Re: Homemade baby food

Hi Nicole,

Thanks for visiting my site.

>I'm not sure if you saw my recent posts but I tried to give my son his first taste >of homemade veggies and it didn't work out so well. I think it's because of the >consistency like you mention on your site. I bought one of those baby food >processors and it seems to leave it a bit chunky but it could be that I'm not doing >it right also (i.e. not enough water, not cooking the veggies long enough).

I must admit that my first feeding sessions weren't promising in the least. I'd mashed some potatoes which had been pressure-cooked for 20 minutes and he didn't agree to them at all! I reckon he ate about a spoonful each time, max. I tasted it myself and I didn't particularly like it, so no wonder :-). It was only after experimenting with adding water and mixing longer till the consistency got creamy, that he started eating well. I noticed that he did like baby porridge, so I tried to emulate that consistency with his pureed foods. Perhaps he also needed some time to adapt himself to the new situation? I always tasted what I gave him and asked myself "would *I* eat this stuff?" (considering that no salt was allowed).

>I've only tried twice so I definately need practice. How long did it take you before >you got it right?

The time span from the beginning of non-milk food to when he ate well was perhaps about 3-4 weeks.

>I'm curious what made you chose sunflower oil over other oils and is it necessary to >add the oil? What do you think about extra virgin coconut or cod liver oil?

A bit of oil is neccessary for baby (and us grownups as well) to be able to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in food. Sunflower oil was recommended by our baby advisor and I hear rapeseed oil is also ok. I'd guess other cooking oils would work too (avoid nut oils due to risk of nut allergy), but I'd consult with a baby nutritionist to be sure. I never tried adding milk, but it might be worth a try.

>I'm also curious did you start Andres out on a blend of veggies (i.e. carrot/potato) >or did you give him them separately first to see if he was fine with them >individually?

I started with carrot and potato separately before using both. I hear it is advisable to add more veggies one at a time to be able to catch allergies immediately (Andres didn't have any, luckily). Later, I added chicken, turkey, zucchini, fennel (organic whenever possible, especially with meat - didn't want any chicken hormones in his food :-)).

>My son is 6 months now and he has his 2 front bottom teeth and the 2 front top are >just now showing.

Real cool, he must be a very cute darling!!!

Regards,
Roman Tweet