Aren’t they sweet? Sibling love is the best

I’ve been posting about the introduction of solids to the twins for about a month now. Things are going ok, but not great. It’s sometimes frustrating, but I have to remind myself that it’s not that important for them to eat food just yet, nutritionally anyway. The point is for them to begin learning. Here are the problems we’re having:

Corbin is not interested in the spoon. I just recently, like for three days now, got him to start eating from it. He will immediately push it out with his tongue or bite it. I have to make very exaggerated motions with my mouth to make him imitate me, so I can quickly plop some food in his mouth when its open. Most of the time, he laughs at me because I look and sound ridiculous. He will swallow the food, but he still pushes some back out with his tongue. Maybe he still isn’t ready for solids? Or maybe we need a different approach?

While I was still pregnant, I researched a lot about Baby Led Weaning. It means letting your baby feed him/herself from the beginning. Instead of pureed food, you just give soft foods, like avocado, toast, banana, etc. This approach focuses on getting the baby to learn how to chew first vs. swallowing. I always thought that is how I would introduce solids, but then the time came, and the idea of cleaning up the mess x2, turned me off. I already spend a lot of my time cleaning up barf and poo, so I just didn’t want to bother with slimy bodies, high chairs and floors! Well…. a friend recently mentioned BLW, and it got me thinking that I do want to give this approach a chance. At least with Corbin. He always has his hands in his mouth, so my plan is to put food in his hands and maybe he’ll put that in his mouth. Sounds simple, right? Hopefully, he cooperates.

Lynley has her own set of issues. She actually will eat from the spoon, and lately she has wanted to hold the spoon herself. We have tried to give her non-pureed foods, and she does pretty good at getting it into her mouth, so BLW would work for her. But the issue I have with food for her, is the infant reflux. I think that the pureed foods may be better for her sensitive tummy, but I really don’t know what will cause her to puke, other than carrots. It’s trial and error. But I do know one thing: I really want her off the Prilosec.

On the medicine, she still spits up, but she is happier. So is that the trade off? She is almost sitting up completely on her own, and everyone says that this is when reflux begins to improve. So, she actually ran out of medicine two days ago, and I haven’t picked up her refill yet. Yesterday, she did fine. The spit up wasn’t any worse than it usually is, and there was no projectile vomiting. Derrick said that she was a little squirmy in bed all night and cried out a couple of times. But she still slept through the night, so I’m not ready to go back on the meds because of that. So far today, she has been doing great. I have kept her sitting up after her meals, and it’s been very minimal spit up. However, she has been a bit fussier than normal until she burps/spits up then she smiles. I came across this article last night that discusses the danger with reflux meds in infants, and it has swayed me into just wanting to deal with a little bit grumpier Lynley, rather than possibly harming her by giving her medicine she may not really need. She doesn’t have symptoms of GERD, so I know this is a maturity problem and not a mechanical one. We’ll see how she continues to act. Please pray that she is one of the ones to improve at 7 to 9 months instead of 12 to 18 months!

And next for Miss Thang, weaning off specialty formula. She should be almost over the milk protein allergy at this age too. I have a feeling that was more of the issue all along rather than reflux. We have two cans of the special formula to use, and then we will start combining some of Corbin’s in with hers. I’m very nervous, but we need to do this. That stuff is too darn expensive!