Making your own baby food--Getting Started

Simplicity. Isn't that a wonderful word??

I would have never imagined that the word "simplicity" would come into my life in such a major way AFTER I had kids. Kids DO make things more complicated, but simplifying your life is imperative after having children. So, don't do what I do. I've been making my own baby food for almost 2 years--but I didn't start all at once, I started small. I started with bananas.

Just like the "Fly" Lady says, let's get this done fast so we can get back to loving on our babies!

Get out your blender.
Peal 3-4 bananas. Add a little water.
Puree until creamy.
Pour into containers. Screw on lids.
Stick in the freezer.
Wash the blender.

That's it. You're done. You just made your own baby food. How long did that take? My guess is 10 minutes, tops. How much did it cost? I'm betting less than $2.00. How much did you get? Probably about 7 days worth. Quick. Easy. Cost-effective. Environmentally friendly. Simple.

To serve, just stick in the microwave for a minute or so (You know your microwave, I know mine. Let's make smart choices here, ladies), stir it up good--remember those "hot spots" and serve to baby.
If all you ever make is bananas for your baby, I still think it's worth the time for the money saved. BUT there's much more, and it's really not that hard, I promise.

Making your own baby food--Equipment

Making your own baby food really isn't all that hard or time consuming. A big part of it is having the right equipment. Here's what I use:

Rubbermaid "Takealongs Twist & Seal" are perfect for baby food. They have little lines that I fill the baby food up to (great for consistency!), and the lids, logically, twist on and off. I use the small size for baby food. They freeze well, are microwave safe, and I've never had one leak. They also don't stain & come 4 in a pack. These little guys aren't expensive, and there are often coupons for them. Their only down fall that I've discovered is if you drop a frozen one from a high shelf in your freezer, they often shatter. Other than that, I love them and use them for everything. I bought them a few at a time and have about 20 now, maybe more!!

The next thing you'll need is a decent blender. After the one I registered for ended up being a dud, Matt & I purchased a Hamilton-Beach Stay or Go blender during what we like to call our "Smoothie" phase. It's great and we really like it. I can puree anything with this blender. Back when I purchased it, I would have never imagined using it to make baby food, but that just shows you that God is good all the time.
If all you want to make is pears, apples, and bananas, that's all you'll need. To make most vegetables, you'll need a steamer (like the one above) and simple baking dishes. I purchased a simple steamer at Wal-Mart after we discovered the deliciousness of fresh steamed-broccoli a few years ago. I think it was about $10.

Beyond that, you'll need a paring knife, a good vegetable peeler, a large cutting board. We'll talk more about recipes here and getting started here.

I make all my own baby food

I make all my own baby food. Wait, did you read that right? Surely not--there's no way she could work full time, have 2 kids, and make all her own baby food. Who is this girl--superwoman??

Actually...........NO. I'm just that cheap, folks.

Making you own baby food is really not that hard, time consuming, or messy. And the savings, both in your wallet, and on the environment are significant. That's right, folks, I'm a closet environmentalist. Yeah, I use disposable diapers, but I try to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as I possibly can. More on that later, maybe.

I actually have no idea about the nutritional aspect of making your own baby food--I mean, I know what's in the fruits & veggies I'm feeding my babies, obviously, but I've never taken the time to figure out how it compares to the stuff in jars. I will say this, though, I was given a jar and I noticed that it doesn't expire until November...of 2011. What could possibly be in there that would keep it from expiring until my daughter was 2 1/2 years old???? I really recommend Jessica Seinfeld's (yup, THAT Seinfeld) book "Deceptively Delicious." It has tons of great recipes, and breaks down all the nutritional information for fruits and vegetables into kid-friendly portions.

Before we get started on the recipes and HOW I actually do this, you need to start with all the right equipment. I was fortunate in that I already had everything I needed to start making my own baby food except for the little "jars" I use. This post is getting kind of long, so I've decided to break it up into several posts. Sooooooooooo........... coming over the next couple of weeks you'll find the following posts:

In my next post, you'll find out all about the equipment I use to make my own baby food.

We'll get started with bananas and some "recipes" I use in the post after that.

How do I do it all? You'll find out!

Stretching Formula

I talked about the type of formula we use here. My doctor recommends the Enfamil Lipil, and we get the generic kind. In today's economy, many people are trying to make their money go further than ever, and are pinching pennies until they scream. Here's what we do to help take that already-a-whole-lot-cheaper-formula go even further.

As many pregnant women know, baby samples are fairly easy to come by. You get them by registering (I know we got a ton when we registered at Babies 'R Us), you can get them from your doctor, and you can get them by checking out sites like www.freebies4mom.com and www.moneysavingmom.com. A good friend told me that as long as you don't mix soy formula with milk-based formula, you can mix in a little bit of a sample with your baby's formula. She suggested a 1 part sample to 2 parts of your baby's regular formula.

I usually use her formula down about 1/3 of the way, dump in the sample (make sure you take out the measuring spoon first!), and shake. This does a decent job of mixing the formula and my babies have never had any problems with it. It doesn't help a lot, but it helps a little, and I've found that doing lots of little things can help a lot.

Tip on Tuesday

No one likes trimming a baby's fingernails and toenails. They're teeny, they're tiny, they're wiggly, and oh-my-gosh-if-I-cut-his-perfect-little-skin-I'll-just-die. It happens. We've all been there. Here's how to avoid it:

Those are regular "nail scissors" and no, girls, you can't buy them in the baby department. They don't come with duckies on them and they won't match your baby's little brush and comb set. I don't actually know what they're used for in the big-girl world, come to think of it.

I try to wait until my baby's sleeping to trim her nails. I take her tiny fingers and trim the little nails of using the scissors. I cut cleanly from the one side of the finger to the other. The little nails are so thin and paper-like that they cut easily. You can see that, by using this technique, it would be next to impossible to cut your baby's skin. Don't even think about trying it with regular scissors--the rounded edge is what keeps your baby's fingers safe.

Happy trimming!

Have a mommy tip to share?? There are 2 ways to share:
1) Post a comment on this blog.
2) Write a "Tip for Tuesday" on your blog and post a link here.

Back in the Saddle

Okay, so it's been a few months. Almost 2, to be exact. What happened? Well...

I started back to school. Going back to work after being off for 5 months was quite and adjustment for our family. In addition to my little 5 month sabbatical, we're now a family of four. Right after Bailey was born, we were still pretty much a family of three--we were "baby owners" as we like to say. But at 6 months of age, Bailey is now a full-blown member of our family, and a force to be reckoned with.

We like to say, "Jack made us parents, Bailey made us a family."

Bailey has turned into a sweet, smiley, pre-toddler (she's way to big to be a "baby," just ask her). We're crazy about this little girl, although we'd love to feed her "stay little juice" every once in a while. She was rolling all over the place by 3 months, crawling at 4, and now, at just past 6, she's starting to pull up on things. Our lives are officially over :)

Jack has kind of plateaued as far as milestones go--he can sing almost any little song, has all his teeth, can count to 10, knows his shapes, has no interest in his colors, sing the ABC's, and carry his plate to the dishwasher all by his little self. He continues to be a joy and a challenge each day.

Jack & Bailey continue to be BFF, getting more adorable by the minute. They are starting to really "play" together, each thinking that the other is pretty fantastic. My living room is lost cause--we can't pick up toys as fast as they can get them out. And Bailey has developed a taste for magazines.

Now that I'm teaching full time in addition to being a wife, mother, and house keeper, this blog is going on the backburner for a while--at least it's getting back on the stove, though, right?? My current goal is to write at least two posts each week--one "Tips on Tuesday" and one bottle/feeding related post. We'll see how this goes, but I'll need you to keep me accountable :)

So, welcome back to Bottle Feeding, I took a little break, but I'm back & I'm better than ever :)

Tips on Tuesdays

This week's Tips on Tuesday is pretty simple. If you want something done a particular way, be specific in your instructions.



These wonderful people care for Jack & Bailey while Matt & and I work. Every year before I start school, I write out a veeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyy long list of instructions on how we want our children cared for during the day. It's specific. It's long. It's not because I don't trust Mark, Julia, or Lori Anne. I just want them to have as much information as possible.

The instructions are long--really long, so they won't appear in this post. You can read Jack's here and Bailey's here. Enjoy!

Taking Care of Bailey

Please, please remember that Bailey has been home with me for 5 months and that she is a big-time Mama's girl. She may have a rougher transition than Jack. Bailey is a sweet, sweet smiley baby who will win your hearts quick.

Eating

Bailey eats every 3 hours. Since I'll be arriving and feeding her at 6:45, you can expect her to eat at 9:45, 12:45 and 3:45--approximately. She eats 4 ounces of water with 2 tablespoons of formula at a feeding. Right now, she is eating oatmeal in the evenings, but will eventually be eating it in the mornings. More on that later.

Naps

Bailey hasn't had a good nap schedule because we've been so laid back this summer. I'm sure that as she gets on more of a regimented schedule she will develop a nap routine. I usually put her bunny in with her to nap. If she happens to be wearing a head band or bow, please take that off before putting her down for a nap--I assume the reason is obvious.

Sleepy cues: rubbing her eyes (sooo cute), and not being contented when she has a full tummy, a clean diaper, and is being held. I put her in her crib and if she cries for more than 5 minutes, she's not going to go down. Unfortunately, she usually has to fuss herself to sleep a little bit.

Matt says that the hardest part about having Bailey when I'm not around is when she wakes up from a nap and I'm not there. She may fuss or cry, but just hold her close and try to comfort her as best you can. She will get into the rhythm of things soon enough.

Play Time

Bailey likes to play on the floor with little toys. She also likes her jumperoo. She's rolling all over the place, and will probably start to crawl at any time. If you see her get ready to crawl, knock her down :) Matt and I would like to be there when she crawls for the first time. It's okay to lie to us, too, "No, she didn't start crawling today." :)

Diapers

Bailey, unlike Jack, does not like to be in a dirty diaper--and she'll let you know! Unless she's poopy or really fussy, I try to change her after each feeding. You can usually tell if she's ready by the "squish factor."

She usually has her one big, stinky, smelly, gross poopy diaper about 1/2 hour after her first feeding of the day. I know this goes without saying, but she's a girl, and please remember to wipe front to back. She sometimes gets a little red and irritated, so I'll include some cream in the diaper bag.

Above all else

Just please, please, please don't let my kids kill Eli. Just kidding. We love you guys and trust you infallibly.

Taking Care of Jack 2.0

Jack's a great, big two year old now, and there are a few changes from last year. We've been talking about going back to Mark & Ju-Ju's and that Mommy and Daddy have to work so they can make money for our family. We're trying not to say "We miss you," because we feel this puts too much pressure on him. Jack is really looking forward to coming back to your house this year.

Eating

Jack doesn't really like to eat when he first wakes up--in fact, he's been known to skip breakfast when he gets up later. Terrible, I know. I can usually get him to eat a few "krispies" (Rice Krispies), yogurt, or, in a pinch, gold fish crackers. I would like for him to eat breakfast every day, but knowing how he is......just do the best you can :)

For lunch, Jack likes hot dogs and nuggets. Or nuggets and hot dogs. Sometimes he'll eat a hot dog, sometimes he'll eat a nugget. And then there are the times when he eats hot dogs and nuggets. Seriously. For lunch, I try to get a little protein down him, usually in the form of hot dogs or nuggets, and some fruit. His favorite fruits are apples and bananas. He will occasionally eat blue berries and baby carrots, but only if they are really tiny.

Believe it or not, Jack doesn't really "snack" like he used to. If he is going to snack, I'd prefer for it to be a small snack in the afternoon after his nap--a few crackers or a cookie is fine. I try to be careful with the sodium that he eats, so please keep the crackers to a minimum--the kid could eat a whole sleeve of Ritz if he was given the opportunity.

Regarding milk: We give Jack milk when he first wakes up and at his nap time. He may ask for it at other times, but please encourage him to drink water. Because he drinks whole milk, it really fills him up and then he won't want to eat his food at lunch or dinner time. We'll send the milk in a small bottle for him to drink at nap time. And, just like last year, milk cups have sippy lids, and water goes in straw cups. He doesn't drink juice and should never have soda. If you take him to McDonald's, get him milk, never Sprite.

Naps

Jack takes one nap in the afternoon. Setting a routine with him will make nap time a breeze. I've had great success with putting him down as soon as lunch is over. He should sleep between 1 1/2 to 2 hours daily, but may sleep longer if he's played hard in the morning.

When I put him down for a nap, I give him a milk cup, blanklie, donkey, and his pillow. He might not fall asleep right away, but he still needs to take a nap. He'll sing and play for a while, but will eventually fall asleep.

Play time

I've been working with Jack on playing with toys. He often wants to play with things that are not toys--brooms, soup cans, toilet paper, screw drivers, wedding favors, shoes, dirty dishes from the dishwasher, etc. I say, "Go play with toys" when he's playing with something that he shouldn't be.

Jack loves to play outside, but I encourage you to be extremely careful when allowing him to play outside. He is fast, he is two, and he is tiny. If he is outside, we of course want Mark or Julia to be out there, too, and right with him. It's fine for the girls to play with him, but we're not okay with them being outside alone with him, even if you're just in the back yard and he's in the front yard. Jack responds best to the authority of an adult and could put himself in danger if left alone with a child.

Television

I try not to let Jack watch too much TV, but it is a great babysitter, and I read somewhere that if 30 minutes of Mickey Mouse or Sesame Street buy you a cleaned out dishwasher or a folded basket of laundry, it's worth it. I try to limit him to two shows a day. One in the morning and one after his nap (usually while he has a snack). His favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Disney Channel) and Sesame Street (PBS). Both are available on OnDemand TV through Comcast Cable.

Diapers

Jack's still in diapers for the time being, but he's getting ready to be potty trained. He wasn't ready until recently, and I wanted to wait until he was fully transitioned into your care. He will now tell you when he needs to be changed and sometimes asks to sit on the potty. Putting him on backwards is a good trick for now, and we'll deal with getting a potty for your house later. We'll keep you updated as we potty train. This is one area of Jack's care that we do not want the girls involved with at all.

Time-outs

Time out is still your best method of discipline. He responds really well to this and usually corrects his behavior immediately after. This is how we do it:
Warning--Jack, you will get a time out if you touch the camera bag again.
(continues touching camera bag)
Time out--Jack, you're going to time out because you disobeyed Mommy by touching the camera bag when I told you not to
2 minutes time out
Apology--Jack, come say sorry to Mommy for disobeying. Hug & kiss.

Games & Learning

Jack likes to play simple games like Memory. We play it with 12 cards and match the ones that are the same. He can also count to 10, say the alphabet, and we are working on shapes and colors.

Jack & Bailey

Jack is a great big brother to Bailey. He plays with her, brings me things I need (burp clothes, etc.), and likes to hold her. He does an okay job of sharing with her and we are encouraging that. Sometimes he plays a little rough (falling on her, jumping around), but she seems to love it, so as long as she's not crying, we go with it.

Travel

I put Jack's seat in the middle so that I can turn around and unlatch him. He then climbs up into the front seat and waits for me to let him out. Meanwhile, I get out of the car, close my door, and get out Bailey (who sits directly behind the driver). Then I get Jack, who holds my hand into the store/doctor's office/church.
OR
I get Jack out and carry him around to Bailey's door. I put him in the corner of the triangle that the open car door makes with the side of the car. I tell him, "Do NOT move." I get out Bailey's seat, then take Jack's hand and we walk in.
ALSO
Sometimes Ieave Bailey in her seat, but I usually take her out and put her in the front pack or just hold her. She's just going to fuss in the seat, anyway--unless she's REALLY out.

Introducing Solid Foods

I talked about moving on to solid foods here, but wanted to offer some quick tips to make this transition (once your child is ready for it) as smooth as possible.

First of all, it's important to make sure that your child isn't hungry--especially at that first feeding. Remember that formula needs to remain your child's main source of nutrition for the first year--and, of course, never to feed your child cereal with a bottle.

The next thing to remember is, of course, routine. If you've been here very long, you had to know that was coming :) Try to feed your baby the same amount of cereal at the same time each day. I like to mix mine with a little formula (about 1/2 a scoop) so that the flavor is familiar. I don't know if this helps or not, but Boo seems to like it.

These last two I stole from my friend Christy:
1) A few weeks before you introduce solids, give your baby some supervised play-time with a spoon. I found out recently, that this is actually a good indicator that your baby is ready to start solid foods: if she can reach out, grab an object and stick it in her mouth, she's probably ready to eat!

2) Starting cereal is a milestone for your baby and a messy adventure for the mommy. The baby will instinctively stick out their tongue with every bite, pushing the cereal back out onto their chin and so the mess begins. To help my kiddos learn to swallow the cereal and get the motion down quickly I've come up with a little trick. I give a bite and then very quickly stick in a pacifier for them to suck on. The cereal goes down much easier with less mess. My son started cereal 5 days ago and we've used this trick with him. He is doing great and we'll likely stop using the pacie in a few days as he's already trained himself to keep his tongue in and swallow the food down. I will likely have to pull this out of the trick bag again when introducing fruits and veggies as the texture is different. But that's okay! I'm all about less mess...

You ask...what if my child doesn't take a pacie? No worries! Neither did my second daughter. In fact, she's a thumb sucker (even still at 3 1/2 years old) and had the instinct to put her thumb in her mouth while eating...even messier than usual! The pacifier trick still worked. Babies are used to sucking on something when eating. The pacifier is acting as a bottle or breast would.

There you have it...try it out and see if your meal times are cleaner than before!

Tips on Tuesdays

This tip might not work for everyone and it might not work forever, but, for us, it works really well right now.

A few months back, I had to move Jack's seat to the middle seat in my car. After a couple of days, I noticed that both my kids were happier. As you can read here, my kids are not great car riders.

Here are the reasons I like having them next to each other:
1) They can look at each other and for some crazy reason, my kids like each other.
2) Jack can tell me if the baby is sleeping.
3) If Bailey drops her toy, Jack can hand it to her.
4) "Taking care" of the baby gives Jack something to do in the car and makes him feel like big stuff :)
5) I can easily reach back from my seat and unbuckle Jack. Then, I get out of the car and close my door. Jack will then climb into my seat to get out when I'm ready for him (a lot of times I put Bailey in the front pack when I have them on my own), which saves me having to go around the car and get him--it's just a better, safer plan all around.

FYI--that picture is not posed--on a 4th of July road trip I looked back there and they were holding hands all on their own. Matt was driving, of course, so I took this precious picture to show him.

Bottles and the Older Baby

As I type this, Miss Boo is laying on the ground near the computer trying to pull down the curtains! I can hardly believe that my baby girl is already big enough to 1) grab the curtains 2) move from where I laid her to the curtains 3) crack herself up about the whole situation. Who knew curtains were funny??

As anyone with children knows, babies grow up waaaaaaaay to fast! At 4 1/2 months old, she smiles when she sees me, leaps out of my arms for her daddy and is "playing" with Bubby on the floor. She's practically in college! Boo is already rolling all over the place and eating cereal--and it won't be long before she's moving on to fruits & veggies (more on that later).

It's important to remember as our babies pass these milestones that they are still babies and formula (or breastmilk) needs to be their main source of nutrition for the first year. Try to think of those solid foods as a snack or a side dish to the "real" food--the ba-ba.

This oatmeal is a yummy snack, but my ba-ba is still where it's at!

Welcome, Noah

Noah Matthew Dougherty was born at 11:14 pm on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009. He is the first blessing of Justin & Susan Dougherty (unless you count Fuzz!) and from the pictures I've seen, he is absolutely precious.

I'd like to take this time to welcome Sue into the world of Mommyhood. Enjoy those blearly-eyed newborn days--they go by so fast! I offer you only one piece of advice, Suse: This is YOUR baby with whom you can do whatever you want--hold him, kiss him, and love on him until you are both blue in the face! Don't share him unless you want to and please, don't hesitate to ask for help! Remember this:

Cleaning and scrubing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So quite down cobwebs and dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep!

Moving on to Solid Foods

It's hard to believe, but my little Boo is already on solid foods! You've heard me say before that every baby is different, and in our family, that couldn't be more true than when it comes to solid foods. My doctor recommends starting solid food at around 4 months of age. He recommends we start with cereal and move on to purees later (more on that later). Jack turned 4 months old in October of 2007, so I bought some cereal, washed the spoons and bowls I'd gotten as shower gifts, and tried to feed him. Below is a photo of the result:

HE WASN'T READY.

Not, by any means, that my doctor was wrong. Jack wasn't ready for solid foods at 4 months. And he wasn't ready at 5 months. He was a full 6 months old before he could keep down solid foods of any kind. Before that, any time I tried to feed him cereal--or even those little "puff" things--he projectile vomited. His little system wasn't ready and I wasn't going to make myself and him sick by forcing something on him that he wasn't ready for--so we waited.

Bailey has been a different girl all together. She took to solid foods like a duck to water right at 4 months. From her very first feeding, she followed the spoon with her mouth and had no trouble swallowing like Jack did. I always knew she was brilliant.

I started Boo out on baby oatmeal from the Gerber Company. Jack never really cared for the rice cereal even after he was able to swallow it. My friend Christy recommended the oatmeal and both my kids have loved it. I like to use cereals from the Gerber Company because it has the iron and DHA/ARA supplements that my doctor recommends. Most formula feed babies never need an iron supplement, but cereal is a good place to add an iron supplement to your baby's diet if you need to. There are also iron drops out there, but that's another story for another blog.

Tips on Tuesday

In honor of my friend's Sue's due date being this week, here's a photo-related tip for mamas with new babies.

Every month on the day he was born, we took a picture of Jack in the same spot next to the same toy. It was so fun to watch him grow and change throughout the year. In July, CVS has a free photo book deal, so we had these pictures turned into a photo book for us to keep. I love to look at it and watch my boy grow--Jack likes to look at it too! We've done this for Bailey as well--maybe you'll get to see her pictures in March!

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months6 months7 months8 months

9 months10 months
11 months1 year!