| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 07:30:42 AM
Violet will be 18 weeks old on Friday, and we've started giving her organic rice cereal at night with her last feeding, but I'm thinking that in between 5 and 6 months, I'd like to start her on something a little more substantial, along with her formula.
Has anyone made their own babyfoods? I have a food mill and a blender, so I don't think it will be that big of a deal, and I also have ice cube trays...a few questions, though:
What's the average feeding portion?
Besides bananas, applesauce and sweet potatoes, what are other good 1st foods?
No seasoning, right?
I would really like some detailed info, if you please. I'm an "overthinker" if it's not spelled out for me  !!!
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Lynner |
Posted - Aug 07 2009 : 10:11:21 AM
My daughters are 29 and 31 and they survived all the food I cooked and ground up to feed them. I believe it was a good thing to do, and so glad I could. Applesauce, bananas, pears, chicken, green beans, peas, you can do so many things. I just made sure everything was cooked well. Enjoy your own baby food grinder, people dont use them much anymore. Good for you.
Sheri
Many Hands Make Light Work!
...God made the seed to grow...1 Cor 3:6
The best fertilizer for a farm, are the farmers footsteps... |
| JustAnAllAmericanGirl |
Posted - Aug 07 2009 : 07:20:06 AM
I made all my own baby food for my son - he love squash. Annable Karmel has some great books out on this subject, check you're local library they probably have some or all of them. Some titles include Top 100 Baby Purees, First Meals and New Complete Baby & Toddler and me. I used her books and they were very helpful. Good luck!
www.JustAnAllAmericanGirl.blogspot.com |
| Amy Warwick |
Posted - Jul 22 2009 : 07:23:58 AM
I made my own baby food. It was great. I never understood what was so great about baby food from the store and knew I could do it better. My husband bought me that book Baby Let's Eat as well, I think. It was great. Not at all time consuming and I thought it was very healthy and a lot more inexpensive.
Amy
For information on SUMMER SNOW please visit www.amywarwick.com
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it ~Aristotle
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| babysmama |
Posted - Jul 03 2009 : 3:38:19 PM
I found the book but it's not the one I thought it is. Instead, it is titled "Baby Let's Eat!" and says "How to feed your baby like the rest of the family. One hundred easy recipes for wholesome meals and snacks you can all enjoy together. With complete nutritional guidelines for children aged 6 months to 3 years." If you want it, Jonni, it's yours, just e-mail your address to me. Maybe it is similar to the other book mentioned?
-Elizabeth |
| lara916 |
Posted - Jul 02 2009 : 8:39:10 PM
I used to make my own baby food! Have you read the book Super Baby Food? I can't recall who wrote it but it's great. Dr. Sears says that with babyfood roughly one tablespoon per year old of the child is how much they will eat at a sitting. My first ate this way, but my second was able to eat almost as much as my five year old by two years of age. Good first foods are Avocado (unless there are latex allergies in the family) & sweet potato. We didn't do rice cereal, but I fed both my girls oatmeal from the start, also I have never done bananas as they constipated my girls (and still do). Hmm.. I'll see if I can come up with anything else!
Lara #327
"Boots" Becker Homestead Farmgirls |
| babysmama |
Posted - Jul 01 2009 : 4:53:50 PM
Okay Jonni, I have it packed away in the garage sale boxes, which I should start pricing next week so I will mail it out when I uncover it. No need to pay anything for it, shipping shouldn't be too much and it's not in the greatest condition (I got it from a mother who used it a lot and you can tell! lol). But you should be able to get a lot of baby food, and then later toddler, recipes out of it! I'll e-mail you soon for your address and let you know when I mail it.
-Elizabeth |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Jul 01 2009 : 1:52:52 PM
Hey Elizabeth, I would love a copy of Feed Me I'm Yours, if you can spare it. I'd be glad to pay for shipping or whatever.
From what I can gather, it all depends on what Pediatrician you go to...my friend's ped told her to start cereal at 4 mos, mine says not until 6. Who knows????
Thanks...and thanks to all for the information. Very helpful!!!
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| babysmama |
Posted - Jul 01 2009 : 1:34:44 PM
For my first I gave her a little rice cereal at about 4 1/2 months old, only about twice a week really. Second baby didn't get any food until his six month birthday, and third didn't get anything until he was seven months old. All were exclusly breastfed so don't know if it is different with bottlefed but I have read there is no "reason" to feed a baby solids until six months unless formula doesn't seem to satisfy them and they are hungry all the time. I think now doctors do not recommend you put it in their bottle, though I'm not quite sure why. It's a big no-no in the evenings or night time when they have teeth, something about tooth decay. Sorry I'm no help there as I didn't use bottles and skipped that info in articles and books. Do what feels natural to you, mothers 100 years ago never consulted books and everyone who had an opinion. You know your daughter and what she needs.
-Elizabeth |
| babysmama |
Posted - Jul 01 2009 : 1:29:31 PM
I think I have a copy of that book "Feed Me, I'm Yours". I was going to put it in my garage sale for 25 cents since it is beat up and a bit wrinkled. If it sounds like something you want, Jonni, let me know and I'll mail it to you free.
-Elizabeth |
| windypines |
Posted - Jul 01 2009 : 11:15:16 AM
I used the baby food grinder as well. Great item. I had found a book, Feed Me I'm Yours. That had lots of suggestions, and recipes. I used to freeze a plop at first. A plop off the spoon! Freeze on a cookie sheet, and then bag up in freezer bags. I think I stated with cereal at 6 weeks, and then went from there.
Michele |
| 4forMe |
Posted - Jul 01 2009 : 09:36:58 AM
My kids didn't drink from bottles (they were breastfed), so my advice may not be helpful. Mine were never ready for food until about 7 1/2-9 months. I would start them with some cereal mixed with breastmilk and then move onto (I had a little food mill) mashed squash, mashed applesauce and mashed bananas. Then they ate table food that I would put throught my little food mill or food processor. I didn't buy jar baby food. I think it worked out well for us. None of my kids have any food allergies and they all eat pretty healthy (would rather eat fresh fruit and veggies than chips and junk).
Before I fed my babies mashed food, my requirements were that they had to be able to sit up on their own, have the pincher grasp and reaching for the food or grabbing my spoon that I am eating while sitting in my lap. If they did these things than they were ready to eat.
Sewing, knitting, gardening mom of 4. |
| gramadinah |
Posted - Jul 01 2009 : 08:27:39 AM
I never put anything in a bottle except formula. I started both my kids a different ages one about 4 months and one at 6 they are so totally different people so the eat more at different times.
My clue was they were sleeping though the night and then just wern't. They wanted a bottle in the night so I then started the cereal at night and got over that.
Then it wasn't to long until they were eating a breakfest lunch and dinner.
Diana
Farmgirl Sister #273 |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Jul 01 2009 : 07:43:53 AM
And when did you all start this for your little ones? What age?
We got into an argument this morning because the pediatrician didn't think she needed cereal unless she was starving because all was in line. AND, my mil made a comment to dh a few weeks ago as to "why we were giving her cereal (1 tblsp) in a bottle anyway, it was "lazy" to not teach her how to eat with a spoon"  ....um...I'd like to know a) why this is the first I've heard of this from her and b) why she didn't say it to me in the firstplace?
He said he thinks, based on the pediatrician's comments that we're "pushing it" and shouldn't start her on anything until 6 months of age (which, incidentally, is mid August!)
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| Roxy7 |
Posted - Jul 01 2009 : 07:38:49 AM
We started on cereal and then introduced sweet potatoes. DS LOVED them. If you use ice cube trays, and ice cube trays can vary in size, start with, one cube for a meal with cereal. As her appetite increases you can add another.
I used a mini food processor and it worked really well. And it was only a small bowl to wash up. |
| babysmama |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 4:52:09 PM
I was much like Ingrid. I started the kids on rice or oatmeal cereal and fed a couple jars of baby food but they never got into it. So I basically fed all three table foods, from my own plate, during meal times. Mashed potatoes with no seasoning, tiny pieces of peas, green beans, carrots, and so forth. They all LOVED table food and were never picky. Now at ages 1, 4 and 5 they are all pretty good eaters.
-Elizabeth |
| Ingrid |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 1:43:58 PM
I'm afraid I wasn't as careful but it worked well. My babies ate whatever we had on the table. I watched the stuff that would make them gassy and didn't add butters and sauces to their food but I just mashed the food up and fed it to them. None of my three are allergic to any food and they pretty much eat anything.
Give thanks to yourself everyday for all the wonderful things you do! |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 12:48:18 PM
I did. My babies ate whatever we had, minus the seasoning. I had a little hand grinder for baby foods (bought used) at first, but by the time they were 8 months old I would just mash things up with a fork. I would say at first 3 oz of an item..but I always fed two items at a feeding..not just one. Mine loved yogurt and regular hot cereals too by the time they were 9 months old. I did start them on rice baby cereal, but moved on quickly. Mine adored sweet potatoes, not so keen on green beans..so I would alternate spoonfuls. Or like spinach alternated with applesauce. Apricots were a big hit too. You will do fine if you stick to healthy foods.
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
| gramadinah |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 12:44:57 PM
1 pound of spinach or a large bag will cook and puree down to about 1 Tablespoon. I could put a drop of it in anything and know she got her iron for the day. I really think that the making of your daughters food will really be a benifit I made all the 1st child and then had to work and blablabla and so I relied on Gerbers for the youngest and she to this day won't eat hardley anything So yes anything you can do for her will really benifit her in more ways than one and the cost of Baby Food is outragous. But you do have to remember that the more solid food she gets it will take her tummy time to figure it out.
Yea for Violet she has such a good Mommy.
Diana
Farmgirl Sister #273 |
| mikesgirl |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 11:42:45 AM
It's been a long time ago, but I remember this so clearly! I started my kids on rice cereal, then added bananas, then squash, applesauce, carrots, sweet potatoes. Simple fruit and orange vegetables I guess. By the time they worked through these, they were ready to eat some table foods, mashed. I never did feed my kids pureed meats although I know they are available as baby food. I got my info from my doc at the time although nothing has evolved and changed as much as baby advice in the past 30 years!! worked for me though - all my kids were healthy.
Farmgirl Sister #98
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| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 11:38:35 AM
Thanks so much, girls. We went for Vi's 4 month appointment last night and she's 12 lbs 12 oz, and 25.5 inches long! She is doing really well on her formula and cereal at night, but she does want to eat more frequently now. The doc asked me if I'd upped her ounces but she's still at 6. Seems like when she does do more, she spits up--at 6, she doesn't at all.
But, I do feel like I should give her a little something more...Do you recommend starting savory or sweet (squash vs. bananas)...
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| SheilaC |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 11:08:39 AM
We pretty much "made" all our kiddos' baby foods--two were started on butternut squash and the other on trout. Look at La Leche League info for info on feeding your baby solids:) |
| mikesgirl |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 08:53:23 AM
Here's one, availabe on half.com now for $3.50
http://product.half.ebay.com/Homemade-Baby-Food-Pure-and-Simple_W0QQtgZinfoQQprZ1737197
Farmgirl Sister #98
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| mikesgirl |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 08:49:56 AM
Ditto here - my kids were 70s and 80s kids and I made all their own baby food. My husband's co-workers bought us a blender as a baby gift, but I really preferred my little food mill. And just like Rene and Heather said, try simple one-item foods at first, and add things one at a time so you can see if she's allergic to anything.
There are some great make your own baby food books out there. I'll think about it and see if I remember any of them and post them.
Farmgirl Sister #98
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| catscharm74 |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 08:13:55 AM
Anything you can steam and blend works. Like Rene said, 1 food a week. No seasonings, not even salt or pepper. As she gets older, you can make it a little more chunky. Once Charlie was not allergice to apples, I used that to sweeten things.
Heather
Yee-Haw, I am a cowgirl!!!
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| Contrary Wife |
Posted - Jun 30 2009 : 08:11:43 AM
I did! Back in the 70' and 80's. Easy peasy, much better for them because you know what they are eating. One of the few things I used a blender for. Or just mashed, etc.
Teresa Sue
Farmgirl Sister #316
Planting Zone 4
"Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly." The Dalai Lama |
