Baby Food

Another milestone in our baby's life has come this week... starting solid foods! Woo hoo! I dug the highchair out of storage this week and cleaned it up a bit. (Apparently it didn't get properly cleaned when Luke was done with it, because I found food under the seat that was nasty!!)

Anyway, we've purposely waited on starting Grace on baby food for longer than the "norm." I faithfully started Sam and Elijah at 4 months, like their Dr. said to. Can I just say, while it was fun for awhile, it was mostly just a hassle! They didn't need solids yet and, in retrospect, they weren't ready. Because of Luke's health issues, we decided to wait on starting solid foods until about 8 months old. It was a great decision for him and for us. He could sit up mostly and participate and had the whole swallowing idea down better!

So, because of our night and day experiences waiting with Luke, we decided to also with Grace. She'll be 9 months next week (which I cannot believe and also am slightly sad about,) so this seemed like a good time to start!

We had some jars in the cupboard that my niece Abby is done with, but I can see that I'll quickly need to start making my own again, because Grace is a BIG EATER! At her first meal, she ate 3 jars; 2 of squash and 1 of sweet potatoes!

I also remembered something that I've done with the boys... use the highchair tray to pin their hands down, so they won't grab for the spoon. :) It was no exception for Grace either; she did get her hands out a few times though!

Another reason I waited is that I'm still nursing. Sam and Elijah, moreso Elijah, kind of weaned themselves once they started solid foods. I want to nurse Grace until at least 12 months, so I knew it'd be harder to meet that goal, the earlier I started her on baby food!

So, what kind of food will I make and how will I make my own baby food, you ask? I'm glad you asked. Pretty much everything I learned about this subject, came from my Mom and the book, Feed Me, I'm Yours, by Vicki Lansky. I think my Mom had this book when we were babies too. Anyway, to start with, I'll buy vegetables and fruits (probably organic,) boil them, if necessary and blend them up. I either fill up old baby food jars, of which I only have a few right now, fill up ice cube trays or, my favorite, plop spoonfuls on wax paper and freeze them. Once frozen, whether in the jars, trays or plops, then I just store them in the freezer and they're ready for defrosting or a quick microwaving for mealtime.

For foods that don't blend and freeze well, like bananas, I also have a little food mill that works wonders. With this, I can grind up most table foods that we're having and not have to worry about making something seperate for baby.

I (we) hope you have enjoyed our very informative post on baby food and feeding. Now, I have a suprise for you! It's very exciting...

I have found, in the archives, photos of the other 3 kids eating in their highchairs. (Yes, it's the same highchair! We got it from my parents as a shower present when Sam was born.)

This first one is Luke at 14 months old...

The second one is Elijah at 17 months old (before we owned a digital camera, so we had borrowed a friends to use for Luke's birth.)

The third one is Samuel at 8 months old (taken using my Mom's digital camera.)