Y'all- I don't cook. I worked out a handy (and smart, if I must say so myself) agreement with my husband long before the rings were put on that he'd do all the cooking at our house. He's in charge of the kitchen and pretty much everything that has to do with it. In return for his cooking, kitchen cleaning, dish washing and bottle making, I don't say a word when the kitchen is less tidy and clean than I would personally like it to be. He's an excellent cook, loves experimenting with food and has even reformed me from a very picky eater to a person who loves Indian, Thai, and sushi, among other foods.
Since we've been married for over 7 years, it's been a long time since I've cooked regularly. Let me tell you- when it comes to cooking, if you don't practice, you do forget how to do it; at least how to do it well. I used to be okay in the kitchen- now I have been known to even mess up mac and cheese.
Now knowing all that, it should surprise you that I decided making/cooking baby food would be something I wanted to take on.
For a baby shower gift, we got a electric baby food mill, baby food storage cubes, and baby food cookbooks. I did not register for these, and at the time, I thought: seriously? The gift giver (my MIL, who taught my dear husband how to cook- but that's enough blog fodder for another post entirely) thinks that with twins I'll have time to make baby food? Now that the babies have been here for a while, I may be singing a different tune. Maybe I won't have time to make all the baby food my little ones will eat, but I think it will be a nice effort to make what I can. It will be more nutritious for them, and less expensive. And after paging through the baby food cookbooks- it looked fairly easy and not all that time consuming. So tonight, I attempted making our first batch of homemade baby food.
I settled on carrots for a few reasons: "Yellow" veggies are typically recommended first, after rice cereal. It was a toss up between carrots and sweet potatoes, until I read that the proteins in sweet potatoes are harder to digest and then I read that carrots are one food that is suggested to be organic. Since the formula that has worked best for Sam and Anna has partially broken down proteins (and people, we've tried 5 different kinds of formula before we finally settled on this one), I was worried that the proteins in the sweet potatoes might cause problems if we attempt that first. So carrots, it was.
Now you won't see any pictures for a while of Sam and Anna enjoying the pureed carrots (although I tasted them and thought they were yummy) because we haven't actually started solid foods yet. I froze the pureed carrots, which will be fine for 6 weeks-2 months. We're waiting until closer to 6 months to begin our adventures into solid food. Call me crazy (and I'm sure this is atypical first-time-mom behavior) but I'm really not that excited to start this stage. It's not because I want my little ones to stay "babies," it's partly because feeding them formula is still a huge challenge for us daily. It takes a lot of work to get in as many ounces as they get a day, which is still not as much as they should (damn reflux and oral issues). I'm dragging my feet on adding another eating challenge into our day.
I'm also not enthused about starting solids because some foods can cause reflux flare-ups in babies that have reflux. It varies so much from baby to baby, that we won't know the foods that will cause a reflux flare-up until we try them. For that reason, babies that suffer from reflux need to be introduced foods much more cautiously and slowly than a typical baby.
Honestly, I'm scared of having more trouble with reflux. With every food we try, I'm going to be nervous that my babies will be miserable for days afterwards. I think that may be a subconscious reason why I thought to give making baby food a try: to have some control over the uncertainty that solids will be for us. And maybe even to try to drum up some enthusiasm for the milestone event that is just around the corner. I promise I'll post pictures when that day arrives. :)
6 comments:
You sound like my twin in the kitchen. I'm also a terrible cook. It's commonplace for us to have chicken nuggets & mac and cheese for dinner because that's about the range of my cooking abilities. But I also decided to take on making homemade baby food after the dr recommended it and it's very easy. I still buy the Gerber stuff too but I consistently make and freeze sweet potatoes & avocados- his favorites. I don't blame you for waiting until closer to 6 months to start. We started at 4 months (again, dr recommended) but I don't think he truly got the hang of it until closer to 6 months.
I made our boys' foods, and loved it. And I hope that you have the same experience that we did-that eating/feeding solids were SO much easier that struggling for an hour to get a bottle of formula down. Good luck when you get there!
Hi! I have been reading for a while but this is my first time commenting. My son has horrible reflux also (he is still on two different meds twice a day at 19 months old). I just wanted so share some of the things that we learned when we started him on sold food. One of the main things that we learned when starting him on solid food was to avoid baby food with a lot of acidity. He could not tolerate applesauce or most fruits. Peaches were on the either or list depending on what we mixed them with. We started out with cereal first (due to reflux to help keep his food down) and then moved onto veggies. I often would also throw either a tablespoon or a teaspoon (depended on how much he was getting) of cereal in with his food to thicken it up so he could not spit it up as easily. Hope their reflux gets better soon!
I'm not in a hurry to start solids, either, but not for reflux reasons. I just find nursing to be so much easier.
Plus they say their digestive systems aren't quite mature enough until 6 months. So I think you're right to wait.
Good job on making the baby food! I want to do that eventually but I don't know what to use to make it. I don't have a baby food mill or anything.
We are still not on solids because of Lexi's oral aversion. It is so incredibly hard with a baby(ies) with reflux. Feeding time is not fun or easy, it's a constant battle so I think you're doing the right thing by waiting.
Look at you!! I hope I can be half the awesome twin mommy that you are. :-)
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