When we had Myles 4 month check up, I knew the food question would come into play.   Personally I have my own reasons for introducing solids when I do. It’s pretty simple. I  want my child to be ready. I also want my child to have a variety of  HEALTHY foods. The healthiest food I can offer right now is 100% breastmilk. At Myles 4 month check up, the pediatrician and I discussed introducing solids. He suggested waiting until at least 6 months. I told him that I don’t believe he’ll be ready by 6 months. He wholeheartedly agreed! He said we are definitely okay with delaying another month or two.

We usually delay solids until 6 months. We breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months. At that point, we look for the signs that baby is ready to start solids.

• Sitting up without support.
• Lost the tongue thrust.
• Willing and able to chew.
• Eagerness to try food.

Once we start to notice these signs, we start to try different foods. It is a milestone that is by far the messiest! That is one reason I am in no rush to start solids before the baby is ready. Now  a lot of people say that we can start solids at 4 months. Which seems funny to me! Myles is not even sitting up WITH support! He definitely has a hint tongue thrust and can’t chew. The only food he is eager to get close to is the breast.

I will probably start making solids and freezing them sometime in the next two months. I like to have a good variety on standby when we begin introducing solids. When I do start making solids, I am investing in a Beaba Babycook. After checking this must have baby item out at the EVO conference, I have put it on my list. I love preparing my own baby food. It is so much cheaper and better than store bought food. But that is another story!

Now the question of the day!

When did you introduce your own baby to solids?

I have spent the last 7 years breastfeeding with the exception of while I was pregnant. It is one of the best experiences as a mom. I love looking into their eyes and seeing that look of satisfaction. I love taking them to doctor visits and knowing that every ounce they have gained is because of me! Of course there is so much more to nursing for me.

With my oldest, I quit nursing after being told that it wasn’t satisfying her. Now I know better. That’s how all babies are in the beginning. Her first 2 years were filled with doctor appointments due to illness. With my second daughter, I nursed until I had to go back to work. Remarkably it was 2 weeks before she died. I knew that breastfeeding was a great way to reduce the risk of SIDS. So when my third daughter was born, I knew what I had to do. I nursed until she was 17 months. At that time we discovered that she had a milk allergy. Researching milk allergies led to the discovery that my oldest was also allergic to milk. Which led to a lot of stomach problems. With my pediatrician’s blessing and advice, I nurse as long as we can. The girls have all outgrown the allergy when they are 2. None of my other kids have had a quarter of the health problems as my oldest. I believe that’s from breastfeeding. I know that not all formula fed babies are sickly. I also know some breastfed babies will become sick. But I am a firm believer that breastfed babies are indeed healthier.

Another reason I love to breastfeed is that I am lazy and cheap. I am a stay at home mom with no income. There really is no reason I shouldn’t breastfeed. I can’t come up with any good reason why I should spend hundreds of dollars on formula when I have the best thing for free. Did I mention that I hate washing bottles? Then there is the process of actually making a bottle every time they are hungry. Instead I prefer to just pop out the boob and feed!

So there ya have it! Just some of the reasons I breastfeed! If you breastfeed, I’d love to hear your own reasonings?

I love getting outside! I love watching the kids jump on the trampoline, splash in the water and just about everything! What I hate is having to lug around a carseat that weighs 3 times what Myles does! But I need free hands! I need to be able read a book in the sun, reel the fish in that my husband isn’t catching, and snap pictures of the kids. Kind of hard when your holding the little one. But thanks to slings and carriers, I can do just that!

Over the years, I have tried an Over The Shoulder Baby Holder, Mei Tais, ring slings, Pouch slings, Beco Obi, and lately the Moby Wrap. I do love the Moby Wrap for when they are little. I am nervous to attempt the wrap when they are a bit older. I also got the Lillebaby Everywear Carrier from Scandinavian Child. I was so excited that I tried it immediately. I shared photos with 3 of our youngest children. You can see the pictures on my I am Everywear Challenge Post.

I keep this carrier in my van ALL THE TIME. It is easy to quickly put him in there. Which also makes it great during Softball season when we are running from one game to the next. I need something that I can kickly put on and take off. It’s also the perfect companion for walking. Kambree loves the stroller, so I put her in our stroller. I put Myles in our Everywear Carrier and we are off! With summertime here, I look forward to using our carrier a lot! I will be packing it for our trip to California and using it at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego.

Now tell me where you have been out and about? Do you carry your child? What is your favorite carrier?

I did receive my Everywear Carrier from Scandinavian Child. This post contains my own opinions.

This weekend I’m going to my first Mom’s Day Out since Turtle was born (over three months ago) and I have to confess: I’m nervous.

No, I’m not nervous about leaving my babe behind she will be in the capable hands of my husband.

What I’m so nervous about… is pumping.

Yup, a nearly 30 year old mother of two is nervous about pumping her boobs.

Me, who is so comfortable nursing and nursed her first child for 22 months, gets nervous at the thought of putting a nursing pump to her breasts.

Hell, I got nervous when I dug it out of storage.

And just looking at it, makes me want to throw my plans to see a movie with the girls out the window.

Why am I so frightened by a piece of plastic, you ask?

No clue.

With my first, I used that god-awful manual pump (it had to be manual, the electric one really scared the crap out of me), three times in the entire 22 months I nursed her.

I didn’t think I would use it with Turtle because it just freaked me out.

Maybe it reminds me too much of a cow. Maybe it seems unnatural to me. Maybe I’m just a little bit odd.

Maybe I just enjoy the skin to skin feeling breastfeeding brings me. The closeness, the contact, the beauty that my breastfeeding relationship brings me.

I can’t get that with a bottle.

I get that with my breasts and my baby.

And for now, that is going to have to be all I wrote and the pump… it’s going back in storage.