STM-how did you feed your baby?

morgarita

It's early for this post I know but I'm curious now and it could be helpful for anyone starting their registry.

How did you feed your child? Did you buy premade food? Did you make it, how did you make it? What did you use to purée it? Did you prep food monthly, weekly,daily? Did you do baby led weaning, why did you choose that route? Helpful hints or suggestions? 

morgarita

I did baby led weaning with ds. Ds refused to take puréed and to this day will not eat applesauce or anything resembling puréed food. I would like to do the same unless baby won't eat that way then I need more ideas. I highly recommend baby led weaning, so if your unfamiliar please do a little research on it. 

AdaByron

Woah, I thought this was going to be about breastfeeding or formula. You're thinking way ahead!

I breastfed for a while, transitioned to formula, and then at 6 months started giving him random bits of other things in addition to formula. It wasn't exactly BLW, because we did purees as well. But in the beginning when the food is not their main source of nutrition, it's fun to get them to try stuff and just see what happens. 

I made my own purees, using BM, formula or rice/oatmeal powder to adjust the consistency. For freezing, I definitely recommend buying an ice cube tray specially designed for purees. It was SO much easier to use than a regular ice cube tray. But I think the Baby Bullet and other things like that are pointless. There's nothing wrong with an "adult" food processor to puree your baby food. I prepped one weekend and made a TON of frozen puree cubes, and then just here and there after that whenever I ran out of something, or came across something new to try.

AdaByron

I like the idea of BLW, but DH and I don't always have the healthiest dinners ourselves, so I liked having fruits and veggies ready (either purees or something like steamed peas or corn) for the days when we were having something I didn't feel good about giving to a tiny baby. On the days we were eating well, we would put a little of whatever we were having on his tray also.

morgarita

@AdaByron ha ha yeah over a year ahead I guess but I actually asked on another post to specific people and thought it would be good to hear more points of view. Blw actually pushed dh and I to eat healthier. 

plumpous

I EBF for 3 months and then added formula. At 4 months introduced purees. I mashed with a baby masher. It's like a tiny bowl and little mashing handle. So it's manual. Prepped on the spot. After she became a year old when we ran out of formula we started milk. She still eats solids. We gradually added foods and textures and salt and spices. Now she eats what we eat plus her own stuff like cheerios and yogurt. 
I followed her lead. She was interested in food early and not so into breastfeeding. I quit at 5 months. I personally couldn't do it anymore and she didn't mind. It took 2 weeks of slowly weaning and it was really natural and easy. 

Mrs.EmmaLouise

We started with oatmeal mixed with BM. Used some jar foods, but this was around the time when pouches were becoming more common and she liked those because she cold hold it herself. I never made my own baby food purees, but I had a fancy kit to do so- I just had limited access to fresh produce because of the time of year. Then mixed in cheerios, puffs, yogurt melts, ect as finger foods. 

I think this time because I live somewhere with easy access to good fresh produce I may try and make some of my own with the homemade pouch system. 

satsumasandlemons

Ebf for a year and then nursed morning and night till 16 mo (with water throughout the day after the first year) 

we introduced solids around 6 mo with puréed veggies. Skipped rice meal altogether because i knew she'd be fine with rice and wanted to start with veggies thinking it would set a foundation. Introduced baby led weaning type stuff with green beans, sweet potato slices, etc. we made everything but also liked having pouches around too. She's not as into veggies anymore, but there are still veggies we can count on: sweet potatoes, broccoli, green beans. We eat pretty healthy and make dinner every night anyways so hopefully for the next kid it'll be the same. 

oh and blueberries. She was a September baby so I was pregnant throughout spring and summer and are berries and other fresh fruit everyday - I never liked blueberries until I was pg with her and to this day at 5, I think she's had blueberries every single day. 

flipflopped

BF for about 15 months....by 12 it was only twice a day. Started purees at 6 months. Found that taking purees and making little drops on a baking sheet to freeze that I could serve almost straight from the freezer as BLW-ish was really successful. We skipped the rice cereal and baby oatmeal. We did regular oatmeal, but just pulsed oatmeal a few times to makes the bites smaller. Greek yogurt was a bit hit early on!! The thickness makes it easy for baby to self feed and doesn't have all the sugar of 'baby' yogurt. Cottage cheese was also popular early on since it can be spoon or hand eaten. Peanut butter early on was the real stuff that is just ground peanuts since we have no known allergy issues and wanted to prevent.

dancegurl1118

She got breastmilk until 16 months because I was psycho. From 4 months on it was exclusively from a bottle and pumping. 

Then at 8 months (I think) I started BLW and Gerber purrees (don't have time or care to make my own). She was really early with teeth and had a disorganized tongue movement which we had an SLP evaluate her for so she hated purrees, we just let her gnaw on fruits and veggies. She really wasn't eating for nutrition until after a year. 

She still has preferences now but textures are no longer an issue...she's obsessed with Chobani. 

Sidenote: she had a lip tie, buccal ties and posterior tongue tie all which we had lasered at 9 weeks and the tongue tie reattached thickly -- so that caused many of our feeding issues. 

yellow1daisy

I answered you on the "condescending things people say" before seeing this!

abmommy15

BF for 5 months then switched to formula due to low supply and a milk intolerance.  Once we moved to solids we started with cereal and homemade purées.  Stuck with that for about a month and then did a hybrid of BLW and purée.  If you decide to do homemade purée the key is a good food processor (or baby bullet) and make fairly large batches and freeze.  I used regular ice cube trays to freeze and then transferred to a freezer ziplock. Took me about 30 mins every week to make his food for the week once I got my system down.  

ladipale

BF exclusively for 6 months before adding solids. We did BLW. It was summer- her first food was watermelon and avocado. Bought only handful of baby food and purees. Just fed her what we were eating. This was my 2nd. For first I did purees- mostly homemade but I just didn't have time for that with 2nd. My 2nd was chomping on pizza and peanut butter sandos thanks to her sister and cousins by about 8 months. 

OperaSingerMommy

I breastfed for 1 year and then switched to cow's milk and water, started purees at 6 months (gerber packs and made my own with a Baby Bullet blender- I prepped once a week and stored in the fridge and freezer), and started finger foods like Cheerios at 10 months.

ETA- the Baby Bullet comes with fridge and freezer storage jars, worth it in my opinion!

The best thing we did was give DD a bottle of pumped milk every night at bedtime starting at a few weeks old.  DH did bedtime so that he could have some time with her after work while I pumped and relaxed in front of the tv.  This got DD used to a bottle early on and she didn't associate the boob with bedtime so we felt confident that she'd take a bottle from a babysitter if we went out.  I'm sure this wouldn't be the perfect solution for everyone but it worked for us.

splashmountain

I EBF for only 2 months then started adding in formula since the munchkin was underweight due to low milk supply. After 3 months he didn't want BM at all.

At 6 months we introduced baby cereal mixed with formula, he hated it. Then we moved on to Gerber pureed veggies and eventually started making my own. I just used a cheap Wal-Mart blender to puree the food, but this time I plan to register for a nice food processor.

Started with puffs and small fruits and veggies as finger food. It took a little bit to get  the hang of (he preferred to just be fed with a spoon) but we got there and now he's a "big boy" and won't let us help him eat at all. 

clio

I started BLW at around 6 months or so. To be honest, I started doing it out of laziness because it was much simpler just feeding her a variation of the meal we were eating rather than prepare something special. She loved it (most of her nutrition was still coming from BM) and it made our lives easier. It also helps having a pug eat the baby scraps off the floor.

SPurp13

We sort of did BLW...which I know is like...you either are or you aren't. We did the things cut into "finger shapes," but we also made and froze our own purees with the ice cube trays people mentioned. We made huge batches and froze them. I honestly miss those days, those were easy. Now we still freeze things, like mac 'n cheese with ham and beans, quinoa cups, quiches, pancakes, etc., but I just feel so bored with it. I need ideas for a toddler that I can make and freeze ahead of time. 

mslynn2012

Breastfed for a while (yay for Mickey Mouse clubhouse keeping DS entertained during that). Then made our own baby food. Was cost effective and I knew exactly what she was eating. That lasted about 3 months and then she started stealing our food from our tables. 

With DS it was the same, but he didn't eat table food as quickly as DD. 

chiquita928

I breastfed DS (and pumped) for 15 months.  After 10.5 months, the doctor told us to start introducing cow's milk.  So, after that his bottles/cups were whole milk, and he breastfed when I was with him (mainly just morning and night).  Stopped at 15 months (by then it was only at night) because his doctor said it was why he wouldn't sleep through the night.  She was right.  For solids, we started with jars at 4 months, but slowly.  At about 6 months, I was using some jars and some of my own purees.  I'm one of those coupon people, so I did what was cheap/free.  He also really liked the pouches, because he could hold them.  By a year he would have the pouches as a snack, but pretty much ate what we ate, just cut up small.

ETA: I had the Babies 'R Us version of the baby bullet.  It died, and I used my regular blender.  Eventually I just mashed everything with a fork, because textures are good, too.

alcrimmins

We started with rice and oatmeal mixed with formula. Then moved to purées that I made. I always had a variety of fruits and veggies in the freezer so only made more when I was low. I used an immersion blender to puree everything. Baby bullet not necessary. I bought these silicone trays on Amazon to freeze the purees. I think I had 3. Dd didn't start eating purees until 6 months but started rice/oatmeal around 5-5.5 months. Closer to 8-9 months we started giving small bits of finger foods. Whenever dd stayed at grandmas I would buy Gerber purees to send along. She refused them at home. 

Side note: some of the fruits (pears etc) I would buy canned and purée from there. I studied a lot of cans before deciding on which one to buy. It seems really confusing at first, but you know what to do. Trust your instinct. 

Pic is of the freezer trays I bought on Amazon.

born2runrn

Breastfed exclusively until 6 months and then introduced purees in addition. We started with avocado mixed with breastmilk and then banana and sweet potato. I made all of his food and made big batches and froze in ice cube trays. Super easy to defrost. I had a masher to make puréed avocado fresh. I just used my food processor to make everything else. I puréed chicken, all veggies, gave him little bits of scrambled egg. Eventually we moved to little pieces. He is a very good eater now at 18 months. His favorites are salmon, hard boiled egg and avocado (still). We haven't yet given grains, going to hold off until he's two. I will do the same with this next one since this worked so well with him and he's not picky at all (yet). 

WeddingNotes13

Once starting solids, we did some of all of it. At home we mostly did BLW. GMA watched him during the day and thought that was nuts, so I sent purees to make her more comfortable. I made many of our purees with a regular blender, but also used purchased baby food. LO had several dietary limitations, so I couldn't count on being able to find food for him at most restaurants or family meals. Since the jars are sealed, I kept a few in the diaper bag as backups. 

mrscate88

Breastfed for 14 months, started BLW around 7 months, mixed with occasional purées. Now the kid has the best appetite in the world, and she pretty much eats what we eat. I never made baby food for her since we went the BLW route. And I don't have any interest in buying the steamers, blenders, ice cube trays etc. I hope to do the same with this baby! 

cssme13

Breastfed for 8 months and then did baby led weaning because I had no desire to make her special food. She's a champion eater now and is not picky one bit, except for green beans, she'll find those suckers even when I hide them in her food it's truly amazing. 

With my son we breastfed for 3 months then did baby food starting with rice cereal. It was a pain to make dinner and then have to turn around and make his and then feed it to him. With my daughter it was much easier to put it on her tray and let her go.

edit: because I legitimately forgot I had two children, it's been a long week.

ACharnelle

We breastfed until 6 months, but with pumped milk (that sucked but I was glad I had prepared and had bottles on hand.) We used tommy tippy bottles, warmer, the whole system. After 6 months we started homemade baby food. At first I used the baby bullet but I eventually made the motor burn out, so now I used my nutribullet and it's just as good. We freeze some things in sillicone ice cube trays, but once he got older I froze ready-to-go meals in 4 and 6 ounce glass jars. Good luck mom, you'll fall into your groove! 

virginiaunicorn11

Breastfed til 6 months, and at 18 months he still nurses once before bed and once at ~5:00 am. At 6 months we started purees (store bought), as well as Cream of Wheat with breast milk. Also mixed in some BLW real foods. My parents watched him during the day and started giving him all kinds of things at 6.5 months... which made me mad at first but now I'm super grateful. 

They helped me not stress or overthink baby food. He would eat a jar of purée and hamburger pieces and Cheerios in the same meal. I think true BLW says not to mix purees and solids, but my kid never had an issue with it. 

We introduced peanut butter early and didn't hold back on the number of new foods at once. We only didn't give honey or cow milk til 12 months. And he nursed so often through a year that I didn't worry much about nutrition (though I was very strict about sugar until ~15 months and then chilled a bit).