These are great finger foods to have on hand at home, or to pack a little container into the diaper bag to keep our little one entertained!
Gerber Finger Foods Fruit or Veggie Puffs (Banana, Sweet Corn or Sweet Potato)
Gerber Finger Foods Bitter Biscuits
Zwieback Toast (these unfortunately contain high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils, depending on the brand)
Gerber Graduates Crackers (Cheese or Lightly Seasoned)
Gerber Graduate Mini Fruits or Veggies (Apple or Sweet Corn)
Safeway O Organics Original Crackers
Diced Cheese (or just bring along a cheese stick and break it up)
Cheerios
Breadsticks
The Gerber Finger Foods Fruit or Veggie Puffs are great because they actually dissolve, unlike the Cheerios which actually require some serious chewing. I've had to break Cheerios in half for Kyle, and even then, I notice some worried looks from him as they get a little stuck. I also suggested breaking the toddler crackers in half as well. The Bitter Biscuits and Zwieback Toast can have some decent sized chunks break off, so just be very watchful. Also, these can get VERY messy, with mush all over hands/face/clothes, and usually mom too.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
The dairy myth
I remember hearing everywhere that babies are not to have whole milk until after their first birthday. Funnily enough, it wasn't just me, but everyone I spoke to that interpreted this as "NO DAIRY". In fact, it is perfectly fine to introduce yogurts and cheeses, although you may want to discuss this with your pediatrician first. When Kyle and I went in for his 9-month check up, and were listing his daily food habits, our doctor said "Oh, you've introduced dairy already?!?" Well... the last time I saw you at 6-months, you didn't say anything about avoiding it!
It was however at a Happy Baby class that I received a handout listing suggested foods to introduce based on age, and saw yogurt listed on there. So I bought plain whole milk yogurt and Kyle LOVED it. He has it for lunch every day now. Soon after that, I was discussing foods with a friend who happens to be a pediatrician, and she suggested trying cottage cheese as her son had loved it. We tried it, and he was OK with it, but definitely not as ecstatic as he was with the yogurt! We'll try it again soon and see if his tastes have changed now that he is used to more texture.
It turns out that it is only whole milk (or any milk) that you aren't supposed to give until 1 year of age. Other dairy is OK, (1) because the lactose in yogurt (cottage cheese, cheese, etc) is already partially digested because of the bacteria and (2) breastmilk (and/or formula) won't be replaced by yogurt and cheeses. I found a good summary on the Wholesome Foods site
In addition to yogurt, Kyle has chunks of mild cheddar as a snack or with dinner nearly every day. I asked my pediatrician-friend if I needed to worry about the 3-day rule when introducing new dairy items, even though I know that he is OK with yogurt. She said that since we have no family history of milk allergy that it should be safe to assume that if he is OK with yogurt that he would be OK with other dairy products.
Other cheeses to look for are colby, jack or american. For the yogurt, I just buy "Mountain High" plain whole milk yogurt, and add a different fruit to it each day. There is also Stoneyfield yogurt that is plain whole milk, or they have their "Yobaby" line, which I don't like because there are too many added sugar and flavors which he doesn't need!
It was however at a Happy Baby class that I received a handout listing suggested foods to introduce based on age, and saw yogurt listed on there. So I bought plain whole milk yogurt and Kyle LOVED it. He has it for lunch every day now. Soon after that, I was discussing foods with a friend who happens to be a pediatrician, and she suggested trying cottage cheese as her son had loved it. We tried it, and he was OK with it, but definitely not as ecstatic as he was with the yogurt! We'll try it again soon and see if his tastes have changed now that he is used to more texture.
It turns out that it is only whole milk (or any milk) that you aren't supposed to give until 1 year of age. Other dairy is OK, (1) because the lactose in yogurt (cottage cheese, cheese, etc) is already partially digested because of the bacteria and (2) breastmilk (and/or formula) won't be replaced by yogurt and cheeses. I found a good summary on the Wholesome Foods site
In addition to yogurt, Kyle has chunks of mild cheddar as a snack or with dinner nearly every day. I asked my pediatrician-friend if I needed to worry about the 3-day rule when introducing new dairy items, even though I know that he is OK with yogurt. She said that since we have no family history of milk allergy that it should be safe to assume that if he is OK with yogurt that he would be OK with other dairy products.
Other cheeses to look for are colby, jack or american. For the yogurt, I just buy "Mountain High" plain whole milk yogurt, and add a different fruit to it each day. There is also Stoneyfield yogurt that is plain whole milk, or they have their "Yobaby" line, which I don't like because there are too many added sugar and flavors which he doesn't need!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Blueberries
In the days when we used a lot of jarred purees, I noticed that Kyle liked the Apple and Blueberry combo (of course, he liked everything with apple) So once I started making some fresh foods at home for him, blueberries were one of the first ones I picked. The first time I made it, I used fresh blueberries, however each time after, I went with the frozen ones.
Boil blueberries in water for 15 minutes and then strain off water (but reserve for drinking blueberry juice or to dilute puree if needed) Dump the blueberries into a food processor and puree to the desired consistency. OR, leave them as they are; from my experience with the frozen blueberries from Trader Joe's, they have all been a small size and not a problem once Kyle had moved on to more texture in his foods.
Boil blueberries in water for 15 minutes and then strain off water (but reserve for drinking blueberry juice or to dilute puree if needed) Dump the blueberries into a food processor and puree to the desired consistency. OR, leave them as they are; from my experience with the frozen blueberries from Trader Joe's, they have all been a small size and not a problem once Kyle had moved on to more texture in his foods.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Sample One-Day Menu for an Eight- to Twelve-Month-Old
Taken from the AAP "Caring for Your Baby and Young Child Birth to Age 5"
1 cup = 8 ounces [240 ml]
4 ounces = 120 ml
6 ounces = 180 ml
BREAKFAST
1/4-1/2 cup cereal or mashed egg yolk
1/4-1/2 cup fruit, diced
4-6 oz. formula/breastmilk
SNACK
4-6 oz. juice
1/4 cup diced cheese or cooked vegetables
LUNCH
1/4-1/2 cup yogurt or cottage cheese
1/4-1/2 cup yellow vegetables
4-6 oz. formula/breastmilk
SNACK
1 teething biscuit or cracker
1/4 cup diced cheese or meat
DINNER
1/4 cup diced poultry, meat, or tofu
1/4-1/2 cup green vegetables
1/4 cup noodles, pasta, rice, or potato
1/4 cup fruit
4-6 oz. formula/breastmilk
BEFORE BEDTIME
6-8 oz. formula/breastmilk or water (If formula or breastmilk, follow with water or brush teeth afterward.)
Notes from Fiona:
Interesting that this is from the AAP, because when we saw the MD for Kyle's 9-month check up and I mentioned his 3 meals a day, plus occasional snack, she said that he didn't really need to be getting 3 meals a day until he is a year old, but that instead, the solid foods now are more for practice and to get him accustomed to different textures. So, what our actual menu for a day is (now at 10-months)
Breakfast
Breastmilk (not sure how much he gets)
1/4 cup cereal + 2 oz. formula
2+ oz fruit
Lunch
Breastmilk or formula (~6 oz)
1/4 yogurt
2+ oz fruit
1/8 cup cereal + formula
Snack
Breastmilk or formula (~4-6 oz)
1-2 oz Diced cheese (not every day)
Veggie puffs, crackers, toast or pita bread (not every day)
Dinner (all finger foods)
Formula (I try to push 6 oz, but that doesn't always happen)
Veggie puffs, crackers, toast or pita bread
Green beans, peas or carrots (need to work on some more variety for finger foods here!)
Chicken, legumes or egg yolk
Diced cheese
Banana or Avocado (need to work on some more variety for finger foods here too!)
1 cup = 8 ounces [240 ml]
4 ounces = 120 ml
6 ounces = 180 ml
BREAKFAST
1/4-1/2 cup cereal or mashed egg yolk
1/4-1/2 cup fruit, diced
4-6 oz. formula/breastmilk
SNACK
4-6 oz. juice
1/4 cup diced cheese or cooked vegetables
LUNCH
1/4-1/2 cup yogurt or cottage cheese
1/4-1/2 cup yellow vegetables
4-6 oz. formula/breastmilk
SNACK
1 teething biscuit or cracker
1/4 cup diced cheese or meat
DINNER
1/4 cup diced poultry, meat, or tofu
1/4-1/2 cup green vegetables
1/4 cup noodles, pasta, rice, or potato
1/4 cup fruit
4-6 oz. formula/breastmilk
BEFORE BEDTIME
6-8 oz. formula/breastmilk or water (If formula or breastmilk, follow with water or brush teeth afterward.)
Notes from Fiona:
Interesting that this is from the AAP, because when we saw the MD for Kyle's 9-month check up and I mentioned his 3 meals a day, plus occasional snack, she said that he didn't really need to be getting 3 meals a day until he is a year old, but that instead, the solid foods now are more for practice and to get him accustomed to different textures. So, what our actual menu for a day is (now at 10-months)
Breakfast
Breastmilk (not sure how much he gets)
1/4 cup cereal + 2 oz. formula
2+ oz fruit
Lunch
Breastmilk or formula (~6 oz)
1/4 yogurt
2+ oz fruit
1/8 cup cereal + formula
Snack
Breastmilk or formula (~4-6 oz)
1-2 oz Diced cheese (not every day)
Veggie puffs, crackers, toast or pita bread (not every day)
Dinner (all finger foods)
Formula (I try to push 6 oz, but that doesn't always happen)
Veggie puffs, crackers, toast or pita bread
Green beans, peas or carrots (need to work on some more variety for finger foods here!)
Chicken, legumes or egg yolk
Diced cheese
Banana or Avocado (need to work on some more variety for finger foods here too!)
Sunday, November 26, 2006
How to get started
Kyle started sleeping through the night at 3-1/2 months, the first night that we moved him into his own room (Why didn't we do this sooner?!?!) However, by the time he was 5-months old, he started waking in the middle of the night again, and no matter what we did, we couldn't soothe him back to sleep and decided that he must be hungry. The moderator from my parents' support group had warned that once our babies start to sleep through the night, we shouldn't back step and start feeding them again if they wake. So after the first night of feeding him, we decided that maybe it was time to start the cereal.
When we saw Kyle's doctor at 4 months, she had recommended holding off on the cereal until 6 months, however, we didn't think this was possible, with a big baby who was very hungry. We had played around with the cereal a little bit, but after Thanksgiving and the middle-of-the-night episode, we stepped it up to much more of a serious business.
I initially followed the directions on the rice cereal box for baby's "first meal", and tried to spoon some into Kyle, but the mixture was SO runny, basically it was still just milk. Over the next few days, I quickly ramped it up to something more substantial that I could actually keep on the spoon, and Kyle had no problems with the consistency. After rice cereal for a week, we moved on to barley cereal, and then on to oatmeal. I thought Kyle would like a little variety, but once he had had the oatmeal, there was no going back. The best thing that I could do was to mix in a little of the rice or barley with a lot of the oatmeal.
When we saw Kyle's doctor again at his 6-month check-up, I told her that we had had to start cereal because his/our sleep was suffering, but that all he really liked now was the oatmeal - could we start mixed grain? Because we had no family history of wheat allergy, and he'd managed everything else well, she gave us the go ahead - with the standard warning to wait a few days for any adverse reaction.
The first month of cereal, Kyle was ecstatic, with a "MMMMMM" for each mouthful we gave him, as if to say "Why didn't you give me this stuff earlier?!?"
When we saw Kyle's doctor at 4 months, she had recommended holding off on the cereal until 6 months, however, we didn't think this was possible, with a big baby who was very hungry. We had played around with the cereal a little bit, but after Thanksgiving and the middle-of-the-night episode, we stepped it up to much more of a serious business.
I initially followed the directions on the rice cereal box for baby's "first meal", and tried to spoon some into Kyle, but the mixture was SO runny, basically it was still just milk. Over the next few days, I quickly ramped it up to something more substantial that I could actually keep on the spoon, and Kyle had no problems with the consistency. After rice cereal for a week, we moved on to barley cereal, and then on to oatmeal. I thought Kyle would like a little variety, but once he had had the oatmeal, there was no going back. The best thing that I could do was to mix in a little of the rice or barley with a lot of the oatmeal.
When we saw Kyle's doctor again at his 6-month check-up, I told her that we had had to start cereal because his/our sleep was suffering, but that all he really liked now was the oatmeal - could we start mixed grain? Because we had no family history of wheat allergy, and he'd managed everything else well, she gave us the go ahead - with the standard warning to wait a few days for any adverse reaction.
The first month of cereal, Kyle was ecstatic, with a "MMMMMM" for each mouthful we gave him, as if to say "Why didn't you give me this stuff earlier?!?"
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