gone down:

Got the hang of breastfeeding at about five or six months old. Seems like a really long time but that's about how long it took before I felt like I really knew what I was doing and could confidently say "Oh, you have questions about breastfeeding, let me help you." Before that, beats the hell out of me.

At just over five months old I started solid foods starting with rice cereal and moving on to fruits and vegetables. I was breastfeeding every two-three hours and pumping two-three times a day.

By eight months old he was eating meat, egg yolks, cheese, fruits and vegetables but mostly still purees. I make all his food myself and only feed him organic. For processed foods he gets organic puffs and every once in a while yogurt melts. I was breastfeeding about five times a day. He was with a sitter four hours a day and I was pumping five times a day and getting three ounces TOTAL. The sitter would give him whatever I could pump and he'd make up for the rest during breastfeeding sessions.

At ten months old he had completely mastered the pincer grasp and only wanted to feed himself. He no longer wanted anything pureed except applesauce or prunes. At this point he was picking up and eating pieces of meatballs/hamburgers, roasted chicken, egg yolks, peas, berries, bananas, softened fruit (I'd just lightly steam apples or pears to soften a little), steamed veggies, small cheese cubes and, of course, puffs. I was still breastfeeding four-five times a day and attempting to pump, but most of the time the sitter was using freezer reserves of breastmilk because my supply was too low to pump (never too low with baby at the breast, just not enough to get milk flowing with a pump).

At ten and a half months old I completely gave up pumping and introduced organic, grass-fed, whole milk. Still breastfeeding four-fives times a day with long sessions in the morning and shorter sessions throughout the day. Despite being very active and mobile he hasn't shown any desire to wean. During time with the sitter (or when out of the house) he takes a sippy cup with the dairy milk, otherwise he nurses at home (I usually give him a cup of milk with meals as well but he only drinks an ounce or so). Eats all the same foods but have also introduced egg whites with no issue.

At eleven months old he ate his first restaurant food - hamburger and roasted vegetables from Fireflies in Del Ray. He loved the fancy yellow carrots! He also figured out how to drink from a straw and will take a few sips of my water.

When he turns a year old he'll get his first taste of chocolate via homemade birthday cake. That should be a treat!