Q:

At our normal checkup for my baby, the nurses said to start my baby on solids.  The only thing is that they told me specifically was to start him on three vegetables. They told me not to start with fruit because then babies only prefer sweet things.  I don’t know about rice cereal. The nurses didn’t recommend it.
I also thought about separating the vegetables in case of allergy.

A:

1. One thing is that I would start him/her out on one food at a time.  I made Beth allergic to potatoes because I didn’t do that with her.  Look for little dots around his mouth after a food, and if he has that, switch to another food.
2. Bethany still has skin problems related to the eczema she had as a baby.  I didn’t take fish oil when I was pregnant, and I was very liberal about which foods I started her with, etc.
3. Possible Schedule (Only an idea):                                                                                                                                                                                                             1st week:  rice cereal  VERY diluted and mixed with formula or Mom’s milk.  (One of my babies had blood in her stool because I mixed it too thick).  You can very gradually get it thicker and thicker.  Mix it like it says on the box for the baby’s first feeding.

• 2nd few days:  squash or carrots.                                                                                                                                                                                 3rd few days:  green beans                                                                                                                                                                                           4th few days:  peas

• Don’t give your baby fruits or meats yet.  Especially don’t give honey, wheat, milk products, and egg!

• For low energy: I think you should start taking iron even before you’re tested for anemia.  Iron can be constipating though, so drink prune juice or something if that’s a problem.  And be sure the kids can’t get into it — that it has a child proof lid or is way up high.  It is the number one cause of poisoning in kids.  I like to take a natural, herbal iron.  It seems to me that it absorbs better, but I’m not sure about that.
• Do you have good prenatal vitamins? After Grace I was wiped out and needed a nap — no energy at all.  My friend gave me good quality iron and health food store vitamins, and I am a new person!
• Have you thought about if you are pregnant with twins?  I actually thought I had twins with Grace because I felt sick SO early.  But I wasn’t!  The kids were so disappointed!  (I wasn’t!)  Did you know twins are more likely for older moms?
• I would think that if you have pregnancies really close together it’s very likely that you are anemic.  It can take a while to get iron levels back up, and some irons don’t absorb well.
• Be sure to take fish oil, which is a good idea for all pregnant moms or even women who may become pregnant.  I noticed that as I had babies, they were born less and less healthy — mostly that they had eczema.  That is because your first babies use up your omega 3 fatty acids, and your body cannot replace them unless you eat fish or flax or something.  I should probably take a really good quality fish oil that is guaranteed to be mercury-free, but I don’t spend the money on it!  But anyway, Andrew and Grace don’t have any eczema — Praise the Lord!!
• Are your tummy muscles uncomfortable, like they’re having trouble holding the baby up?  I really had that problem with Andrew.  After he was born, I did lots of sit-ups.  And with Grace those muscles were totally fine!  Thank you, God.  :O)