Solid Feeding MUST HAVES

If you're observant (and I know you are) you may have noticed a new Listmania! list in my sidebar. This one is for introducing solid foods. We've struggled with Owen's level of engagement for solid foods for almost five months now so, after lots of reading and trial and error I wanted to compile a list of things that have helped us along the way.

I must say as a qualifier to listing books that I never take one strategy to heart (sleeping for example: We very loosely used THIS BOOK but also incorporated the dream feed strategy from THIS BOOK). Perhaps its my relentless nonconformity or general indecisiveness but I like to read a bunch of methods/theories and go with what works for our family. In my opinion if you are too rigid about any one strategy and your child doesn't fall into alignment exactly as demonstrated in the book this can lead to lots of unnecessary frustration.

My intent was always to make Owen's food and that hasn't changed. It has saved us SO MUCH MONEY, I get peace of mind out of knowing exactly what goes into what he eats and most importantly - I make it with love. Recently I was feeding Owen at a public event and another mother asked me about what he was eating. I responded that it was pears. She asked me why it looked that way and I told her that I had peeled and pureed them myself.

Her: "Your make your own baby food?"
Me: "Yes."
Her: "WHY."  (very pointed, almost defensive statement)

I didn't know how to respond to this. She is a mother, a busy working mother, and I in no way wanted my response to imply that homemade food was superior to store bought. It was a choice for us. My mother made my baby food when I was small and I guess I always intended to do the same. It happens to save us a boat load of cash and I really like doing it (except peeling pears - peeling pears is slippery hell. Or grapes. Or peeling in general.)

My response: "Well right now I stay home with Owen and my full time job is to take care of him. I make food for the rest of our family so it came pretty natural to just make his as well."

I contemplated for a long time about buying THIS. I read reviews, looked for sales and even found one that had been used once from a ready seller on Craigslist (post a wanted ad - never know what you'll get). In the end I decided I didn't need a fancy contraption to make his food. I bought a $4 basket steamer from Wal-mart and already had a mini Cuisinart. I've never thought twice about this product. I'm sure its great and helpful and might have been a perfect addition to a baby registry - but in the end isn't necessary to make your own food.

{Super Baby Food} - this was the first book I read after seeing a friend use the method successfully. Her toddler eats the coolest stuff! Some things I like: When to introduce what, food cube method, preparing different foods for different ages, money saving hints and tips.  What I don't follow: the portion size for age, and I don't make my own porridge. At least not yet. Right now I use Earth's Best Oatmeal because 1) Its easy and 2) it is the only iron fortified food that Owen gets. He hated rice cereal so we switched to Oatmeal because he was more accepting, he still doesn't like it alone so I started incorporating it to other foods such as pears and peas. (look for this book at your local half-price books! Its usually $6. I have two copies. One for me and one I lend to friends!)

{Baby-Led Weaning}This book was released in the US in the last few months but the methodology has been embedded in attachment parenting theory for a while now. I originally disagreed with this approach because seriously? Babies get baby food because... THEY ARE BABIES. But since Owen rejected spoon feeding early on, I desperately wanted him to show interest in food experimentation. That is exactly what this method is. Owen's first solid poop was after I introduced broccoli "trees". The downside: lots of gagging at first. This method requires soft consistency and a close eye. Hard to tell exactly how much baby is ingesting. Its also harder to do the '4 day allergy wait rule' with this if you are feeding from your dinner table. Thankfully Owen doesn't seem to have much sensitivity to foods.

{Child of Mine} This book was handed down to me from Jeremy's aunt. Reading this book helped me to relax. I dreaded our feeding times and this book helped me see that through meals Owen and I are communicating and I needed to respect what he was telling me and be respectful in how I fed him. Some great tips were not to hold new foods right up to the baby's face - rather hold them at least 12 inches away where they can see and study what they are about to eat. Done means done and each child eats at a different pace. Our daily feedings became more relaxed after reading this book.

So the combination of these three books has turned into our "feeding strategy". I use the food cube method and freeze in nested freezer bags. Owen enjoys whole milk cream top yogurt plain and I mix in anything and everything. We were struggling with constipation so with a wonderful recommendation from my friend Kelly, Owen eats at least one serving (1-2 Tbsp) of "Prunanas" a day. Bananas bind him up (but he loves them) and prunes - well yea. So the mixture balances itself out and we have a BM every 1-2 days with limited screaming. Fun fact: rehydrated prunes look like something left behind by a German Shepard or small horse. True story. Kills me every time.

Owen has a very sensitive gag reflex but refuses food that is too liquid-y so I experiment on a daily basis with consistency (apparently gift wrap goes down effortlessly!?) Almost anything can be thinned with yogurt or breastmilk. I'm experimenting with lentils and pastina right now and we take things day-by-day. I am sure this is a fluid process and will change as Owen grows to accept (and reject) new foods and textures. Eating has definitely been our biggest challenge with Owen, and the comforting part about it is that with our next kid at least I'll have a basis for comparison.

There are a few things that I wanted to include but are not from Amazon:

This Bumkin bib pack is a steal! The bibs are great - washable, velcro, shoulder coverage and go for $20 for three on Amazon. This is a SEVEN pack from Costco ($28) which includes the three super bibs AND two infant bibs (we keep these in the diaper bag) AND two toddler bibs (put away for later). This is seriously the only pack of bibs you would ever need to buy. We went for the Dr. Seuss pattern and they are adorable! If you don't have a Costco nearby you can shop online if you know someone with a membership.

Picked up THESE shallow bowls from Ikea the other day for $2.99/ 3pk and they are great. I am going to grab another set next time we are there. It is the perfect size for baby portions, easy to hold in the palm of your hand and just shallow enough to allow food to cool properly. Durable, dishwasher safe and cool colors! Did I mention I really like these bowls?

I think that completes my babyfood dissertation but I've been meaning to share some of my favs for a while. What are your favorite feeding items? Any great tips?