solids and the 5 month old

I'd feed him as much as he takes. Maya was a piggie baby, I made most of her baby food at home but to get an idea how much she would eat by 6 months she would eat a large tin of meat and vege baby food followed by a smaller tin of fruit. If I had offered her any more she would have gobbled it. We have a hard case video of me feeding her and if I was too slow with the spoon she would open her mouth and make a dive for it!

We only used the tinned food when we were out, mainly because with all her allergies Maya was quite restricted to what tinned foods she could have.

not all kids know when they have had enough, are you making sure he has a milk feed first, cause that is still important till about 9 mths.   

and dont forget what you put in is going to come back out, so easy does it at first might be a good idea.

also a fist sized portion (of the person who is eating it) applies to kids and adults alike.

i wouldnt push the water if hes having solids and milk then he should be getting his water that way.Harmony has been on solids for a month now too.she isnt keen on water yet but amnot fussed if she dont want it yet.will try again when summers well and trueloy here

Paris took to solids really well - and would eat about half a plate - one of those kiddie size bowls - full of food after a big feed. by the time she was 5 months she was having 2 - 3 solid meals a day, and she loved it. she wasn't too fussed on the water either - but i gave her an avent cup with handles and would leave it down where she could reach it once she was old enough to move around, or i would wait till she was playing and then she would be so engrossed in what she was doing she would have a few sips when i offered - but that was when she was a bit older. now i just leave a sipper bottle down low and she has learnt to go back and forth all day and drinks as much as she likes - she mainly only has the offer of water or milk.

Ayja - i have tried her a few times with solids and she isn't interested, am gonna try her again this week and try to increase the amount she has and make it a regular thing - seems funny that by now paris was having so much or a huge variety of foods - and ayja is only just setting out - i have even forgotten what i should introduce and when - so had to stick the guide on the frige!

I can sympathise with you about bubs crying for daddy. When i was on placement Ayja was a bit of a terror for Mike. She didn't like the bottle and alot of the time she wouldn't sleep, and would just scream cos she was hungry and he gets stressed pretty quick - the first 2 nights when i came home he was near breakdown. the next 3 nights were great, she slept well and drank too.   but when i got called in at a moments notice to attend a birth it was first thing in the morning i had nothing ready for ayja, and she screamed all day - he rung me up and i could hear her screaming in the background.. thing was - i couldn't leave no matter how much i wanted to.

so, i've been trying to get him to spend time with her when she's happy and fed, and when he's not stressed so that she gets used to him, and he can see that she doesn't "hate him" like he thinks she does sometimes. I can only hope my next placement she behaves for him, lol. but since i am on mornings for 2 of those weeks he will only have to look after her for 1 week of nights. sometimes they just need to suck it up and figure out that if they take the time to get to know their kid and spend time with them then baby will respond better to them.. babies bond with adults through learning trust, and at this age - they learn to trust the person that does things for them and meets their needs - so if your hubby can take over and play an active part in normal routines whenever possible (no matter how much "work" that might seem to be) then jacob will learn to trust him and they'll bond a bit better - from there everything just progresses so much easier.

i made a rule in our house when gabriel was younger, dad has to bath him and get him ready for bed and read a story... now my hubby says that bath time relaxes him too...oh and in the summer he would take him out to water the garden with him so he can combine both.

Yeah since day 1 David has bathed Arna and I have done pretty much everything else!!
On his weekends off it is also my time to go out with my friends without Arna and for him to spend time with her. When she was real little David didn't do much with her (played with her when I was around) but now its great.

Think the males need them to be a bit independant before they are comfortable with them.

Hope the solids go well!

Thanks so much for your advice, ladies, in regards to my deilemas! So far, the solids thing is going ok (not too keen on the smelly, smelly poos, though!lol!) Jake is starting to let me know when he has had enough. As for the other problem, I think it will be a long battle!

Me too, or I think I will go CRAZY!