Oatmeal with Daddy!
December 29th, 2013
So I don't know about you, but introducing solids was and is super confusing! If you Google it, you will be bombarded with a million different methods and opinions for starting your little one on solid foods. I asked friends, bought books, and Googled until I was going crazy.
We waited until Liam was 6 months old to start him on solid foods. He was MORE than ready. He had been watching us for weeks as we ate. Literally would follow the spoon or fork. He was also reaching for our plates at dinner. After much debate I decided to just start him on rice cereal to make sure he could swallow properly before moving on. He was a champ from day one! Swallowed no problem. By day 4 of rice he was over it. I have decided to make my own baby food using the baby bullet system. Thus far, I have only made homemade steel cut oatmeal for my baby boy, but I still feel pretty accomplished about it! Liam definitely likes oatmeal better! Today, December 31st, 2013, he ate a whole 2 oz! I am lost as to which veggie to introduce first so I am waiting to talk to our new pediatrician this Friday at his 6 month check up, to see what direction she recommends we go in.
I was really nervous about how introducing solids would affect nursing, but so far so good. Liam still nurses 5 times a day, his longest stretch being in the morning after his oatmeal. Here's his typical schedule right now:
6AM nurse
7:30AM oatmeal
10:30/11AM nurse
2:30/3PM nurse
5:30PM nurse
8PM nurse to sleep
BUT...we will see what happens next. This kiddo likes to keep me on my toes!
**Check back for more updates and recipes on the foods we try with Li Li **
Homemade steel cut oatmeal! Baby Bullet containers on the right and OXO containers on the left!
1/4/14
Sweet Potatoes
Today Li Li tried Sweet Potatoes for the first time! He was OK with them at first, but after while he was not feeling it!
Here are his first bites!
Here he is not enjoying it too much!
Sweet Potato Recipe:
1 whole sweet potato
4 oz breastmilk
dash of water
Clean and wash the sweet potato.
Peel the skin off.
Chop the sweet potato into small cubes and steam until it breaks apart with your fork.
Puree using a blender (I use the Baby Bullet).
At this point I added 4 oz of breastmilk and a dash of water to get a thin puree.
I put 5 servings in containers for the refrigerator and 5 servings in a tray for the freezer.
I think I am going to add more breastmilk to the sweet potatoes tonight to thin it out more for Liam. I think it was a little too sticky and hard for him to work with in his mouth. I am also going to mix it with his oatmeal.
Here's hoping he enjoys it more in the next few days!
xoxo,
Molly
1/7/14
Butternut Squash
One bag of "steam in the bag" butternut squash
6 oz of fresh breast milk
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It came out really thin and smooth which I was hoping for!
Put a bunch of containers in the fridge and froze the rest.
Here's hoping Li Li likes it!
Stay tuned for video of his first bites tomorrow!
1/8/14
First Bites of Butternut Squash
It seems like if I get the puree to the right consistency he's OK with it. Luckily the butternut squash made a very nice, thin puree. He didn't even bat an eye at the new flavor.
3 more days and we can try something new:)
I am now going to do a mixture of oatmeal, sweet potato and butternut squash twice a day for Li Li.
1/12/14
Green Peas
Liam's first green food:)
1 bag of frozen peas (steam in the bag kind)
4 oz fresh breast milk
dash of water
I would have bet $100 that Liam would spit out the peas from bite one but, I was wrong! He ate them all up and actually liked them. The puree was really thin and smooth, once again confirming he likes that texture.
He is now rejecting his oatmeal though...not sure if it is flavor or texture, but I am betting he does not like the chunky texture. I plan to blend it into his new purees so mask the texture a little bit.
Here's a video of Liam's first bites of peas!
1/13/14
New Purees
So about a week or so ago, Liam decided he was not into his oatmeal anymore. Not sure if it was the taste or texture, but he started to make faces and yell when we fed him. I want him to still have oatmeal on a regular basis - to fill him up and to get him that iron he needs - so I decided I needed to hide it in his purees. Yesterday, I set out on a puree marathon! I started by taking his oatmeal and pureeing it into a thin mixture. Note to self - do this first next time because I am betting he would be more willing to eat it when it wasn't so chunky. I then made: sweet potatoes, butternut squash and peas. This time I did not use breastmilk, I used water to get the consistency I was looking for. The purees will keep longer without milk in them. I took all four purees and put them in 4 separate bowls. ALL of my mixtures have the oatmeal puree in them to start with.
Here are the 3 purees I made:
1.) Half sweet potato and half butternut squash (and oatmeal)
2.) Half sweet potato and half peas (and oatmeal)
3.) Half peas and half butternut squash (and oatmeal)
They all have a very thin texture, but you can still add some fresh breastmilk to get your desired texture.
Liam had the first puree this morning and some remaining plain peas from yesterday. He seemed to like it so we will continue mixing:)
Having these mixtures will help when I go back to work next week as well. I only have to prep one bowl instead of three so our morning feeding will go much faster! I hope:)
The purees!
1/16/14
Green Beans
1 frozen bag of steam in the bag green beans
water (enough to get a smooth consistency
So Liam tried Green Beans this morning for the first time! And survey says - yucky! Haha
I think it's the texture because I could not get all of the green beans to puree smoothly. It was still kind of chunky and I know Liam is not a fan of chunks. I think I will have to hide green beans in other purees so that the texture does not bother him. He still ate a few bites, but the more he ate the funnier his faces got!
Enjoy the video:)
1/20/14
Yellow Squash
I used 4 small yellow squash...washed and peeled, then steamed for a few minutes
No water added this time
This puree was really thin on it's own without any water!
I did not add any breastmilk to this puree either. Liam seemed to have no problem with this puree. I think he liked it!
By the way...after a few days, Liam did not hate the green beans as much. He actually started eating them all by themselves without being mixed with anything else.
1/24/14
Carrots
Liam LOVES carrots! Once again confirming that texture is everything for him. He loves anything smooth, without lumps. Every time we have fed him carrots...three times now...he gobbles them up!
Sorry, could not get it to rotate right! GRRR
I used one small bag of organic baby carrots to make this puree.
Chopped them into thirds and steamed them for a long time...until they were breaking with a fork.
Then blended with a little water until very smooth.
Here are his first bites:)
1/28/14
Zuccini
I peeled and chopped 3 large Zuccini and then steamed them until soft.
I blended them alone with no water added.
I do not have a picture of the puree but it looks identical to the yellow squash puree.
Here are Liam's first bites...he did not love it the way he did carrots and yellow squash.
2/1/14
Broccoli
I bought a large bag of fresh chopped broccoli.
I steamed half of it and then added a decent amount of water to get a smooth puree.
I would have bet $100 that Liam would have hated this stuff but...he doesn't seem to mind it too much!
Here are his first bites of the dreaded broccoli!
2/5/14
Prunes
I have no pictures or video of Liam's experience with Prunes because being a working mommy...sometimes ya just drop the ball. We decided to introduce Prunes to Liam as his first fruit because he was having so much trouble pooping. Even though we had been giving him Prune Juice, our doctor said we had to introduce the actual fruit and watch for allergic reactions just in case. I guess you can be allergic to the fruit but have the juice...weird. Liam is not allergic to either and boy did the Prunes help him go!! He has been going quite regularly now and with little effort! YAY:)
To make his Prunes I bought a bag of dried Prunes. I checked the ingredients to make sure there was nothing added...just Prunes.
I steamed them for a few minutes to rehydrate them and soften them.
I them added a good amount of water and blended (they get really sticky so water helps).
When we fed them to Liam I warmed them up and mixed in some fresh breastmilk to help with the sticky texture. He actually liked them warm better!
I started feeding Liam oatmeal again in the morning and mixing in his new fruit! So far he's enjoying it:)
2/9/14
Pears
I bought 4 Pears as ripe as I could find them.
Peeled and chopped
Steamed until soft
Blended with a little of the water from the bottom of the steamer
Looks like applesauce!
Here are his first bites...he likes them:)
I have also been making him new purees to enjoy.
Today I made him a mixture of sweet potato and broccoli.
Hopefully he enjoys it!
2/13/14
Peaches
So Peaches are out of season...which means no fresh Peaches for Li Li. Therefore, I had to search for canned peaches with no added sugar or preservatives. Not the easiest but I found some in 100% juice. Some of the juice happened to be pear juice which is fine since we already introduced pears to Liam a few days ago. I bought 2 cans of these peaches.
I poured the entire can juice and all into the Baby Bullet and then just the fruit from the second can.
I did not need any juice because once I blended it, I did not have a puree, I had a smoothie...almost complete liquid. All well and good since I am blending Liam's fruit into his morning Oatmeal.
He seemed to like it:)
2/17/14
Apricots
Could not find fresh Apricots so we went with the canned version again. Pure juice (pear juice) and no added sugar.
I only added the juice from one can...and I did not need that once again...very soupy.
We were at my parents house for the weekend so my dad is filming. Apricots are quite tart and Liam was unsure of them for a few days but eventually started eating them without hesitation.
2/20/14
Bananas
We have been holding off on introducing anything known to be binding because Liam is still having issues with constipation (poor guy).
But Bananas are a great first finger food so we introduced those this week.
He loved them:)
I just pureed 2 fresh Bananas in the Baby Bullet..no water added.
2/23/14
Pear and Peach Puree
I decided to mix Pears and Peaches for Liam because he LOVED both of them so much.
3 ripe Pears and 4 ripe Peaches
Peeled and steamed until soft then blended together.
He LOVED them this morning in his oatmeal!
Next we plan to try some other grains...Quinoa and Flax. Then another veggies...most likely Cauliflower. Finally...we are ging to try some chicken and turkey:)
Check back in a few days!
Quinoa
Cook the Quinoa according to the package.
I blended it in the Baby Bullet afterwards, but after a few days I did not blend it as much because Liam is getting used to more chunky purees.
Here are his first bites!
Pineapple
I bought canned pineapple in 100% juice.
Two large cans got me about 8 days worth of 2 oz. servings.
Here is what Liam thought!
April Introductions
Blueberries and Kidney Beans
Well we kind of introduced blueberries...2 days worth...but then his poop turned black and scared us so we are currently not eating anymore to make sure that blueberries were the culprit ( I am betting they were ).
He seemed to really like the blueberries though! Hoping he can have them in a few days again since we are so limited in the fruits he can have (skin condition).
Liam LOVES kidney beans...when they are not too thick! He is definitely a texture kiddo...too sticky and he makes a face while eating them.
For the kidney beans we bought a bag of dry beans.
I soaked them over night and then simmered them on the stove for 2-3 hours.
Then i blended them and they looked just like re-fried beans!
For the blueberries we bought a frozen bag.
We let them defrost and then blended.
We left them a little chunky since Liam can handle solid foods now.
He really seemed to enjoy them!
Black Beans are the next food we plan to introduce!
May Introductions
Beef and Bread
So we have really been slacking in the introduction area. Mostly because we have been trying to get his skin clear and keep it clear so we have held off on new foods. You can tell he is getting bored with some foods so I have had to vary his diet as much as we can with his limited foods allowed. His skin has been great for a month though, and we have new oils and ointments to try if he does have a flare up.
We decided to try beef with Liam. He is such a texture kid...boy did he not care for beef when he tried it!
We plan to try wheat bread next in preparation for his first birthday cake. I am also going to bake him a special birthday cake...low in sugar and without eggs in hopes of avoiding a skin flare up and a tummy ache on his big day. I will definitely share the results of that and the recipe!
1/4/14
Sweet Potatoes
Today Li Li tried Sweet Potatoes for the first time! He was OK with them at first, but after while he was not feeling it!
Sweet Potato Recipe:
1 whole sweet potato
4 oz breastmilk
dash of water
Clean and wash the sweet potato.
Peel the skin off.
Chop the sweet potato into small cubes and steam until it breaks apart with your fork.
Puree using a blender (I use the Baby Bullet).
At this point I added 4 oz of breastmilk and a dash of water to get a thin puree.
I put 5 servings in containers for the refrigerator and 5 servings in a tray for the freezer.
I think I am going to add more breastmilk to the sweet potatoes tonight to thin it out more for Liam. I think it was a little too sticky and hard for him to work with in his mouth. I am also going to mix it with his oatmeal.
Here's hoping he enjoys it more in the next few days!
xoxo,
Molly
1/7/14
Butternut Squash
One bag of "steam in the bag" butternut squash
6 oz of fresh breast milk
It came out really thin and smooth which I was hoping for!
Put a bunch of containers in the fridge and froze the rest.
Here's hoping Li Li likes it!
Stay tuned for video of his first bites tomorrow!
1/8/14
First Bites of Butternut Squash
It seems like if I get the puree to the right consistency he's OK with it. Luckily the butternut squash made a very nice, thin puree. He didn't even bat an eye at the new flavor.
3 more days and we can try something new:)
I am now going to do a mixture of oatmeal, sweet potato and butternut squash twice a day for Li Li.
1/12/14
Green Peas
Liam's first green food:)
1 bag of frozen peas (steam in the bag kind)
4 oz fresh breast milk
dash of water
I would have bet $100 that Liam would spit out the peas from bite one but, I was wrong! He ate them all up and actually liked them. The puree was really thin and smooth, once again confirming he likes that texture.
He is now rejecting his oatmeal though...not sure if it is flavor or texture, but I am betting he does not like the chunky texture. I plan to blend it into his new purees so mask the texture a little bit.
Here's a video of Liam's first bites of peas!
1/13/14
New Purees
So about a week or so ago, Liam decided he was not into his oatmeal anymore. Not sure if it was the taste or texture, but he started to make faces and yell when we fed him. I want him to still have oatmeal on a regular basis - to fill him up and to get him that iron he needs - so I decided I needed to hide it in his purees. Yesterday, I set out on a puree marathon! I started by taking his oatmeal and pureeing it into a thin mixture. Note to self - do this first next time because I am betting he would be more willing to eat it when it wasn't so chunky. I then made: sweet potatoes, butternut squash and peas. This time I did not use breastmilk, I used water to get the consistency I was looking for. The purees will keep longer without milk in them. I took all four purees and put them in 4 separate bowls. ALL of my mixtures have the oatmeal puree in them to start with.
Here are the 3 purees I made:
1.) Half sweet potato and half butternut squash (and oatmeal)
2.) Half sweet potato and half peas (and oatmeal)
3.) Half peas and half butternut squash (and oatmeal)
They all have a very thin texture, but you can still add some fresh breastmilk to get your desired texture.
Liam had the first puree this morning and some remaining plain peas from yesterday. He seemed to like it so we will continue mixing:)
Having these mixtures will help when I go back to work next week as well. I only have to prep one bowl instead of three so our morning feeding will go much faster! I hope:)
1/16/14
Green Beans
1 frozen bag of steam in the bag green beans
water (enough to get a smooth consistency
So Liam tried Green Beans this morning for the first time! And survey says - yucky! Haha
I think it's the texture because I could not get all of the green beans to puree smoothly. It was still kind of chunky and I know Liam is not a fan of chunks. I think I will have to hide green beans in other purees so that the texture does not bother him. He still ate a few bites, but the more he ate the funnier his faces got!
Enjoy the video:)
1/20/14
Yellow Squash
I used 4 small yellow squash...washed and peeled, then steamed for a few minutes
No water added this time
This puree was really thin on it's own without any water!
.jpg) |
| First Bites with Daddy |
 |
| Yellow Squash puree |
By the way...after a few days, Liam did not hate the green beans as much. He actually started eating them all by themselves without being mixed with anything else.
1/24/14
Carrots
Liam LOVES carrots! Once again confirming that texture is everything for him. He loves anything smooth, without lumps. Every time we have fed him carrots...three times now...he gobbles them up!
I used one small bag of organic baby carrots to make this puree.
Chopped them into thirds and steamed them for a long time...until they were breaking with a fork.
Then blended with a little water until very smooth.
1/28/14
Zuccini
I peeled and chopped 3 large Zuccini and then steamed them until soft.
I blended them alone with no water added.
I do not have a picture of the puree but it looks identical to the yellow squash puree.
Here are Liam's first bites...he did not love it the way he did carrots and yellow squash.
2/1/14
Broccoli
I bought a large bag of fresh chopped broccoli.
I steamed half of it and then added a decent amount of water to get a smooth puree.
I would have bet $100 that Liam would have hated this stuff but...he doesn't seem to mind it too much!
2/5/14
Prunes
I have no pictures or video of Liam's experience with Prunes because being a working mommy...sometimes ya just drop the ball. We decided to introduce Prunes to Liam as his first fruit because he was having so much trouble pooping. Even though we had been giving him Prune Juice, our doctor said we had to introduce the actual fruit and watch for allergic reactions just in case. I guess you can be allergic to the fruit but have the juice...weird. Liam is not allergic to either and boy did the Prunes help him go!! He has been going quite regularly now and with little effort! YAY:)
To make his Prunes I bought a bag of dried Prunes. I checked the ingredients to make sure there was nothing added...just Prunes.
I steamed them for a few minutes to rehydrate them and soften them.
I them added a good amount of water and blended (they get really sticky so water helps).
When we fed them to Liam I warmed them up and mixed in some fresh breastmilk to help with the sticky texture. He actually liked them warm better!
I started feeding Liam oatmeal again in the morning and mixing in his new fruit! So far he's enjoying it:)
2/9/14
Pears
I bought 4 Pears as ripe as I could find them.
Peeled and chopped
Steamed until soft
Blended with a little of the water from the bottom of the steamer
Looks like applesauce!
Here are his first bites...he likes them:)
I have also been making him new purees to enjoy.
Today I made him a mixture of sweet potato and broccoli.
Hopefully he enjoys it!
2/13/14
Peaches
So Peaches are out of season...which means no fresh Peaches for Li Li. Therefore, I had to search for canned peaches with no added sugar or preservatives. Not the easiest but I found some in 100% juice. Some of the juice happened to be pear juice which is fine since we already introduced pears to Liam a few days ago. I bought 2 cans of these peaches.
I poured the entire can juice and all into the Baby Bullet and then just the fruit from the second can.
I did not need any juice because once I blended it, I did not have a puree, I had a smoothie...almost complete liquid. All well and good since I am blending Liam's fruit into his morning Oatmeal.
He seemed to like it:)
2/17/14
Apricots
Could not find fresh Apricots so we went with the canned version again. Pure juice (pear juice) and no added sugar.
I only added the juice from one can...and I did not need that once again...very soupy.
We were at my parents house for the weekend so my dad is filming. Apricots are quite tart and Liam was unsure of them for a few days but eventually started eating them without hesitation.
2/20/14
Bananas
We have been holding off on introducing anything known to be binding because Liam is still having issues with constipation (poor guy).
But Bananas are a great first finger food so we introduced those this week.
He loved them:)
I just pureed 2 fresh Bananas in the Baby Bullet..no water added.
2/23/14
Pear and Peach Puree
I decided to mix Pears and Peaches for Liam because he LOVED both of them so much.
3 ripe Pears and 4 ripe Peaches
Peeled and steamed until soft then blended together.
He LOVED them this morning in his oatmeal!
Next we plan to try some other grains...Quinoa and Flax. Then another veggies...most likely Cauliflower. Finally...we are ging to try some chicken and turkey:)
Check back in a few days!
Quinoa
Cook the Quinoa according to the package.
I blended it in the Baby Bullet afterwards, but after a few days I did not blend it as much because Liam is getting used to more chunky purees.
Here are his first bites!
Pineapple
I bought canned pineapple in 100% juice.
Two large cans got me about 8 days worth of 2 oz. servings.
Here is what Liam thought!
The Month of March
During this month we introduced Yogurt and Cheese. We waited a long time in between to make sure he did not have a reaction because of his eczema. Sometimes dairy can aggravate eczema so we wanted to make sure he was 100% OK before moving on. Apparently you can give yogurt and cheese before whole milk at 12 months because of the bacteria that is in them. It makes it easier to digest.
Here are two videos of Liam enjoying yogurt and cheese for the first time...and then a video of him feeding himself for the first time at 9 months and one week old!
April Introductions
Blueberries and Kidney Beans
Well we kind of introduced blueberries...2 days worth...but then his poop turned black and scared us so we are currently not eating anymore to make sure that blueberries were the culprit ( I am betting they were ).
He seemed to really like the blueberries though! Hoping he can have them in a few days again since we are so limited in the fruits he can have (skin condition).
Liam LOVES kidney beans...when they are not too thick! He is definitely a texture kiddo...too sticky and he makes a face while eating them.
For the kidney beans we bought a bag of dry beans.
I soaked them over night and then simmered them on the stove for 2-3 hours.
Then i blended them and they looked just like re-fried beans!
For the blueberries we bought a frozen bag.
We let them defrost and then blended.
We left them a little chunky since Liam can handle solid foods now.
He really seemed to enjoy them!
Black Beans are the next food we plan to introduce!
May Introductions
Beef and Bread
So we have really been slacking in the introduction area. Mostly because we have been trying to get his skin clear and keep it clear so we have held off on new foods. You can tell he is getting bored with some foods so I have had to vary his diet as much as we can with his limited foods allowed. His skin has been great for a month though, and we have new oils and ointments to try if he does have a flare up.
We decided to try beef with Liam. He is such a texture kid...boy did he not care for beef when he tried it!
We plan to try wheat bread next in preparation for his first birthday cake. I am also going to bake him a special birthday cake...low in sugar and without eggs in hopes of avoiding a skin flare up and a tummy ache on his big day. I will definitely share the results of that and the recipe!
Hudson LOVED (and still does) avocado. That was his second food, and he'll still choose to eat it whenever it's offered to him.
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