Baby Foods

First off, this entry is in no way a guide as to how to begin feeding your baby solid foods. This is not a schedule recommendation. I do, however, have a wonderful schedule that I used with my son and plan on using with my daughter. It is very specific. I found often that anything I read or anything the doctor said was too vague as to what to introduce first and how much to introduce. If you are interested, please leave me a comment, and I can share that with you. The purpose of this entry is to encourage you to try making your own baby food, and to explain why this is important. The one book I can highly recommend is Simply Natural Baby Food by Cathe Olson. It's about $12 on Amazon, so it is very affordable. Not only does she include recipes, but also a very detailed explanation as to why you should make your own baby food. I have summarized a few of her points for you here.

First let me encourage you to nurse your child, or at least attempt it. I will discuss breast feeding in greater detail in another topic. Since children start out with milk, this is a good place to start. I am not saying you are a terrible parent if you choose not to nurse. It is a very personal choice. Nutritionally speaking, even doctors will agree that breastfeeding is best for the baby. I nursed my son for 13 months. I really wanted to go 15, but he was done and pretty much weaned himself. He was very easy to wean. I felt blessed. Most doctors will encourage nursing for a year and introducing solids between 4 and 6 months. My personal opinion is that you should wait longer to introduce solids in order to allow their digestive systems to matures. My son was not ready for solids until nearly 7 months. So start when your baby is ready, not when someone tells you you should start. Even if you nurse for only a few months, your child is off to a better start than if you had not nursed at all. I know plenty of mothers who nursed until they went back to work. I commend them for that. I also have many friends whose supply could not keep up with the demand, but I commend them for at least trying.

Psychologist Dr. Kevin Leman explains that you want to get children interested in real food. Don't bring home the "sugar laden food that is often marketed to babies and toddlers." Gerber graduates has a large variety of snacks and meals, but after reading the labels, I won't feed them to my children. Read labels! Prepare well balanced meals at home, and you children will be well balanced eaters. Do you know what the number one vegetable consumed by children? French Fries. My son has maybe had 3. By making your own baby food you eliminate the preservatives and junk that is added.

Cathe Olson says, "whole unprocessed foods that you make yourself are healthiest for your child." The key here is unprocessed. Get some ice cube trays. You can make food ahead of time and freeze it in just the right amount for your baby.

Make it simple. Babies do not have a gourmet pallet yet.

Make it healthy. You should use organic, all natural foods with no additives. Avoid things that contain MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and autolyzed yeast (all naturally occurring forms of MSG), hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, caffeine, sulfites, artificial anything (colors, sweeteners), preservatives. These are all things we should be avoiding anyway. If you don't know what something is, you probably don't want to be eating it.

Make it organic. The side effects of pesticides are more pronounced on infants. The safe "doses" are figured on adult tolerances, not infant ones. There were occasions when I did have to buy jar food, especially if we were traveling. When I did buy jar food, it was organic. Usually I bought Earth's Best. It seemed to be the best choice out of the brands that were available to me.

The recommended book does give suggestions on when to introduce foods. If you have no other guide, this is a good one to follow. Making your own baby food is somewhat time consuming, yet a very simple thing to do. I use the same baby mill that my mother used for us. It's over 30 years old and still grinding. We had a garden this year and are planning one for next year. My daughter will have the advantage of having freshly grown fruits and vegetables. I am looking forward to making foods for her just as I did for my son. Happy cooking and grinding!

For more information www.simplynaturalbooks.com.