Hollie did a GREAT job giving info about making baby food. But, I have to confess that we probably made maybe half of Will's baby food in the time that he ate pureed foods. Here are some things that we did do and the reason's why:
1. Purchased only Beechnut brand cereals. These do NOT contain soy products, unlike Gerber or other brands. Soy is definitely something I try to avoid. There are other organic brands like Earth's Best that are probably ok too. But they don't carry this brand at the store I frequent. We also didn't really use much rice cereal, instead using more oatmeal, mixed grains or brown rice. He liked them better than plain rice cereal anyways!
2. Used some frozen organic veggies (or non organic) when making pureed food. Very easy to do and sometimes cheaper than buying fresh organic, especially when the food is not in season! Big time saver, yet still better than most jarred foods.
3. Did not purchase jarred applesauce once he would tolerate the regular stuff. What a waste of money! We just used regular, unsweetened applesauce in the jar and he loved it!
4. Used the following website (thanks to my sister-in-law) as a guide to get creative in making foods for Will.
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
This was especially great when we found ourselves still having to puree his food at 12+ months. As mentioned in previous posts (or was it a comment?), Will went to a speech therapist for about 3 months for feeding therapy. He had some issues chewing and swallowing food once we tried to move to table foods. (Most likely due to his prematurity and reflux.) While he "learned" how to do this, we were instructed to do purees to prevent choking and ensure he was getting all the nutrients necessary.
During this time, I pureed a lot of things including combination dinners to give him a variety of tastes. He really liked green peas and macaroni (Annie's of course) combined. Even though I forgot to cook the peas!!! Oops!
5. We started rice cereal around 5 months and veggies around 6 months. I probably could have waited longer and probably will next time around! There is truly no need to rush solid foods.
We are now entering a new phase of eating with a toddler. The one thing that I've held in the back of my mind is something I heard on Klove (the Christian radio station) and it was a blurb by James Dobson. All I remember is that he said mealtimes should not be a battle. We're currently working through ways to prevent this as Will becomes a typical picky eater. Overall, he is still a great eater but we have our days! We have tried to do things like limit snacking so he eats better meals. This has helped a lot, even though he previously only got one snack after his afternoon nap.
The wholesome baby food website also has a toddler version too. We have started to use this and it is a GREAT guide. Not only does it give lots of nutritional info - but it reassures me that all of the things we are going through with Will are normal!
www.wholesometoddlerfood.com
3 comments:
I just wanted to say thanks; I had no idea the gerber brands had soy products in it. Also, your websites were very helpful!
This is a question for anybody out there. We are wanting to switch to having Noah feed himself, but I'm not sure how/when to make the switch. He's almost 11 months (wow, time flies!). He has his pincher and is pretty adept with it. I just want to ensure that he gets enough food and the right nutrition. So, what did all of you guys do and is there a book or website out there to help with this transition?
Thanks!
Mary
Mary,
Have you given him crunchy finger foods yet? Like cheerios? When we saw the speech therapist, she explained to us the normal progression kids follow as they master each type of food. I just pulled the handout she gave us and here is a summary:
1. Purees first, around 6 months.
2. Dissolvable crunchy (cherrios, grahams, etc.) around 7-9 months
3. Puree with texture (stage 3 jars or oatmeal like consistency) around 7-9 months
4. Soft chewables (waffles, toast)
9-12 months
5. Soft solids (cheese, soft cooked veggies, bananas, scrambled eggs, beans) around 9-12 months
The reason soft solids are last is because these are easily swallowed whole, just slipping right down. Swallowing without chewing is not only a choking hazard, but doesn't allow the baby to get all the nutrients from the food once it reaches the stomach/intestines. Until a baby is showing consistent chewing, the therapist did not recomment the soft solids. Will STILL has trouble chewing these foods and I often find whole pieces in the diaper (sorry - gross!!!)
She gave us SO MANY tricks to transition between these stages. Give me a call if you want some more details or I can give you a copy of the handout when we get back to school (ugh!)...but if he is working on (or mastered) his pincer grasp, I'd say he's ready!
Also - I remember worrying about Will getting enough once we moved to all finger foods. I still wonder sometimes...but our sign language has really helped Will tell me when he wants more or is "all done." He always seems completely satisfied!
Good luck!
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