feeding baby

Brittany - posted on 04/28/2010

My son prefers homemade baby food. It's easy to make and she might not like how smooth jarred baby food is. He likes his food chunky because he can chew it now, maybe that's how she feels. Either that or she just doesn't like how it tastes. Homemade baby food is easy to make. All you have to do is cook fresh or frozen veggies and stick them in the blender with whatever choice of fully cooked meat you'd like. You can make it as smooth or chunky as she wants it.

Kristin - posted on 04/28/2010

As long as you stay away from items that are known allergens you are fine giving her table food. Just keep the bites small and supervise closely. Have fun.

Barbara - posted on 04/28/2010

I would just give her the table food but make sure pediatrician says its ok to give her anything the nurse can usually tell you over the phone.

Pam - posted on 04/28/2010

My oldest daughter never wanted baby food of any kind. She was breastfed exclusively and then partially, but as soon as she could reach for it, she wanted whatever was on my plate. Whatever we were eating that I could mash up smoothly with my fork was what she ate. I would even (gross as it sounds) chew up tiny bits of meat for her. Not sure how healthy THAT is! :O) At any rate, she's almost 15 now, and has liked a wide range of foods of all kinds for basically her whole life. I have no complaints.

If your daughter was resistant to all solid food, I would suggest getting away from it for a month or so and then trying again. That could mean that she isn't ready for variety yet. If you're breastfeeding, she can get all of the nutrition she needs from breastmilk for months yet.

Donna - posted on 04/28/2010

There's nothing wrong with allowing your daughter to eat table food. Just be careful not to give her foods that she shouldn't be eating yet, like eggs. My children all ate table food from the time they were young since they didn't like baby food either and they grew up fine, no food allergies of any kinds. Just make sure that you cut up the food into pieces small enough for her not to choke.

Krista - posted on 04/28/2010

I would try making her food. Jarred food really doesn't taste very good (I tried it once with my son, he hated it, I tasted it and realized why.)



It's not very difficult or time-consuming. On a Sunday or something, simmer a few chicken thighs, and microwave a couple of sweet potatoes. You can also microwave some frozen peas, and roast a squash in the oven.



When the food is cooked, just throw each type of food separately into the food processor or chopper (take the skin off the chicken), and mince it up relatively fine. Where she's able to handle a bit of table food, you probably don't need to puree it, but make sure there are no big chunks.



Then, fill ice cube trays with the food, pop them in the freezer, and once they're frozen, transfer them to freezer bags marked with the contents. Each cube is about 2Tbsp of food, if you're monitoring intake.



Voila! When you want to give your baby supper, just grab a cube of veg and a cube of meat, pop 'em in a bowl, nuke them for about 45 seconds, stir, test it on your lip to make sure it's not too hot, and dinner's ready!



Right now in my freezer I have chicken, turkey, beef, broccoli, peas, cauliflower, squash, and sweet potato. If the baby doesn't like the texture of the meat (sometimes it can be a little mealy), you can mix it with a bit of unsweetened applesauce.



Hope this helps!



(Plus, this is a lot more economical than buying jars, in the long run. A jar is a little under a dollar, and only lasts for one meal. A head of cauliflower is about $2, and you can get about a dozen cubes out of it.)

Iridescent - posted on 04/28/2010

That is just fine. Be careful of ingredients of what you feed her, and try to stick to single ingredient foods as you're starting to watch for allergic reactions.