I’m hoping that someday, a new mom who is as lost as I feel will stumble upon this blog and think, “Okay, she’s figuring things out, and reading this helps me figure things out too.”

Because I tell you, there are so many different schools of thought when it comes to raising kids. And everyone is convinced they are right.

Period.

So when my pediatrician told me I needed to start solid foods, I panicked. Ginny was barely over 5 months old at the time. I thought I had at least a couple of weeks before I had to add that to my plate (hehehe…get it?).

Here’s the thing: starting solids was a God-send. Seriously. What a stress relief to no longer be the only source of nourishment for another human being. It’s a little more work, yes, but at least I physically see the food go into her mouth and I don’t have to worry whether or not she’s getting the right amount.

I am in control! Yes!

My friend Kristina, who is my wonderfully supportive baby guru, suggested I start with one new kind of food a week. That way, if Ginny is allergic or has a negative reaction to anything, I know exactly what caused it.

My pediatrician suggested rice cereal mixed with breast milk, so that’s where we started. Ginny took to it right away, probably because of the breast milk.

But I soon found that trying to keep an ample supply of the breast milk for rice cereal kind of defeated the whole de-stressing thing. I asked my mom and she said she always used nursery water. That’s doing the trick quite nicely. Rice cereal mid-morning…check.

Then we tried green beans for a late afternoon meal. I’ve been using the Gerber canned green beans simply because I wasn’t ready to start making my own baby food when we started solids. I’ve since made some of my own baby food (getting to that) but it’s nice having something stocked in the pantry that you don’t need to thaw or mix or smash. Again, de-stressing.

Since the goal of all of this is to fatten up my skinny little baby (ironic, no?), I next mashed up an avocado and gave it to Ginny straight. For me, this was the perfect transition into making my own baby foods because it wasn’t at all complicated. And, I knew a whole lot of healthy fat would be great for her. Too bad avocado doesn’t stick to her hips the way it sticks to mine…

Our latest adventure was mashed potatoes with a little butter and salt. That was a suggestion from my pediatrician, but it really surprised me. The stuff I’ve read doesn’t suggest adding flavor enhancers at all. But then again, we are trying to fatten this baby up, so I went with it.

I made a huge batch of mashed potatoes in my KitchenAid mixer, and used my cute little Baby Bullet containers to freeze almost all of it. Thomas made fun of me for falling for the Baby Bullet marketing, but seriously, these little jars are so darn cute!

Ginny seemed to like the potatoes, but I somehow got the impression they made her thirsty…probably because of the salt. I gave her a bottle of nursery water mid-feeding and she guzzled it down with glee.

Next up…I think I’ll try the actual Baby Bullet blender and make green peas. I figure that’s a healthy starch and will stick to her a little more than other non-starchy veggies.

In case you’re wondering, I’m still breastfeeding. I just get to go a little longer between nursing times, which allows my body to stock up a little. That’s good, because Ginny was nursing constantly. Now I actually get three hours in between (which, by the way, is the norm for most people from the get go).

Now if only I could get Ginny to stop putting her hand in her mouth while I’m trying to get a spoon in there, I’d be golden.