Baby Food

lisap0924 · November 2014

I know it may be a bit early for this subject but I'm curious if anyone has any experience with it. STM's?

any FTM's thinking about trying it out?

My H and I are thinking about it. We are looking into the pro's and con's The only real con we have come up with is that it could be time consuming, but we both agree homemade food is probably better for our son.

What do you think?

Clobert · November 2014

I'm a ftm and I would also like to make our own baby food. I've come across some info on baby led solids which skips the purées and let's them eat foods that they're ready for with their hands. I haven't researched it enough yet, but for now I'm holding off on buying too many supplies for making/storing purées. I'd love to follow this thread if anyone has advice.

AlinnJo · November 2014

We did Baby Led Weaning. I highly recommend it. I have never had to spoon feed my LO. That part has been wonderful! She is still a good eater and loves food. Google baby led weaning and you'll get all sorts of info. There are also a few good books on the subject. We plan to do the same thing with #2.

starsailorr26 · November 2014

We did purees for a very short time before we decided to try baby led weaning. Never made our own baby food though. Once we switched we never looked back and will be doing the same with this baby.

lynndavid6912 · November 2014

Another vote for baby-led weaning. It was amazing and easy.

drudolph11 · November 2014

Yup my SO are totally set on this because of how much we love and use our Nutribullet. We are planning on getting the Baby Bullet

https://www.babybullet.com/store/orderindex

Now i was also given a really really good idea for making your own food a little while ago on a thread and can't remember who said it but it is what we are planning on doing.

After you make the food in whatever you choose to make it in you then pour the food into standard size ice cube trays. After the food is frozen completly you can pop out the individual cubes which are one serving and store them together in freezer bags then when it comes to meal time you just take out a cube and heat it up and voilà... meal time for baby! Were pretty excited to try it! The person who suggested this said that using this method she only has to take a few hours once a week to actually make and prepare the food and trays for that week

drudolph11 · November 2014

@RQuinlin‌ well thank you then! We are so excited to try it out

I'm pretty excited to purchase the Baby Bullet too it's so darn cute! Hehe

JenLa21 · November 2014

I made all of my sons early puréed foods. It's wasn't hard or too time consuming, and I am the laziest personal alive. I loved giving him fresh clean foods. Once he was old enough, I would purée or mash or chop up whatever we were eating to really expand his diet. He loved eating real foods. I always had some jars or pouches on hand though for on the go.

PHNJenna · November 2014

I am a FTM and plan on baby led weaning method, although I also am going to apply for WIC during my maternity leave (my job allows almost 8 mo. unpaid leave) and I know they offer regular and organic baby foods after 6 months. Basically I don't ever plan on having to purchase out of pocket baby foods.

neko621 · November 2014

I made all of my twins' baby food. I used a Beaba Babycook. I would freeze it in ice cube trays and then throw it in Ziploc bags. It wasn't a big deal at all and I plan on doing the same thing this time around. I thought this website was really helpful when starting solids: https://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com

Whitfry · November 2014

We will be doing BLW. Some of the store bought stuff terrifies me - like the puréed meat. I gag thinking about it. I'm part if a BFing group on fb that promotes it, and I've learned a lot. For me it's the most appealing and sensible choice.

TwinsCitiesMomma · November 2014

I also plan on homemade baby puréed food but now am interested in this baby led weaning. Never heard of it before but I'm going to google it tonight.

Speaking of food- I am hungry and can't wait for dinner. I just baked an apple pie and making mashed potatoes to go with roast chicken. I wonder if I'd be able to just throw chicken and potatoes into bullet and make that baby food in the future?

CrystalTrues · November 2014

We did both store bought and homemade baby food. (for us) Some food just didn't seem worth making ourselves such as applesauce. And other foods were awful and DS wouldn't eat unless it was homemade, like peas. His favorite homemade foods were peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes (he still love sweet potatoes at almost 4 years old).

We used a steamer basket/insert to stream our cook the food on the stove. Then pureed it in a blender, or food processor; my mom had an immersion blender and that was even easier. We stored some in the fridge but most in the freezer. It took part of an afternoon to make, we would do it while he napped on the weekend.

lisap0924 · November 2014

Thanks everyone! I am eager to learn more about this BLW! I just did a quick google search and I am intrigued!

drudolph11 · November 2014

I am pretty intrigued with BLW now because of this thread and that is why I love The Bump, I would never have known half the shit I do now if not for TB! What is funny is since I started reading the replies to this thread it made me think back to when I was a waitress and remember one family in particular who had a pretty young baby. When they came in they always ordered something off the menu for the baby, usually scrambled eggs, and then also gave him food from their plates. Now me, in my naïve childless mind, remembers always thinking this was odd. Not that I thought of them as bad parents for giving their child "grown up food" but with my limited experience I guess I just thought that all babies ONLY ate the jared baby food from the market lol. It all makes sense now hahaha This really wasn't that long ago now, like the beginning of this year lol Man oh man do I still have A LOT to learn its sorta freaking me out and seems a little overwhelming at the moment lol :-/ oh boy...good luck everyone!!

jess412love · November 2014

I can admit my son had all store bought baby food. X_X

tatilopez · November 2014

I'm a FTM definitely choosing to make my sons food. Like a mom mentioned I ordered the beaba baby cook machine it has a lot of good reviews. But I'm definitely going to be spending how ever long it may take to ensure that I know what exactly my son will be consuming. And it will be eventful to make his food.

Bostonchelle · November 2014

I made all of my daughters. It's really easy as others have mentioned you can do it once a week and freeze it. I really liked the book Sage Spoonfuls- it had ideas for different combinations and goes over when to introduce certain foods and has really interesting spice suggestions. I mostly steamed or roasted and then puréed in big batches.

Biscotto · November 2014

Pureed baby foods gross me out, I hope to use BLW and have sucess with it like the other mothers here. As others have said, there's plenty of books on it, check them out.

nannabee21 · November 2014

I always just thought I'd make my own baby food but after reading this thread I will check into baby led weaning. A girl I work with did it with her son but she is weird so I just associated it in my mind as being weird. Haha. Seems I misjudged her!

okayestmom12 · November 2014

I made all of DD's purées and loved doing it. Being able to experiment with different flavors combos, textures, and spices (one of her favorites was chicken, peas, quinoa, and roasted garlic) was fun. As a toddler now she's far less picky than others we know and will try anything and everything - I'd like to credit that to our success with homemade food

We did a modified BLW too (because if using purées, that goes "against" traditional BLW) and we had more success with the purées... But as you know, each kiddo is different.

I wrote a few blog posts about our experience so if you'd like to see them, let me know and I'd be happy to share.

okayestmom12 · November 2014

Can I also add that there is no reason to spend as all fortune on fancy equipment? You can do it all with a baking sheet, pot, steamer basket, and blender (I preferred the immersion blender). Then we did the ice cube freezing method (it produces 1 oz cubes) and into labeled ziploc bags when they were done freezing. Easy stuff.

meowkitten · November 2014

This thread is great! DH and I were talking yesterday while making dinner about how we want LO to be as excited about food as we are. He mentioned that he has never understood the whole pureed baby food and wondered why we couldn't just give her the food that we eat and steam it or cut it into smaller chunks...then I popped on here and saw this! I didn't even know there was a term for it, haha. Now I'm Googling BLW like mad for more information. Thank you guys!

mangomimosa · November 2014

I promise I will Google. But anyone have a favorite BLW resource??

rm2013 · November 2014

I also second Baby Led Weaning. We waited until 6 months to start solid food, never gave DD purée or cereal before then. We had to fight with our daycare about it until I showed them a video of her demolishing a whole broccoli crown (this was about a month or two into BLW)

I found it super easy. For books save your money and don't buy the BLW book, just buy the BLW Cookbook. It covers all the basics in the book and then has the recipes. The recipes are meant for the whole family to eat so you only have to cook once. You can also cook regular food but you must be careful to take out the salt. We started off the bat really simple with plain avocado, baked sweet potato, and steamed zucchini, then expanded quickly to other foods.

DH and I fought badly over BLW but I eventually won out. He was terrified of DD choking and was very angry with me when watching her eat. Just a warning be prepared your baby will gag sometimes, but they are learning how to move the food around and not choke, it's a good thing. Of course keep an eye out for real choking! For daycare I would ony send foods that we were 100% sure she could handle since obviously they can't watch her as closely as we could.

Whether you go with BLW or baby food - Regarding allergies, I'm allergic to about a dozen foods and went to my allergist for a consult for DD when we switched to solids because naturally I was concerned about her. He poo pooed the whole introduce only one food at a time instruction from DDs pedi. So we didn't follow that and never had any problems.

peeppeeppeep · November 2014

I'm also a ftm but am planning to do a combination of homemade baby food (dh can't wait to start on this), some store bought when convenience is needed, and blw, as we find what works for her and us as we go along. I've experienced plenty of both blw and baby food as a nanny, and I like both - we'll see how the kid feels! I so agree that you don't need special baby equipment for preparing baby foods.

lynndavid6912 · November 2014

I should add, DD did have purées. I couldn't get daycare on board with BLW, so instead of them letting her drink a million ounces of breast milk, I had them do purées. DH also really wanted the experience of purées and used then a couple times before he figured out how awesome it was to watch DD feed herself and eat as a family.

lisap0924 · November 2014

I promise I will do more of my own research, but quick question: we went to a Friendsgiving yesterday. Typical thanksgiving dinner for friends. With BLW I would have been able to feed baby say turkey squash and mashed potatoes?

lisap0924 · November 2014

tm599 said:
I made all of DD's purées and loved doing it. Being able to experiment with different flavors combos, textures, and spices (one of her favorites was chicken, peas, quinoa, and roasted garlic) was fun. As a toddler now she's far less picky than others we know and will try anything and everything - I'd like to credit that to our success with homemade food We did a modified BLW too (because if using purées, that goes "against" traditional BLW) and we had more success with the purées... But as you know, each kiddo is different.

I wrote a few blog posts about our experience so if you'd like to see them, let me know and I'd be happy to share.

I really like the idea of my baby not being picky! My 8 yo step son is sooo picky! It's like pulling teeth to get him to try anything new. BM is also picky eater and never encouraged him to eat new things as a toddler

lisap0924 · November 2014

rm2013 said:
I also second Baby Led Weaning. We waited until 6 months to start solid food, never gave DD purée or cereal before then. We had to fight with our daycare about it until I showed them a video of her demolishing a whole broccoli crown (this was about a month or two into BLW)

I found it super easy. For books save your money and don't buy the BLW book, just buy the BLW Cookbook. It covers all the basics in the book and then has the recipes. The recipes are meant for the whole family to eat so you only have to cook once. You can also cook regular food but you must be careful to take out the salt. We started off the bat really simple with plain avocado, baked sweet potato, and steamed zucchini, then expanded quickly to other foods.

DH and I fought badly over BLW but I eventually won out. He was terrified of DD choking and was very angry with me when watching her eat. Just a warning be prepared your baby will gag sometimes, but they are learning how to move the food around and not choke, it's a good thing. Of course keep an eye out for real choking! For daycare I would ony send foods that we were 100% sure she could handle since obviously they can't watch her as closely as we could.

Whether you go with BLW or baby food - Regarding allergies, I'm allergic to about a dozen foods and went to my allergist for a consult for DD when we switched to solids because naturally I was concerned about her. He poo pooed the whole introduce only one food at a time instruction from DDs pedi. So we didn't follow that and never had any problems.

The gagging makes me a little nervous. BUT, I know that BLW will be best for my baby.
Now I just need to get my H on board. He thinks it's weird: "why not just feed him baby food?"
So I suspect we may end up doing some Purée and some BLW.

ST3WD · November 2014

tm599 I would definitely appreciate the links to your blog posts.

Thank you so much for bringing the food/BLW up now! I had been planning to puree some veggies as I made dinners, as long as I hadn't added spices yet and supplementing with store bought, but I hadn't really given it much thought. I had no idea this was an issue and now have several sites bookmarked for insomnia readings.

I saw some people mentioned books/cookbooks, but didn't notice any specific titles. Does anyone have a favorite, or will a general library search on my next outing probably suffice?

JCWhitey · November 2014

rm2013 said:

I also second Baby Led Weaning. We waited until 6 months to start solid food, never gave DD purée or cereal before then. We had to fight with our daycare about it until I showed them a video of her demolishing a whole broccoli crown (this was about a month or two into BLW) I found it super easy. For books save your money and don't buy the BLW book, just buy the BLW Cookbook. It covers all the basics in the book and then has the recipes. The recipes are meant for the whole family to eat so you only have to cook once. You can also cook regular food but you must be careful to take out the salt. We started off the bat really simple with plain avocado, baked sweet potato, and steamed zucchini, then expanded quickly to other foods. DH and I fought badly over BLW but I eventually won out. He was terrified of DD choking and was very angry with me when watching her eat. Just a warning be prepared your baby will gag sometimes, but they are learning how to move the food around and not choke, it's a good thing. Of course keep an eye out for real choking! For daycare I would ony send foods that we were 100% sure she could handle since obviously they can't watch her as closely as we could. Whether you go with BLW or baby food - Regarding allergies, I'm allergic to about a dozen foods and went to my allergist for a consult for DD when we switched to solids because naturally I was concerned about her. He poo pooed the whole introduce only one food at a time instruction from DDs pedi. So we didn't follow that and never had any problems.

Thanks for posting this! I'm working on an eating policy for the daycare my work is opening and this reminded me to include some BLW research! I am a HUGE BLW supporter!

DS has a digestive disorder and couldn't handle solid (non pureed foods) until just a few months ago so we weren't able to BLW, per doctor's orders he was on purees only until 12 months. Pureed foods suck. I tried making my own but wasn't dedicated enough and to buy them gets so expensive and the poops... ugh. Pureed poops suck. So definitely if you can BLW and enjoy the ability to not worry about purees!

rm2013 · November 2014

@‌st3wd - I added spices around 9-10 months, you just have to take it slow and see what your baby likes. I ate a lot of spicy (hot or flavorful) food while pregnant and she liked it all once she got here

The only thing they need to avoid is salt.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/161519049X/

janda426 · November 2014

So with BLW do you just exclusively BF or feed formula until 6 months when you start introducing the foods? I'm really interested in this because if I'm just being honest with myself I am way too lazy to make baby food.

lynndavid6912 · November 2014

janda426 said:
So with BLW do you just exclusively BF or feed formula until 6 months when you start introducing the foods? I'm really interested in this because if I'm just being honest with myself I am way too lazy to make baby food.

This made me laugh, because that's exactly the way I felt!! And pretty much, yes. We started a couple weeks before 6 months because it was Thanksgiving and I knew our families would be trying to give her solids and I wanted DH and I to have control over what we introduced first. It was slow going, but she loved it. I also recommend a dog to keep your floors clean...lazy parenting, FTW.

janda426 · November 2014

lynndavid6912 said:

janda426 said:
So with BLW do you just exclusively BF or feed formula until 6 months when you start introducing the foods? I'm really interested in this because if I'm just being honest with myself I am way too lazy to make baby food.
This made me laugh, because that's exactly the way I felt!! And pretty much, yes. We started a couple weeks before 6 months because it was Thanksgiving and I knew our families would be trying to give her solids and I wanted DH and I to have control over what we introduced first. It was slow going, but she loved it. I also recommend a dog to keep your floors clean...lazy parenting, FTW.

--end quote--

LOL we are so covered on the dog end, we joked last year when our in laws got a Roomba vacuum for Christmas that we had one already and her name is Dakota lol. Our dog always sniffs the parameter of the counters after we prepare food to lick up whatever we might have dropped.

rm2013 · November 2014

@janda426‌ - yes. Your baby doesn't physically need anything other than milk prior to 6 months. No cereal in their bottle! No purées starting at 4 months. Babies digestive systems are just not really ready for prime time yet at that age. Sure many people have given these things and their babies are fine, so it boils down to your personal parenting decision.

Even once you start solids they will still rely primarily on milk for nutrition. The phrase you'll often hear is "food for fun, until 1". Offer food and let them eat as little or as much as they want. I started out with just once or twice a day, and didn't decrease the milk, the food offered was in addition, not to replace. We didn't decrease her milk until over a year old when she was eating three serious meals a day.

FrecklesInside · November 2014

Sorry, I didn't read all of the responses so hope this isn't crazy repetitive. I made all of E's food myself. It was super easy and healthy. There are some great online resources and books. You DON'T need a special blender. I used a normal blender and immersion blender and it worked great. We did use an awesome cube tray, I'll have to look up the link.

We also did part baby led weaning or BLW, which was super awesome and I totally recommend researching that as well.

JCWhitey · November 2014

rm2013 said:

@janda426‌ - yes. Your baby doesn't physically need anything other than milk prior to 6 months. No cereal in their bottle! No purées starting at 4 months. Babies digestive systems are just not really ready for prime time yet at that age. Sure many people have given these things and their babies are fine, so it boils down to your personal parenting decision. Even once you start solids they will still rely primarily on milk for nutrition. The phrase you'll often hear is "food for fun, until 1". Offer food and let them eat as little or as much as they want. I started out with just once or twice a day, and didn't decrease the milk, the food offered was in addition, not to replace. We didn't decrease her milk until over a year old when she was eating three serious meals a day.

Since I hated purees we mostly BF until 12 months and just slowly introduced foods from time to time (and I'll admit I started cheating on the solids when he was 10/11 months, but only one meal every few days). He usually ate just two pureed meals a day, that's it. He was never hungry and gained weight just fine.

One quick thing about the phrase "food for fun until 1" is that it's a little deceiving. I had one girl on my other BMB who literally thought it meant they didn't need food for any reason until one, but that's not really true. They don't need it for nutrition, but they do need to learn how to coordinate chewing with swallowing and breathing. When we were finally able to switch the actual solids my son had a few issues with this, and I think it's because he started them so late. He did choke once on a melon, thank goodness we were in a room full of people who knew what to do when it happened! I've heard that's less likely to happen if they start eating earlier because it's easier to learn at that point. So I think it should really say something more like "food for learning until 1", but that doesn't rhyme.

cafecreme · November 2014

I did both. I started making my own at first, and then would do a mix of store bought/homemade until she was a year. Now she just eats what we eat.

djoliet · November 2014

I made all of my sons food. I plan on making all of baby girl's food as well. I think it's actually really easy and I know what exactly is going into the food and pick all the fruits and veggies myself. I used a magic bullet to blend everything and either baked, boiled, or steamed depending on the fruit and veggies. I actually really enjoyed making the food and am looking forward to doing it for this baby too.

ETA: someone mentioned using a ice cube tray to freeze and store, I did the same thing as well. Once the food was frosen, I'd pop the cubes out of the tray, stick them in a zip lock bag and label and date everything. Then every night before bed I'd put about 2-3 cubes into different bowls with a lid for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to defrost overnight in the fridge and all his meals were ready for the next day.

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