i've been researching baby food as of late. we've been contemplating making it. it's well... cheaper, and i like that i control what goes into it.
so then come the questions?
1) how do i do it?
2) how thin do i make it?
3) how do i know when to move to the next "stage", how do i make that work in my blender\food processor?
4) in what order do i introduce foods?
5) how much should he eat, when should he get it?
He seems to be eating more and more cereal. I call him my little bird, he eats and just keeps opening his mouth for me. Tonight, I made up one bowl, he scarfed it and kept wanting more, so I made more and he ate all of that as well. So.. that leads to the next question.. when does he get 2 bowls of cereal?
when should i introduce another grain?
what kind next?
what about water, juice?
our ped said he could have juice.. we haven't given it straight up because it seems crazy to me, but we do mix it in with his cereal...
so many questions, and from what i can delve off the fabuluous internet...
there doesn't seem to be a uniform answer, other than...
"each child develops at his\her own pace"
not.helpful.
the search continues....
5 comments:
yum, homemade baby food! It can be a bit intimidating to think about, but it's not really that hard. You can make it as simple or complex as you'd like to.
You usually just use fresh/frozen cooked fruits/veggies of your choosing and enough water to make it smooth. You can use either a blender or a food pro, whichever you prefer (I think it's easier to get it smooth in a food pro, but that's just my opinion).
As for how thin, stages, etc. Let Levi give you his direction. I usually made it only as thin as I needed to get it smooth and if I fed it to the baby and they needed it thinner I just added a bit more water/juice. If they wanted it thicker I added applesauce and/or some cereal.
I introduced Oatmeal after rice, and both my kids preferred it to the rice cereal. (They ate oatmeal and applesauce for breakfast for months. Lydia still asks for
"o-mee" every morning for breakfast. :)
Levi's pretty little, but if I recall correctly he's been doing a cereal feeding for awhile, so if you want go ahead and try doing it twice a day. If you're ready to introduce something other than cereal maybe you could make one feeding veggies/fruits and one cereal.
Above all else, go with your gut. You know Levi better than anyone else and as you're probably realizing about parenting already, for most things there's no right way and wrong way, just a lot of opinions that can make you feel that way sometimes.
Happy Baby-food creating!
wow...ok, ready for another book? Let's see if I can get through this before someone needs something.
First off, most things you can make. There are something, like carrots and spinage, you probably shouldn't because of nirtrates. These particular veggies might have it. I buy those in baby food.
Other than that, there are a lot of things you can make. I just figured out to use my blender, take the pitcher part off, and a narrow mouth canning jar fits on the top, kind of like those fancy bullet blenders...so wonderful! I have been making Elliot sweet potatoes, pop them in the microwave, cut up and peal, throw them in the canning jar, with some water, until it's smooth. As to how smooth, Liz is right, just let him guide you. If he can't get it down, just thin it.
With Forrest, I pumped for a while to get milk for his ceral...but then I moved to mixing it with prune juice because he had an issue with consitpation. You could also do that with carrot juice.
Things I rely on, sweet potoates, squash, peas, bananas, applesauce (if you buy it, don't buy the baby kind, get the unsweetend in a jar, or make your own unsweetened)green beans, avacado, soft tofu.
I tend to stay away from rice, just because it's the least nurtrianally dense...we do a lot of oatmeal, and barley. I think with Elliot I am going to try and make my own millet cerel for him.
As they get older, you can start to steam things, fruits, veggies and give them the pieces. Forrest loved beans, still does, and that is such a healthy thing!
A good book I use is Super Baby Food and then the book, Feeding the Whole Family.
Some people will freeze the baby food they made in ice cube trays. I feel like I want to keep as much of the good stuff in, and after you have cooked it, frozen it, and then thawed it again, I am not sure how much good stuff is left. I do make a batch that will last for a week or so.
As for when to introduce the next stuff, you are suppose to wait about 4 days between new stuff...just to make sure they don't react to it...and the nursing thing...if you are wanting to get him to a year, make sure you are nursing enough to keep your milk supply up.
Ok, no screaming yet! I did it I think!:)
we don't start solids until the baby is old enough to start showing interest and grabbing it off your plate. by that time, purees are usually unnecessary. i might mash some of our family dinner with a fork, if needed.
it's so much easier this way. i did purees with my first, and it got really old.
The only thing I have to add is giving Levi veggies before fruits. I noticed the girls ate veggies better if they hadn't had fruit yet. I think it's because fruit is sweeter. GL!
I AM BY NO MEANS AN EXPERT... that being said, we make all our own baby food.
Basically, I take fruits and veggies and puree them in my food processor and freeze the puree in ice cube trays (start with one ice cube per meal and then move up to two as he is eating more) to help with storage and portioning. We use fresh (steam/cook to make softer and easier to puree), canned (dump and puree), and frozen (cook and puree) fruits and veggies.
Applesauce and mashed bananas are a good first fruits - start with a tablespoon at a time, and carrots or sweet potatoes are good first veggies.
Once he's sitting on his own and using his tongue to move food around in his mouth, you can give him small pieces of bread, "meltable" crackers (like saltines, cheerios, etc - "melt" with saliva), and small pieces of banana.
We didn't really do meats with Jenny until she had teeth, but if you want to introduce meats (which we're doing with David), you can give him small pieces of cooked meats or deli meats (if you can use just your tongue to break up a piece of meat, it's OK for him to have) once he's used to "chewing" his food (he doesn't have to have teeth to chew).
We've been giving David table food for about a month now (started around 6.5-7mo) - just breaking it into bite sized pieces for him. You'll probably want to stay away from tomato-based foods for a bit, as they can cause upset stomachs, as well as garlic.
Hope my suggestions help! :)
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