Baby's First Solids

Little brother's baby food log
After his 6 month checkup we started introducing cereal and pureed organic baby food. Key rule of thumb is to introduce new food and wait 4 days before introducing another one to watch for allergic reactions.

• Early June 2011 - Whole grain cereal mixed with BM. Initially it needs to be soupy.  1x a day.  Our goal is to continue to keep baby brother on BM until he is close to 12 months.  To help this goal, we always feed him his milk and then his solids. If not, there is a chance that babies will wean off milk earlier. As the new recommended practice from our pediatrician, BM babies should also have a multi-vitamin or vitamin D drops to ensure there is sufficient iron.
• Mid-June 2011  - Avocado, bananas, and steamed sweet potatoes(mixed with milk; soupy consistency) got two thumbs up. 
• Late June/July 4th - Steamed green beans and mango
• Next:  Planinng to try squash and pear

New Beginnings and Finger Foods

Today, Sophia and I went out on our first Friday of 2010! Last fall, I made the decision to go on Select Time with Bank of America. This means, I technically only get paid for 32 hours a week. It is the best place to work given all of the associate benefits including maternity and paternity leave(12 weeks off!). Also, the work from home program is invaluable. It is a very supportive culture, and it is such a win win situation for both the associates and company.

Of course, it is a change in my income to be on the Select Time, but babies only grow up once! This is how I feel is the best compromise for me to still have a career and have quality time with my baby. It's been 18 months, and I am finally feeling comfortable with dropping her off at the 24-Hours Fitness kids zone while I workout. Their service was also recommended by a friend.

Afterwards, we had a great lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. I can't believe how a little being can provide such great love and company. I tried introducing her to hummus for the 2nd time, but she didn't care for it. She did welcome the hamburger pizza. I plan to recreate the pizza(angus beef, chedder+mozarella cheese) at home!

We have come a long way with regards to her food journey. From purees to finger food, now she just likes to eat!
--When Sophia got into solids I would simply cut(vs puree) her steamed/baked veggies/fruit in cubes. Or, cut steamed veggies like broccoli into little trees.
--When serving fruit, make sure it's nice and ripe.
--Make note of your baby's reaction to the temperature of the food. She might not like the cold berries, but it it might be well received if you take out the fresh or frozen fruit ahead of time (to shake the chill).
--With zucchini and yellow squash, I peeled the skin off before boiling.
--Cubed tofu was a hit, but she does not seem to care for it right this moment. I noticed she will go in cycles of not liking something, so I wait...then reintroduce it again. Don't write it off if babies or toddlers reject the food, try and try again.
--Edamame (boil it to make it softer)
--Even today, she still loves baked sweet potatoes
--Dried fruit(prunes, raisans)
--Cubed/string cheese is a bit hit!
--Whole grain toast, crackers
--If she has trouble picking food up, you can try coating them in Cheerios dust. I learned that from http://www.wholesomebabyfoods.com/
--Now she is getting into pistachios!
--Don't forget about the joy of dipping. You can use yogurt, broth, hummus, jelly, etc.

I tend to see what they have in the baby food aisle, and if it makes sense I will recreate my own simpler, all natural version.

Bon apetit! Above is during Christmas Eve. Sophia loved Aunt Cindy's mushroom soup!

Yummy to My Tummy!

After 6 months, we started Sophia out slow with cereal. I am very grateful and proud that I have been able to nurse for this long. It does make it inconvenient and restricts my schedule at times, but I know it will pay off in the long run. For the countless benefits and precious 1 on 1 time, my goal is to continue nursing as close to 1 year as possible. We are still going strong. Whew! Soon after Christmas, Sophia was very ready to sample cereal of all sorts. Recently, I have been making her organic pureed vegetables. She has thoroughly enjoyed sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas! Next week, we will sample butternut squash!! Checkout how excited she was in this gallery.

Food Diary 2008

Dec 30th-Jan 6 - Runny cereal; one time a day; a tablespoon of cereal mixed with 4-5 tablespoons breastmilk

Jan 7-Jan 11 - Thicker rice cereal; 2x a day

Monday Jan 12 - Jan 13 Oat cereal; 2x a day
Wednesday Jan 14 Pureed organic sweet potatoes; 2x a day; 1 tablespoon mixed with breastmilk
Jan 17th - Jan 20th: 2 tablespoons mixed with milk and teaspoon of cereal
Jan 21-25th: Pureed organic carrots
Jan 26-29th: Organic Peas
Jan 29-Feb 3rd: Organic squash
Feb 2- 8: Bananas
Feb 9- 13: Avocados, Sweet Pots - Didn't care much for Avocados
Feb 14- :Sweet Pots and Pears, Peas
Feb 17-27 Green Beans
Feb 28 Mangos, Carrots, Peas
Week of March 1-7th - Papaya and Broccoli
She's been eating frozen organic peaches here and there.
Wlk of March 15 th Chicken
She's been eating finger good carrots and peas

Try pasta, , asparagus spears

Tofu, Brown Rice, Apples
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Next attempts:
What to serve now: Mashed Bananas(done), pears, peaches, avocados, unsweetened applesauce, carrots(done), squash(done), sweet potatoes(done), peas(done), first stage baby food, including meat (start with veggies)

Introducing Baby Food

Start with cereal. Iron-enriched baby rice cereal is the best food to start with, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. It's easily digested, fortified with important nutrition, and least likely to trigger an allergic reaction. To prepare, mix a small amount of cereal with formula, breast milk, or even water to create a creamy "soup." Don't sweeten the taste by adding things like mashed bananas, applesauce, or juice. If you start off tempting baby with sugar, he'll soon want everything you offer to be just as sweet. Once baby has mastered rice cereal, you can move on to other varieties like barley or oat — but hold off on wheat, which is a common allergen for many babies.

Branch out to vegetables. Next stop: veggies! They're wholesome, nutritious, and not likely to trigger allergies. Start with milder yellow or orange options such as sweet potatoes and carrots before moving on to the green team, like peas, spinach, and string beans, which have slightly stronger flavors. If your baby rejects what you've got, try again tomorrow and the next day and the next. Some babies need to be introduced to a new food four or five (or more!) times before they'll accept it, so perseverance is key.

As with most cooked foods, they may be kept refrigerated for 2 to 3 days after being cooked. After freezing, it's better if you use it up in 1 month. Sweet potatoes freeze well! http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/sweetpotatobabyfoodrecipes.htm

Common Forbidden Foods for Babies:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/forbiddenbabyfood.htm

ALWAYS ensure that you are not feeding baby directly from the bowl and then storing the bowl you fed from back in the fridge - take out the portion you will feed, put it into baby's bowl and then put the bowl of food back into the fridge!


Dabble in fruit. Delicious, digestible first fruits include finely mashed bananas or baby applesauce, peaches, or pears (stick with jarred fruits especially processed for babies).

Starter foods: Bananas, pears, applesauce

Organic foods are grown without the use of commercial nitrate fertilizers and thus the risk of nitrate contamination/concentration is minimized, but not eliminated.

Expand the Menu Options

Those early-bird specials (rice cereal, applesauce, bananas, yellow veggies) get pretty old after a few dozen meals. Spice things up (at around seven or eight months) by adding minced meat (chicken, lamb, turkey, or beef), mashed egg yolk (no whites), and avocado to her repertoire. By nine months, whole-milk yogurt, cheese, pasta, beans, and tofu can make their debuts, and then (drumroll, please!) finger foods add a whole other dimension to eating. Here are a few more pointers:

Source: http://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/feeding-baby/starting-solids/introducing-new-foods.aspx