January 2016 Moms

Baby food.

DS is getting close to the baby food stage. He's already on cereal (little dude can't get enough formula). 
I never thought about making his baby food until a friend mentioned it. 
Now im weighing the "should I make his food" options and I have no idea. 
I know it's healthier for him to eat naturally but I also worry that if he is allergic to something (lord I hope he isn't) that if/when he has a reaction I will feel like it's my fault because I made the food. I'm also not sure if I'm able to commit the way I need to 


Ive researched it some, and the prices for the baby bullet etc.  
any STMs or knowledgable researchers have any advice? 
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Re: Baby food.

  • Stm here. I'm making all my babies food this time. I'm doing so for a few reasons. It's cheaper is the big one. Also then he can eat what we are eating for the most part. Just put some veggies in our bullet and then freeze it in ice cube trays so you have it for the week. Not sure why you would be worried about making it and finding out he's allergic and thinking you did something wrong....it would be no different than you buying the same food and giving it to him. Also we have a regular bullet that we will use. I'm starting him here soon. I belive our boys are only a day a part BTW :)
  • My mom found a book for me about doing your own baby food. It's from Cooking Lite. It has detailed instructions for prep and storage. It makes it easy with when to introduce new foods, too. I'm hoping it's not too much of a pain to do it yourself vs buying it. 
    Me: 31 DH: 40
    Married 2012
    TTC #2 since July 2016
    PCOS diagnosed 2008
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  • Im a ftm here and I plan to make the baby food too. I never thought to use ice cube trays but thats a great idea! How old is your LO. Mines only 3 months so I'm a ways away but feel I may start her on cereal at 4 months if the dr gives us the ok. She eats a lot as well. How many times a day do we feed them food?
  • @cali1710 my baby will be 4 mths on the 27th. We will do a couple weeks of cereal then start experimenting with other stuff. I will only start with 1 thing try that for a couple days then try another for a couple days.  My son is very interested in food when we eat and I will not be replacing any of his nursing sessions with food just adding a little taste at night. I will not say what is "best" to do as every pediatrician is different and so is every baby. I've never been one to "follow the rules " lol I would never drink,smoke or do drugs while pregnant or bf but you best believe I had a cold lunch meat sandwich on a regular when pregnant and I will feed my kids food when they seem ready.
  • tfrangul said:
    @cali1710 my baby will be 4 mths on the 27th. We will do a couple weeks of cereal then start experimenting with other stuff. I will only start with 1 thing try that for a couple days then try another for a couple days.  My son is very interested in food when we eat and I will not be replacing any of his nursing sessions with food just adding a little taste at night. I will not say what is "best" to do as every pediatrician is different and so is every baby. I've never been one to "follow the rules " lol I would never drink,smoke or do drugs while pregnant or bf but you best believe I had a cold lunch meat sandwich on a regular when pregnant and I will feed my kids food when they seem ready.
    Thanks! I'm really excited to start her on food but of course when shes ready. I also had a few cold meat sandwiches and runny yolks myself while pregnant! Rebels haha. I just wasnt sure if solids took over a bottle or if you can experiment more as a snack. When do solids become more of a meal for them?
  • I second what pp^ says about physiological readiness. I made all of DS1's food myself and plan to do it again for DS2. I had a baby bullet but it burnt up quickly, wouldn't waste my money on that just use a regular food processer/blender. It was healthy for him, cheap and honestly, less gross for me than the prepackaged food mush. It was really easy. I would spend a few hours every couple of weeks steaming and puréeing fruits & veggies and freeze them individually in ice cube trays. Then when I wanted to make a combination food for him, I would just thaw the separate cubes and mix them together. I breastfeed, so the food never really replaced a bottle/feeding. Just added to it. I would nurse then feed his solid food. We started with dinner bc the timing was most convenient and just gradually increased the number of solid feedings. 
  • I have read you should give them milk like normal, and offer a bite or two afterwards. Their primary nutrition is still the milk for several more months and even then it is going to remain a big part of their diet. 
  • I'm going to do baby led weaning as I don't have the patience to make baby food. I want my kids to eat what we eat. I grew up with my sister being a super picky eater and I want to start good eating habits young. I'm not making one kid something different because they will only eat mac and cheese. If you're going the baby food route I'm with @mrsgetz4000 invest in a great food processor or blender. 
  • @Cricket99 pickey eaters make me crazy. Food and sharing a meal with loved ones is one of lifes greatest pleasures and i want to instill healthy and fun eating habits in my children. As much as we want our babies to stay babies, introducing solids is something I'm looking forward too
  • I wasn't planning on introducing any food whatsoever until after 6 months. And I don't plan on starting at 6 months, but when LO shows that she's ready - if that's really 7 months then so be it. No purees or anything over here - if they aren't ready they just aren't ready. What's the rush?
  • I don't plan on starting any solids until at least 6 months. Also we are going to skip cereal completely. BLW will be our primary method with purées for convenience and texture. Food before one is just for fun!
    Lilypie First Birthday tickers
    Lilypie - FiGB
    Married DH 11/15/08
    Formerly MissMheMhe
  • kimber308 said:
    I wasn't planning on introducing any food whatsoever until after 6 months. And I don't plan on starting at 6 months, but when LO shows that she's ready - if that's really 7 months then so be it. No purees or anything over here - if they aren't ready they just aren't ready. What's the rush?
    I agree they will be ready when they are ready. A friend of mine started her little guy at 5.5 months because she knew he was ready. He was always watching their forks and following the food. When you say no purees what do you mean? Just cut up food really fine? Ftm here so I'm new to it all. 
  • Already started cereal a few weeks back, very soupy at first then thickened it up. Last week started with baby food pears. LO is taking it like a champ, she opens her mouth for more and is excited about it. She is 14weeks now. This week did just sweet potatoes. We are going to do our own baby food purée but right now doing jars because she takes so little at a time. 
  • KFrobKFrob member
    @Cricket99 my 3 year old step daughter will for the most part only eat mac and cheese and strawberries! It drives me insane. 
  • FTM here for those who started cereal or puree prior to 6 months how did you know it was time? I have been wondering for DS as he is consuming about 35 oz of breastmilk a day (EP so he mostly gets bottles) which from what I've read seems a bit over the average.
  • My LO has been on rice cereal for about three weeks now, but only because she is underweight, and the pedi wants to fatten her up. We just add it to her bottle, one tablespoon for every two ounces. I'm not ready to give her solids beyond that quite yet. She will be 16 weeks on Thursday. 
  • teachmegs817teachmegs817 member
    edited April 2016
    l4rk said:
    Just wanted to add that I recently went to a course held by a baby nutritionist and she said that babies shouldn't eat any food until they can sit up on their own and they lose the reflex where they push things out of their mouth. They aren't physiologically ready until then. For most babies, that's much closer to 6 months than 4 months. 

    When they are ready, it's best to feed them whatever you are eating, chopped up super fine. No need for a bullet or anything fancy. Just use a chef's knife.
    This! We tried giving Griffin some cereal the day he turned 4mo. While it was comical and cute all at the same time watching him eat. He is not ready. He can't fully sit up yet by himself and that tongue reflex, is sticking around for a while, I can tell. 

    We we are making his food, when we get the okay to start and he's ready. I bought a couple of purée cookbooks that also have toddler transition meals in them. I found some good storage containers too off of Amazon. 
  • To add to my earlier post, because I had a discussion about giving a baby food today.  I had a follow up appointment with DS's pediatric GI today.  He suggested that I start giving him oatmeal orally by spoon 1-2 times a day.  He said that once in the morning and then before his bedtime feeding.  I told him that I'd consider it, but with him being a preemie, I don't think he's quite ready. He's 19w old, but developmentally, he's only 13w old. 

    I'm also on the D15' board and apart of a FB group of mommies from that board.  Many of the women have already begun giving their LO's homemade puree's.  Mostly sweet potatoes and avocado is what I've read/seen them giving. This whole food thing intrigues me.  Mainly because you see so many people doing it at all points during a baby's development. As @Snoopylovesbellementioned about experimenting, I can't say that we won't at least try solids when we get the okay, it's whether or not we stick to it. It'll all depend on how LO does when we begin the process.
  • I just want to know when we can give them sushi.
    Is that not the first thing they should eat?!
  • I don't fully appreciate my method of giving my baby food labeled as "insane". I know my own baby and if she was at all not ready for the food, I wouldn't be giving it to her or if she struggled with it. I think you might be over exaggerating the amount I am giving, it's only a couple of very small baby spoonfuls at a time, maybe once or twice a day for 1-2 days. She is having no negative reaction and no GI problems with it. In total she has had about 2 oz of organic stage 1 baby food. What about decades ago when people gave their baby's food even sooner and yet they turned out fine. 
  • Google "open gut"
    Lilypie First Birthday tickers
    Lilypie - FiGB
    Married DH 11/15/08
    Formerly MissMheMhe
  • I think what a parent decides to do is their choice. I'm sure everyone does something that someone will get mad about. She knows her baby. My brother has pablum in his bottle at 1 month 30+ years age because he never was full. Hes a perfectly healthy adult with 0 allergies and 0 health problems. My mom always says "gosh we must have been horrible parents considering all the rules now. How did you all survive " 
  • I have a legitimate question.

    My daycare just told my husband this morning that my daughter is sucking down her 5oz breastmilk bottles and needs more. They said she either needs more oz at once or preferably cereal in her milk. We told them absolutely no way. 

    How do we keep her satisfied at daycare? 

    She gets 3 5oz bottles in a 6.5 hour time frame. At home she gets the breast and has no issues whatsoever, but I'm having a hard time believing she's sucking more then 5 oz from me at one sitting. That seems like a lot...

    Confused...
  • 012016 said:
    I totally get the "how did you all survive" comment, I do. But the fact is while you may have survived, another child might not have. People do things every day that they aren't supposed to do and yet they survive. That doesn't make it right though. At the end of the day it's a parent's choice how they want to raise their child but know that parents have been charged and convicted of negligence and children have died because their parents thought they knew better than science. 
    Oh I got it I'm not saying be neglectful or anything I just mean she knows her baby. We don't. I'm not for or against anything I just think everyone's different. And I don't mean my mom did horrible things by any means. Just things were different back then 
  • kimber308 said:
    I have a legitimate question.

    My daycare just told my husband this morning that my daughter is sucking down her 5oz breastmilk bottles and needs more. They said she either needs more oz at once or preferably cereal in her milk. We told them absolutely no way. 

    How do we keep her satisfied at daycare? 

    She gets 3 5oz bottles in a 6.5 hour time frame. At home she gets the breast and has no issues whatsoever, but I'm having a hard time believing she's sucking more then 5 oz from me at one sitting. That seems like a lot...

    Confused...
    Maybe she gets fussy and thats the go-to for the daycare provider. Assumes she hungry and the baby just eats it? What level nipple do you use. I never felt my baby knew when to stop eating with level 1 but i just switched to level 2 and she actually stops when full. 
  • Hmm thank you so much for that advice @cali1710 ... I have never changed the nipples. Does the level 2 flow faster? I'm just worried she's getting too much too fast and it upsets her stomach and I don't think they are burping her well and letting her digest. But you're right - she really doesn't know when to stop. I will try out some level 2 nipples.

    And I know milk is their go-to. I've been telling them she needs more sleep, but they just fill her with more milk to keep her calm. I think it's having the reverse affect because she spits up, has diaper blowouts, and is super fussy. And then they feed her MORE! UGH!
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