Well, as I just mentioned Sophia is now 5 months old and in just a few weeks ready for her solids. I think she's already ready to eat other stuff, but I'm trying to wait another 2 weeks and get a little closer to the 6 months before I start her on solids. Why? Well, the WHO recommends to wait till 6 months, and other research also suggests that it's better to wait till 6 months rather than starting around 4-5 months. So, we're waiting. And while I'm waiting, I thought I'd start looking into how to prepare baby foods. I thought it'd be nicer, cheaper and healthier to make my own baby food. Geeze, little did I know.
When Sophia was born, I initially thought every little thing I do wrong will kill her. Eventually I got over that and realized those little babes are a little more resilient than one would think. Now that I started looking into making my own baby food, I find myself overwhelmed and confused by everything I read. Everything seems dangerous if given to early or not enough or at the wrong time or if not stored this way or that way, or prepared this way or that way and...I'm already seeing myself killing my baby with my home-made baby food. I think the most confusing part is to figure out what's actually truly healthy, the best food to start with, and at the same time practical and affordable. Who would have thought it could be so confusing and difficult to figure out how to best feed my child. It makes me want to continue to only breast feed until she's ready for any food.
Anyway, after reading all kinds of stuff, I think this is what I've concluded for now: I'll start Sophia on egg yolks and some organic whole grain rice cereal, for all the iron. I could do liver, which is chuck full of iron, but that's simply too gross for me. Meats and vegetables will be next, but not spinach yet, because spinach is dangerous if they're too young. My meats will not touch my veggies while I prepare them and my kitchen will be void of any germs. Everything will be used or frozen the second it's produced. Oh yeah, fruits will follow the meats and veggies. Milk and grains have to wait until Sophia is one year old, and...
Actually, I'm still really confused.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
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9 comments:
When it comes down to it you just have to follow what seems right to YOU. You can find articles that justify just about any perspective you can imagine and contradict each other like crazy. I'll send you some more info about what I do but relax! You are not going to kill your baby. You could feed her pretty much anything and she'd be fine. The fact that you are being so thoughtful about it means she'll be better off than most.
poor mom franzi... wenn du sie noch stillst, bekommt dein baby wohl all die nährstoffe die sie braucht, auch wenn du sie noch nicht mit eiern oder leber (!?!) fütterst... du brauchst keine "menüs" kochen, einfach mit einfachen zutaten wie kartoffel oder karotte anfangen (alles natürlich ohne salz..) lasse allerdings machte bei seiner ersten gemusten kartoffel ein gesicht, an dem ich mich immer noch erinnern kann! :D alles eine gewöhnungssache... (hint: mama von 7 fragen!!...)
Ja, ich muss Leena sutimmen. Sophia bekommt alles was sie braucht durch die Muttermilch, also Eidotter finde ich ein bisschen übertrieben. Vor allem weil Eier ja bekanntlich allergieauslösend sind.
Haha, ist das nicht furchtbar. Was auch imemr man macht, irgendwer weiss es besser. Ich persönlich finde rice ceral am Besten. Man soll ja eh nicht merh als eine Zutat pro Woche einführen. In der 2. woche vielleicht Kartoffeln oder Süsskartoffeln etc.
Ich hoffe bei dir klappt's besser als bei uns. Fé hat bis sie 8 Monate alt war NICHTS gegessen.
Weil ich immer selbst gekocht hab, hat Fé NIE Gläschen gegessen. Sie mochte das einfach nicht. Also, se gewarnt: einmal gekocht, immer gekocht. Auch wenn der Tag total stressig ist, oder für Sonntags in der Kirche. Mein Tipp: Kauf dir nen guten Warmhaltebehälter. :)
Willst Du das ganze schon machen während ihr hier auf Reisen seid?
In regards to breast milk and its nutrients: Research seems to show that around 6 months baby's iron storage is pretty much depleted, and they do NOT get enough from the breast milk, especially if mom doesn't get enough iron herself (remember breast milk is only as good as mom's own nutrition).
It's the egg white that's allergenic, but yolks are ok. And of course, we'd introduce one thing after another (eggs first, followed rice cereal, followed by meat, followed by veggies).
I actually read a good book last night on baby nutrition and cooking etc with all the latest data, nutrition needs, research and I think I have it all figured out now. They also mentioned/recommended to start with meats and/or rice cereal only, and that egg yolks are fine. So, I think this shall be my course of action.
Meike: yes, I'll start some foods already while in Germany.
I should also add that any baby cereal is fortified with iron BECAUSE they don't get enough iron anymore around the time most kids start their solids (why else would they fortify if breast milk or formula does the trick). Also, they've done research that showed how much better and higher the iron levels were of babies who were fed egg yolks (ideally from omega-3 eggs).
Anyway, I like healthy foods and I think using natural food source to provide what is needed is preferable to me over pills and fortified foods. I'll do rice cereal anyway, but mainly for convenience sake because the natural food source of liver grosses me out, and because I'll be in Germany, traveling and all...So there ya go.
But, I think everyone is right about me needing to relax. :)
I understand how confusing it all can be. I just go with whatever is least expensive or on sale. :)My Gerber or Beach Nut...stage 1, 2, or 3 (I figured that they already did all of their research and that they don't add anything extra...ex: just carrots and water). My boys are quite healthy and intelligent with no food allergies, so far...then again, there is that 3rd child female Patterson curse...I'll just have to watch how she reacts to processed sugars...when she actually gets them.
Ehm, I wouldn't put so much trust in commercial food and their research (since it's usually very biased if any research has been done), but also even if they HAVE done their research it doesn't meant that what they produce is good. And even if jar food may not have additives, it's no guarantee that the nutrients were preserved...so, while I don't think it's the end of the world to use jar food, I strongly doubt that it's as good as home-made food, and I most definitely won't put my trust in some company that profits from me trusting them.
What's the name of the book you read? Even though its my 5th baby I still like to read the current research. I'm interested.
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