Tuesday, March 24, 2009

TWO SENSE TUESDAYS #3...Do you make your own baby food?

Being a new mother I seem to get a lot of advice, which can be helpful, but is also very frustrating when it's from people who are insistent that their way is the BEST way. I also get advice (because I'm an adoptive mother) from those who think that my son is just a stand-in until I get "the real thing."

Each week I will post a new question. I'd love it if you'd play along and offer us new mothers your pearls of wisdom.

HERE IS THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:

DO YOU MAKE YOUR OWN BABY FOOD? IF YES, HOW IS IT GOING? IF NOT, WHY?

8 comments:

Jenn said...

i don't for two reasons. 1. i have two and they can be a bit time consuming! 2. i'm a HORRIBLE cook! ask my husband. i wanted to spare my kids the horror of it, even if it's just for a little while - LOL!

Robin said...

Yes, I make my own babyfood. I use organic produce and I love, love, LOVE doing it for my daughter! Her daycare teachers tell me they've never seen such a huge variety in a a child's diet. I relied on the website www.wholesomebabyfood.com I only use a pan (for frozen peas and green beans), vegetable/rice steamer (which I already had) - I use that for apples, pears, carrots, broccoli, caulifower, etc. I also use a veggie peeler, knife, cutting board, ice cube trays for freezing the food, and a food processor or Magic Bullet. It takes me a few hours about once every 6-8 weeks. Not bad at all! We waited 'til 6 months to start solids, but now at 9 months, she eats: yogurt, egg yolk, cottage cheese (I buy the organic versions of these), kiwi, green beans, peas, squash, pumpkin, organic Os cereal, sweet potato, pears, apples, apricots, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, graham crackers, Wheat Thins, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, and gosh all kinds of other stuff. The wholesomebabyfood.com site is geat because it tells you how to make each kind of food and when you can introduce it. I think you should give it a shot!

Becky said...

I did make most of my son's food, the first child. None for the 2nd child! Sad! I know! I had fun with it and probably saved some money but, didn't really track it.

Know what you mean about people seeing your child as a 'place holder' until "yours" comes along! So maddening and sad!!

Anonymous said...

I never did. Too much work. And while we are a healthy family the make your own baby food just seems overly organic to me. I'm impressed by those who go that extra mile though...

Kris said...

I didn't start out making it, but then did toward the end. I, however, mostly used frozen foods (well except for sweet potatoes which she loved). I also used canned fruits. Not the most "healthy", but certainly cheaper than the purchased ones! I was always amazed how different the color of home steamed peas and green beans were compared to the purchased ones!

I saved most of the containers from when I purchased and simply used them. It worked really great! It wasn't very time consuming at all. BTW--Yogurt does not freeze well! (Figured that out one!) It separates and looks kind of nasty, even when blended with a fruit.

I don't hear comments about waiting for "my real" child. Maybe that's because I "have a real one" and it "didn't work out" (can you believe people say that????). Definitely frustrating...I get tired of being the adoption educator.

Anonymous said...

LOL NO! I did think I was going to though before Ella started really eating. Ultimatly, I was really busy, and it wasn't happening. I even have the stuff to do it. I think it's great if you can though. I switched Wyatt to table foods as he could take them. He never really took to the strained foods.

Anonymous said...

What a great question. I was glad to hear other peoples experiences with it :-). I'm saving the website your other commenter listed.

Just Me said...

Just came across your site through Homespun Heart. I made my first child's baby food, but not my second (poor love). I was living in Australia the first time and EVERYONE makes there own food there. All of my friends and I used a book by Annabel Karmel (and English woman) and it was FANTASTIC. Super easy, and very, very yummy. She has several books you can get at amazon, B&N, etc, including a meal planner that has great advice, tips, and schedules that help you navigate the world of what to feed the bub and when. I also use the Toddler book now with both my kids - and for my husband and I. I highly, highly, highly recommend her books and recipes. If you decide not to make your own, then you can't go wrong with Earth's Best (which is what I fed my son, exclusively).