Friday, August 30, 2013
Baby Food for Bigger Babies
At every pediatrician's appointment, we get a handy chart explaining what Gideon can eat at this age, suggested amounts, and finger food recommendations. At G's newborn appointment, I realized we would be introducing meat at around 9 months, and it was then that I decided I'd be making all of his food. I'd love to say that I was seriously concerned with providing him with all-organic produce, or a preservative-free diet, but I feel like I need to come clean...
The thought of baby food meat grosses me out.
It's really that simple; I cannot handle the thought of pureed, shelf stable meat. And so I figured if something grossed me out that much, why would I let my child eat it? (I know I'll be singing a different song in a few years when little bear is lobbying for dinosaur chicken nuggets or crazy flavored yogurt- I'll pick my battles then).
So when the 9 month mark rolled around, I made some protein rich homemade meals for little man-
-Chicken spaghetti with pasta stars- I made a quick homemade marinara sauce with extra veggies (corn and carrots- it was just what was in the fridge), pureed it with the immersion blender, added some finely chopped cooked chicken and mixed the sauce with cooked pasta stars. He gobbled this one up!
-Chicken and vegetable casserole- I cooked some veggies on the stovetop (carrots, broccoli, onion), added some flour and milk to make a quick sauce, then stirred in some cheese and some cooked chicken cubes. I pulsed this on in the food processor until the bites were more baby friendly. G also loved this one very much!
-Chicken with mashed root vegetables- This one is self-explanatory- I mixed cooked chicken with mashed sweet potato, carrot, and parsnip. Yummy!
I'm planning on introducing fish pretty soon, since that would be very easy to pick up- and very healthy, too!
I also have some dishes that are higher in protein but meat free- we made a lentil and vegetable dish a few weeks ago.
G is also really expanding his finger food experiences- some things he loves so far are
-toast bites with cream cheese (and we're planning on trying toast with hummus this week)
-red grapes (cut into quarters to prevent choking)
-banana bites (I slice bananas in rounds, then cut each slice into quarters to prevent choking)
-mandarin oranges
-shredded cheese
-cooked pasta shapes (these are hard to catch, though)
-black beans
He is just growing up so fast! What a precious little boy!
Saturday, August 24, 2013
9 months old!
Long time, no blog. Things are so busy with our growing little boy. Here are some quick updates-
Stats- 50th percentile head circumference, 10-20th percentile weight, 50-75th percentile height. He's long and slender. Currently in 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers.
Words- G is getting better at making many letter sounds- he currently says 'ba', 'ma', 'pa', 'ga' and 'da.' He also babbles constantly, and likes to use his outside voice to squeal.
What's he up to?
-sitting for extended periods to play
-standing (very briefly) with support
-he's doing some creeping on his stomach- he usually goes backwards or in a circle. He hates being on his stomach, so our tummy time doesn't last very long.
-reaching up to caregivers when he wants to be picked up
-starting to figure out how to clap
-lots and lots of raspberries
-he loves to be in his jumperoo
His favorite-
food- this one is tough. He loves to eat.
toy- his Baby Einstein piano
dog- Lucy. She lays down beside him so he can "pet" her (his petting is not very gentle- we'll work on it)
New things?
-This week he got promoted to a new class at school. He's with the older babies now, and is adjusting very well to his new environment. He's making lots of friends, taking good naps, and playing nicely. They also provide lunches, so that's one less thing for Mommy to do, which is wonderful!
-Daddy got a new car. When we bought the Jeep Wrangler (the old vehicle), we only thought through a baby seat, but neglected to think through a convertible seat. Since the American Academy of Pediatrics says that babies should be rear facing until age 2, we needed a larger vehicle to accommodate a rear facing convertible seat. Safety first!
-Since G is 9 months old, we can start adding meat to his diet. I made some yummy meals for him tonight to add some protein to his diet (chicken spaghetti with pasta stars, chicken and veggie casserole with cheese, and chicken with root vegetables).
G is so much fun! I sure do enjoy having a little one.
Stats- 50th percentile head circumference, 10-20th percentile weight, 50-75th percentile height. He's long and slender. Currently in 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers.
Words- G is getting better at making many letter sounds- he currently says 'ba', 'ma', 'pa', 'ga' and 'da.' He also babbles constantly, and likes to use his outside voice to squeal.
What's he up to?
-sitting for extended periods to play
-standing (very briefly) with support
-he's doing some creeping on his stomach- he usually goes backwards or in a circle. He hates being on his stomach, so our tummy time doesn't last very long.
-reaching up to caregivers when he wants to be picked up
-starting to figure out how to clap
-lots and lots of raspberries
-he loves to be in his jumperoo
His favorite-
food- this one is tough. He loves to eat.
toy- his Baby Einstein piano
dog- Lucy. She lays down beside him so he can "pet" her (his petting is not very gentle- we'll work on it)
New things?
-This week he got promoted to a new class at school. He's with the older babies now, and is adjusting very well to his new environment. He's making lots of friends, taking good naps, and playing nicely. They also provide lunches, so that's one less thing for Mommy to do, which is wonderful!
-Daddy got a new car. When we bought the Jeep Wrangler (the old vehicle), we only thought through a baby seat, but neglected to think through a convertible seat. Since the American Academy of Pediatrics says that babies should be rear facing until age 2, we needed a larger vehicle to accommodate a rear facing convertible seat. Safety first!
-Since G is 9 months old, we can start adding meat to his diet. I made some yummy meals for him tonight to add some protein to his diet (chicken spaghetti with pasta stars, chicken and veggie casserole with cheese, and chicken with root vegetables).
G is so much fun! I sure do enjoy having a little one.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
8 Months Old!
Wow- time flies with a little one. Here are a few quick updates on our sweet little boy.
Sizes- size 6-9 month clothes, size 3 diapers
Eating- little man weaned himself this week, so he's now exclusively formula fed. After battling bleeding, months of Raynaud's syndrome, and significant supply issues, I'm okay with closing this chapter in his life. Gideon has between 24 and 32 ounces of formula a day, plus two solid meals a day. He eats like a champ! His favorite foods are any puree that contains blueberries, and sweet potatoes. His favorite snack foods are mandarin oranges and peach cubes. He loves to feed himself, and assumes any food around him is his to eat. Watch your plates!
Sleeping- two naps a day, plus sleeping 12+ hours a night. I'm blessed with a great sleeper!
Development Milestones- So many fun things this month!
-Fine tuning his pincher grasp. This was really noticeable with mandarin oranges this month- the first few times they were offered, he would grab them so hard (in his whole hand) that the juice would run out. Now he can pick them up, one at a time, bite off half, and then eat the rest. He's also starting to eat more equally with both hands, instead of just eating left handed.
-Sitting independently for longer stretches.
-Reaching for toys that he wants to play with
-Making some "inchworm" movements on his tummy. No sign of crawling yet, mainly because little man does not like being on his tummy at all. He'll roll on to his back almost immediately.
-Bigger smiles and laughs. He's started to squinch the bridge of his nose when he smiles or giggles.
-Establishing object permanence. I've noticed him leaning around me to find toys that I've hidden, or to see where the doggies have gone.
-Starting to understand "cause and effect." (I hit this button on my toy, and now I hear noise).
New Words- "Mama" is his first word! Melt my heart! He recognizes that saying "mama" gets praise and enthusiasm from me, so he says it a lot, and then giggles when I respond. This has also made naptime a little comical. I laid him down yesterday and could hear him on the monitor saying "mama....MAMA!!....mama mama mama." He's also doing a great job with the "B" sound. He's making another sound pretty often that I'm convinced is in Hebrew- maybe he's a future seminarian?
New experiences- this month Gideon started full time day care at a local church. The ladies who take care of him are so precious, and he has lots of babies his age to be friends with.
Favorite toys- his most favorite toy this month is his ring stacking toy- the kind with five rings of various sizes that stack on top of each other. He likes to pull all the rings off, and then try to eat them. He also loves his shape sorter toy with various shaped blocks. Anything that he can hit together and have it make noise is lots of fun right now.
Favorite books- Our new goodnight story is "Llama Llama Nighty Night."
Unofficial momma endorsement- I have fallen in love with labels from a company called Mabel's Labels. I ordered a set of these to label all of Gideon's bottles and sippy cups for school. They stick well, lay flat on curved surfaces without puckering, and are completely dishwasher safe. I am a huge fan.
It is so fun to watch Gideon grow!
Sizes- size 6-9 month clothes, size 3 diapers
Eating- little man weaned himself this week, so he's now exclusively formula fed. After battling bleeding, months of Raynaud's syndrome, and significant supply issues, I'm okay with closing this chapter in his life. Gideon has between 24 and 32 ounces of formula a day, plus two solid meals a day. He eats like a champ! His favorite foods are any puree that contains blueberries, and sweet potatoes. His favorite snack foods are mandarin oranges and peach cubes. He loves to feed himself, and assumes any food around him is his to eat. Watch your plates!
Sleeping- two naps a day, plus sleeping 12+ hours a night. I'm blessed with a great sleeper!
Development Milestones- So many fun things this month!
-Fine tuning his pincher grasp. This was really noticeable with mandarin oranges this month- the first few times they were offered, he would grab them so hard (in his whole hand) that the juice would run out. Now he can pick them up, one at a time, bite off half, and then eat the rest. He's also starting to eat more equally with both hands, instead of just eating left handed.
-Sitting independently for longer stretches.
-Reaching for toys that he wants to play with
-Making some "inchworm" movements on his tummy. No sign of crawling yet, mainly because little man does not like being on his tummy at all. He'll roll on to his back almost immediately.
-Bigger smiles and laughs. He's started to squinch the bridge of his nose when he smiles or giggles.
-Establishing object permanence. I've noticed him leaning around me to find toys that I've hidden, or to see where the doggies have gone.
-Starting to understand "cause and effect." (I hit this button on my toy, and now I hear noise).
New Words- "Mama" is his first word! Melt my heart! He recognizes that saying "mama" gets praise and enthusiasm from me, so he says it a lot, and then giggles when I respond. This has also made naptime a little comical. I laid him down yesterday and could hear him on the monitor saying "mama....MAMA!!....mama mama mama." He's also doing a great job with the "B" sound. He's making another sound pretty often that I'm convinced is in Hebrew- maybe he's a future seminarian?
New experiences- this month Gideon started full time day care at a local church. The ladies who take care of him are so precious, and he has lots of babies his age to be friends with.
Favorite toys- his most favorite toy this month is his ring stacking toy- the kind with five rings of various sizes that stack on top of each other. He likes to pull all the rings off, and then try to eat them. He also loves his shape sorter toy with various shaped blocks. Anything that he can hit together and have it make noise is lots of fun right now.
Favorite books- Our new goodnight story is "Llama Llama Nighty Night."
Unofficial momma endorsement- I have fallen in love with labels from a company called Mabel's Labels. I ordered a set of these to label all of Gideon's bottles and sippy cups for school. They stick well, lay flat on curved surfaces without puckering, and are completely dishwasher safe. I am a huge fan.
It is so fun to watch Gideon grow!
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Goin' Swimmin'
For the past three years, we've spent the weekend of the 4th with a set of family friends in Mt. Hope. We were very excited to come back this year as a family of three!
First we had to get Gideon all decked out in appropriate sun protective gear. Poor kid has alabaster skin, just like his momma.
Check out those cool sunglasses! We got him some that actually wrap around his head so that he won't pull them off.
Keith tried dipping Gideon's toes in the water first to see how he would react. He wasn't very impressed.
He was content to sit on Daddy's lap for a family photo.
We walked around the pool and let him splash his feet in the water. He was very content to do little splashes. We even played "washing machine."
And then he let me push him around on a float. He seemed pretty content in this big float- he did NOT like the "kiddie" float we tried to put him in first.
Overall, Gideon was a great little boy for our day trip. There was so much activity that he didn't want to sleep, so he's made up for missed sleep today. We look forward to more fun swimming trips here soon!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
7 Months Old
Our sweet little boy is 7 months old! Here are a few updates...
Sizes? Size 6 or 9 month clothes- he just wears what fits since sizes vary between manufacturers. Size 2 diapers during the day, and size 3 at night.
Eating? He nurses once a day, and receives three additional formula bottles a day (8 oz). He's on a pretty great schedule- 6, 10, 2, and 6. He gets two solid meals a day, as well as snacks of puffs or teething biscuits. I'm also letting him try to eat some finger foods, and he's done great with fruit. He's eaten a whole banana (cut into small pieces), a pear fruit cup, and a peach fruit cup. I'm feeding him fruit packed in water with no added sugar, and breaking the larger fruit pieces into smaller chunks- he loves to pick up the pieces and feed himself!
Sleeping? Like a champ! Bedtime is at 6:30 pm, and he'll sleep until 6:30 am. He also takes a short morning nap and a longer afternoon nap. I love that he's such an easy baby to put to sleep- we just lay him down, give him his WubbaNub, crank the mobile, turn on the sound machine, and make a hasty exit (I promise that only takes 10 seconds in real life- it looks complicated in print). He'll talk to his mobile for a little while, but then settle right down and go to sleep.
Favorite things? Our dogs- He grins bigger for the dogs than anything else. He also loves to play with his blocks from Mimi and Pop, his Sophie the Giraffe, and his push toy that makes a lot of noise.
New this month?
-First sick visit to the pediatrician for some diaper rash that just wouldn't clear up.
-First date night out for mom and dad, which meant babysitting from his sweet great aunt.
-First trip to the dog park to let the puppies play.
We also got to celebrate Keith's first father's day this month! We even made a fun Auburn-inspired craft for Keith to place in his office.
Totally unrelated to our craft and a blurry photo, but too cute not to post. Look at this cutie pie!
I have the most precious little boy in the world. I am so blessed to have him in my life.
Sizes? Size 6 or 9 month clothes- he just wears what fits since sizes vary between manufacturers. Size 2 diapers during the day, and size 3 at night.
Eating? He nurses once a day, and receives three additional formula bottles a day (8 oz). He's on a pretty great schedule- 6, 10, 2, and 6. He gets two solid meals a day, as well as snacks of puffs or teething biscuits. I'm also letting him try to eat some finger foods, and he's done great with fruit. He's eaten a whole banana (cut into small pieces), a pear fruit cup, and a peach fruit cup. I'm feeding him fruit packed in water with no added sugar, and breaking the larger fruit pieces into smaller chunks- he loves to pick up the pieces and feed himself!
Sleeping? Like a champ! Bedtime is at 6:30 pm, and he'll sleep until 6:30 am. He also takes a short morning nap and a longer afternoon nap. I love that he's such an easy baby to put to sleep- we just lay him down, give him his WubbaNub, crank the mobile, turn on the sound machine, and make a hasty exit (I promise that only takes 10 seconds in real life- it looks complicated in print). He'll talk to his mobile for a little while, but then settle right down and go to sleep.
Favorite things? Our dogs- He grins bigger for the dogs than anything else. He also loves to play with his blocks from Mimi and Pop, his Sophie the Giraffe, and his push toy that makes a lot of noise.
New this month?
-First sick visit to the pediatrician for some diaper rash that just wouldn't clear up.
-First date night out for mom and dad, which meant babysitting from his sweet great aunt.
-First trip to the dog park to let the puppies play.
We also got to celebrate Keith's first father's day this month! We even made a fun Auburn-inspired craft for Keith to place in his office.
How did we live before Pinterest? I mean, really?
"What did you do to my feet, mommy?"
"I can make my Bumbo turn ORANGE!"
Totally unrelated to our craft and a blurry photo, but too cute not to post. Look at this cutie pie!
I have the most precious little boy in the world. I am so blessed to have him in my life.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
More Baby Food
I'm two months in to homemade baby food making, and I still love preparing all of little man's food for him. Just look at how pretty these purees are!
From top to bottom, left to right, potato-carrot-corn, strawberry, broccoli, mango, nectarine-strawberry, parsnip, cherry-banana, carrot.
Some other purees I've made that he's loved have included strawberry-blueberry, mango-banana, and blueberry-banana.
One of my baby food making books says that purees containing bananas aren't suitable for freezing. I couldn't think of a reason why Gideon couldn't eat previously frozen bananas, other than freezing then thawing bananas changes the texture. Little man LOVES banana containing purees. (If I want to make just plain banana, I smush a banana with a fork and serve. I don't prepare plain banana puree in advance).
Some tricks I've learned along the way with my most recent batches of food-
-Corn needs to be processed through a food mill or pressed through a sieve before freezing for texture. I should've done this when I prepared english peas, as well.
-Strawberries are in season, so I've made multiple strawberry-containing purees. It's a huge advantage of homemade baby food making- prepare what's in season for a HUGE cost savings!
-Nectarines peel easily if the peels are scored on the bottom, the nectarines are placed in boiling water for a minute, and then removed and placed immediately in ice water. The skin just falls off.
-Peeled nectarines are slippery.
-My dogs really like nectarines.
A few days ago I was in Target, and a mom walked past me on the baby aisle saying she was looking for mango baby food. She continued to explain how mango was her son's favorite, but she had a really hard time finding mango puree. This past week mangos were 10 for $10 at Publix, so for four dollars, I made six to eight servings of mango baby food, without having to search high and low for it! Yet another homemade baby food advantage!
I think his current favorite is the cherry-banana. The first time he tried it, he tried to steal the bowl away from me and grab the spoon. See?
Bless him, if only I had a spoon-straw.
I'm looking forward to trying some new recipes in the coming weeks. I'd really like to try making a puree from kale, and I can't wait until peaches are in season.
I'm looking forward to trying some new recipes in the coming weeks. I'd really like to try making a puree from kale, and I can't wait until peaches are in season.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Slow down, time!
Oh my gracious little boy is growing up so fast! Look at these neat accomplishments!
Holding and manipulating Sophie the Giraffe
Playing in my activity center
And sitting all by myself!
"The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, for babies grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."
Playing in my activity center
"The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, for babies grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."
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