Feeding Habits

With Samma now 10 months and close to walking, her feeding schedule and what she's been eating has been on my mind a lot, so please allow me to take a moment to air out my thoughts more than write an actual blog post worthy of publishing.

As of right now, food-wise, this is how her day looks:

• 5-6am: 6 oz bottle of formula
• 7am: 2 tbsp cereal with 1/2 jar (about 3oz) of Gerber 3rd Foods fruit
• 9:30-10am: 6 oz bottle of formula
• 12pm: 1/2 jar (about 3oz) of some sort of Gerber 3rd Foods veggie or pasta
• 2pm: 6 oz bottle of formula
• 3:30-4pm: yogurt or puffs
• 5:30pm: 2 tbsps cereal with 1/2 jar (about 3oz) of Gerber 3rd Foods veggie or meat/veggie combo
• 6:30-7pm: 4 oz bottle of formula
• (Water is has with every meal)

And this is what BabyCenter.com says I should be feeding my 10-month-old:

What to feed

• -Breast milk or formula PLUS
• -Soft pasteurized cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese (but no cows' milk until age 1)
• -Iron-fortified cereals (rice, barley, wheat, oats, mixed cereals)
• -Fruit cut into cubes or strips, or mashed
• -Bite-size, soft-cooked vegetables (peas, carrots)
• -Combo foods (macaroni and cheese, casseroles)
• -Protein (egg; pureed or finely ground meats, poultry, and boneless fish; tofu; well-cooked and mashed beans)
• -Finger foods (lightly toasted bread or bagels, small pieces of ripe banana, spiral pasta, teething crackers, low-sugar O-shaped cereal)

How much per day

• 1/3 cup dairy (or 1/2 oz. cheese)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup iron-fortified cereal
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup fruit
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetables
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup combo foods
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup protein foods

So, long story short, I don't think it's the amount we're feeding her that I need to worry about... it's the actually getting her to eat real human food that's the issue. And it's not her wanting to eat that's the issue... this is 100% on my shoulders.

I am terrified.

What if I don't give her the right thing? What if I don't cook it enough, or cut it up small enough? What if she then chokes? Or worse???

And here's where my anxiety steps in.

I'm just glad Chris has a stabler and sturdier head on his shoulders, because I don't know what I'd be doing without him. Yes, clearly and obviously, she can't stay on Gerber foods forever... and we have been giving her whole foods like bananas, bread, pancakes, and potatoes when we have them, but to get her on par with us and what we eat is the hard part.

We both work, and we both have different hours, so when I get home with Sam in the afternoon, it's a good 2 hours or so before Chris gets home to make dinner, and then by that time Sam is usually ready for or in bed.

So what does it all mean? It means I need to get my shit together and start prepping food. Easier said than done, yet again, as I hardly plan ahead for my own meals... and I'm sure by now plenty of you are out there saying "well, if you have a kid, that should be your top priority -- make time -- blahblahblah" and I know, I know... trust me, Samma is my #1 priority, and believe you me, she is NOT starving (the little chunkah gained almost a pound in the last month!), so that's why I think I need to start focusing on the WHAT and now the HOW MUCH.

We're going to take this weekend to work on it I think.... I hope...