What makes good baby food?

[Rhona]

We're both mad about food and I was lucky in that I didn't "go off" anything when I was pregnant or breastfeeding so little baby got the whole lot - spice, garlic, everything. I'm hoping that it's true, that it sets them up for being a bit more adventurous with first tastes - seems fine so far. I'm also hoping that she will respond to how we feel and talk about food (enthusiastically!). My parents were total foodies too, and we all grew up on GYO stuff and both parents being amazing cooks.

And yep - I agree that breast feeding is best (also waaaay easier if you're a bit idle like me) and I was really sad to start winding it down a week or so ago, and it's so worth pushing through the initial "oW!" 'cos you don't notice after a short time, but my sis had problems with producing enough milk, and have friends who had problems. There is a huge and unfair onus on women to do it no matter what. No-one should ever be made to feel guilty about not bf if you can't, but I would definately encourage anyone to give it a go - I was lucky enough to love it, but didn't at first.

Ooohhh...finally (I never do long posts!) - and maybe this should be the subject of another post entirely - I found myself getting unusually annoyed at the Cr*p food advice and scaremongering aimed at pregnant women. I knew intelligent women terrified that their baby would have all sorts of horrendous problems because they'd had a glass of wine/bit of pate/seafood - I know the good intentions, but I also researched the facts, and the advice is frequently far from measured. Advise, don't terrorize!

[lynda66]

Even good eaters go through phases though. My 2 year old loves raw broad beans, mushrooms and olives among other things, but can I get him to eat a sandwich or a jacket potato at the moment? Nope. With the baby we're going to do baby-led weaning when the time comes and just miss out the purees altogether, so he'll just get whatever the rest of the family is having - much simpler!

Mrs J

oh yeah definitely, i had it with mine, but getting them through it is much simpler if you don't make an issue of it ...... i would still serve it, but i did find when he was really small, he would go off stuff, i'd just keep putting a bit on his plate and eventually he'd eat it.

if he didn't eat it the worst thing to do is take any notice at all, cos then they know that it's a way to wind you up.

so keep serving up the sandwiches, and healthy stuff, if he doesn't eat them, make sure he has something on his plate that he will eat, but leave him a bit hungry, so eventually he'll want something to eat, if he's hungry enough he will eat the sandwich, when he knows that's all there is.

that way, you can make sure he is eating enough, and giving him the opportunity to eat the offending food when he's hungry.

the other method i used when my son refused to eat something green if he could see it, so i would make sauces, with a tomato base, and then liquidise onions carrots, broccoli cabbage etc into it, so they are still getting the vitamins ...... as they get older allow the pieces to get bigger slowly, so eventually you can say you've been eating them all along

i also don't believe you should leave a child sat in front of food for 2 hours cos he won't eat it ..... it's more likely to make him faddy in the end cos food times become a battlefield.

[Pootle]

Butternut squash and pear - yummy!

Also, dried fruit compote for shifting constipation (! yes really)

So many possibilities when they're little - the trouble only starts when they get bigger...

[lynda66]

Also, dried fruit compote for shifting constipation (! yes really).

it still works for adult constipation too ..... though munching a whole large bag of dried fruit probably isn't a good idea unless you have constipation really really bad

[MrsC]

what a thread you've started here with so many of us mums on here. everyone has given such good ideas for LadyWayne and yourself. here's mine - you will know your own child, i didn't breastfeed, couldn't and didn't want too either. i gave my son who was a healthy weight at birth (not that it entirely matters in the long run) unless prem etc, formula milk from birth and then quickly onto 2nd stage milk to weaning at 10 weeks on baby rice initially and then whatever we ate with the exception of no added salt, sugar etc, lots of veggies etc, gradually introducing as we went along other foodstuffs. he was and still is a hungry child from birth reaching wanting to be fed every 2.5 to 3 hours day and night, his body couldn't take the amount of fluid in the milk, so i started to wean. he is 9 nearly 10, a strapping healthy boy, naturally tall like his parents and will give anything a try! if he doesn't like it then at least he tried. you can't ask for much more than that i think. take care and it's nice to think that you are planning ahead x

[MrsC]

it still works for adult constipation too ..... though munching a whole large bag of dried fruit probably isn't a good idea unless you have constipation really really bad

lol, i remember my son going through the eating raisins phase, too many aren't good in the nappy department though lol

[di]

it still works for adult constipation too ..... though munching a whole large bag of dried fruit probably isn't a good idea unless you have constipation really really bad

Huge bags of licquorice in one day not advisable either(DEF not for baby but equally not for adults!)

[lynda66]

lol ...... this thread is turning into a how to avoid constipation thread

was thinking about wind too, is gripe water any good for that now theres no alcohol in it? was always good for knocking mine out lol

[di]

I was told weak chamomile tea was good for wind!

[lynda66]

yeah probably is, i just liked the alcohol knocking him out lol ...... mine liked fennel tea,i think that helped wind too, but it was a long time ago lol, there was a tub you could buy(boots i think) of various herbal drinks for babies, they did chamomile too, you added it to water, and no additives. saved messing cant remember if you could get peppermint, but that's good for wind too.

[di]

word of warning to any breastfeeding mums~Excessive fennel tea drinking causes very yucky green nappies!!Took ages & lots of eliminating unhealthy suspect foods from my diet whilst I happily carried on drinking a zillion cups of "healthy"fennel tea a day to realise that was actually the cause!

[trebellangeminired]

Belated congrats to you and Lady Wayne and hope all goes well. In common with many others, I breast fed my daughter, now 13 until she was 9 months old, only stopping because I had to have an operation and my son, now 10, until he was around 12 months old. Sometimes it was hard, but I have no regrets and would do it again. However when it came to solids, I chickened out. Initially I started them both off on commercial baby rice, but from there it was chicken, beef, lamb, etc but cooked totally without anything added. Vegetables - anything and everything, even if we didn't eat it, again without anything added, just cooked in plain water. All meat and veg initially pureed and surplus frozen in icecube trays and introduced gradually. The downside, if you can call it that, is that when we were out and about and picked up a commercial product for convenience, neither of them would eat it! They still eat a good range of food and have good appetites.

Do whatever you think is right for your child, don't feel guilty. What works for one family might not work for another.

Most importantly, enjoy every moment for it soon passes.

TGR

[lynda66]

word of warning to any breastfeeding mums~Excessive fennel tea drinking causes very yucky green nappies!!Took ages & lots of eliminating unhealthy suspect foods from my diet whilst I happily carried on drinking a zillion cups of "healthy"fennel tea a day to realise that was actually the cause!

lol, it's ok if you feed small quantities to a baby ....... my sister had the same problem with cabbage with one of hers lol

[hamsterqueen]

My son;s first food was mashed parsnip...

Both of mine loved psb and perpetual spinach from teh garden, mashed with a little potato. Carrots, Baked sweet potato, herring roes, mackerel (!) I used to make little casseroles and rice pudding too. My daughters favoirute was pigs liver cassserole. They would eat anything.

Now 19 and 15 and they are so flaming fussy..........

[Pootle]

But what I can't understand is when you have 3 children all breastfed, weaned on homemade food etc - how come they are all so entirely different in their eating habits as toddlers/older children?

Oldest and Youngest Daughters are both fussy about their food - especially fruit and veg. Middle Daughter eats anything and everything - especially tomatoes, sprouts and broccolli. In fact, once she started getting mobile we used to have to make sure everything was washed before it went in the fridge or the veg basket because she could always be found chomping away on raw veg. Her first finger foods were brussels sprouts which she stole off her Dad's plate at Christmas...very strange indeed.

My personal theory? During my pregnancy with MD I craved Beef and Tomato Pot Noodles - I think she's making up for the lack of nutrition