The Food Watch

   Food used to be simple enough. Eat, don't eat, diet, don't diet. I mean it was always nice to be able to eat everything you would like and not gain weight or get an allergic reaction but it was simple enough. When you get married things get slightly more difficult. After you get married or move in with someone you now do not only think about yourself and your likes or wishes  but another persons as well. Well add a child to the equation and things get messy.

    Solids
With a child you decide when to start solids, between 4-6 months. The WHO recommends starting solids at 6 months (after 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding). This is not always possible, you may have problems breastfeeding or maybe your child's body matures and needs solids slightly before the 6 month mark. It's kind of like putting an age on when people can vote or drink. Maybe that is the average that most people seem to be ready to do such action responsibly but that does not mean all people are, some are ready before some are ready later.

   After you decide when to start solids you need to decide what to start with. No longer does  advice say that you HAVE to start with cereals, first rice cereal then veggies then fruits and so on. Its your choice. I started with sweet potato after much research, moved on to avocado then banana and next is squash.

   When you start advice seems to recommend doing one food for 2-3 days before moving to a next new food. Why? So that you can watch for possible allergic reactions. Apparently some research now says this is unnecessary if you have no family history of a specific allergy in the family. This makes sense, but I am going with the better safe then sorry approach. Being a first time mom I still feel timid and not very relaxed yet about this whole solids thing. Breastfeeding I am not very familiar with...solids, not so much.

    Also now the way to feed solids is under question. Before it went without thinking that first you start with watery pureés, on to thicker and thicker pureés, then finger foods and so on. Or maybe I was just not interested in this topic being a teenager and all several years ago (well a few more then several) that I just assumed that was how it has to and always was done.

  Lastly you must worry about allergic reactions. Is my child allergic? Why did my child get a diaper rash? green or orange poo? a rash? Next the question to what is my child allergic or having a reaction to? So now moms and dads must worry about what is causing an allergic reaction. It may not be the food, it may be laundry detergent, someones perfume who held your baby, a new cream or just about anything!

Food and You

   If that was not enough as children get older you see that they do not clear their plates often. Food gets wasted. As I remember when my nefews were small my sister had no time for food plans and separate preparation for herself. Whatever was not finished she snacked on. What would happen is she would NEVER have a real meal herself. She went snacking from one plate to the next. This can be bad for the waist line and this may not fulfill your nutrition. Another thing that must be thought about is fulfilling not only your child's nutritional needs but your own. With a small child you seem to forget yourself often!

   Dieting. This is hard when you have a young infant who is teething, or has gas pains, colic, reflux etc. When baby sleeps in short spurts or not well and/or when they are cranky dieting is impossible. Or maybe I just am making excuses. I find that when I am utterly exhausted snacking helps you keep some energy (especcially if you try to limit coffee). Hence you sit and snack all day and all is good and gravy right after birth if you breastfeed. The pounds fly off.  Then one day, they just don't. But you think the weight loss just slowed up and continue what you were doing. Suddenly weight SLOWLY starts to creep up. HUH! If you are lazy like me to begin with, and an anxious FTM who freaks out a bit if their child is out of sight you are probably not exercising months down the road even after you get the go ahead. I can advise for each mom to take time for themselves but I know how HARD that is. When you get a spare moment you want a nap ... to read... to watch a movie, or something entertaining or relaxing. The last thing you truly want is to exercise and get back in shape. One way to avoid the creeping of weight back up is to not begin the crazy all day snacking and to just have healthy good meals (if thats even possible!). One way or another we will all get back into shape, I know I will!...some shape.