Feed my baby!

There must be a lot of little ones out there right now because I have had an enormous amount of people asking about homemade baby food.  

Yes, I made it for each of my kids.

No, I didn’t stick to it each and everytime…more on how I thought I practically killed Keegan later (I was a super sensitive first time mother!)

But it is a wonderful option!  I highly recommend it.  And don’t be afraid, we’ll do this together.

Keegan was not a huge eater and would only eat maybe one jar of food at a meal.  Brady and Cooper on the other hand could easily knock back at least 3 jars each at a sitting and were costing me a fortune.  Making your own baby food is easy, fun, healthy and super economical, and who couldn’t stand to save a buck these days?  I will begin posting recipes soon but many of you have asked about what to feed your child and when.  Now let me state in big bold letters…I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  But I will pass along information that I researched and what worked for me, but by all means talk to your pediatrician as well.

First the Don’ts…Don’t feed a child under one year…

Honey

Peanut Butter

Strawberries (though I accidentally gave Cooper strawberries at about 8 months and he’s totally fine)

egg whites

fish (this is a personal call – my doctor said to wait until one year)

Also, don’t reheat food more than once, don’t save half eaten food (due to possible bacteria growth), don’t add salt or sugar to young babies food, and don’t offer your baby food or a bottle that you have not tested the temperature of.

The Do’s

Start slowly with just a few teaspoons and one food at a time

Offer each new food for 3-5 days before moving onto the next offering

Keep track of what new foods you’ve tried

Begin with cereals followed by vegetables, then fruits, then meats

Offer a wide variety to expose your little one to the rainbow of foods to enjoy for years to come

I’m going to start by giving you a rundown of the order I gave my kids their food in.  I stopped making Keegan’s food around 7 months (See Coop’s Culinary Adventure for the full story on that fiasco) but the other boys I followed through with up to the year mark.  I’m going to list the order in which I introduced their new foods and once they had it I was able to make them in large quantities and freeze them and offer them in combinations.  Recipes to be posted in the next few days under Homemade Baby Food.

Keegan Iain Fitzpatrick (now 4)

5 months

Rice cereal

potato

zucchini

butternut squash

carrot

6 months

banana

apple

honeydew melon (hated it, he spit it at me)

peach

pear

sweet potato

oatmeal

cottage cheese

7 months

turkey

chicken

avocado

Notice abrupt stop due to avocado incident…

Brady Jackson Fitzpatrick (now 3)

Oddly enough, being that he was a big bruiser of a baby, he had no interest in eating at 5 months…none!  I tried again at 6 months and he was a bit more receptive.

6 months

rice cereal

potato

butternut squash

carrots

cottage cheese

7 months

zucchini & sweet potato (clearly I was feeling daring being that he was my 2nd and I doubled up on 2 new foods at once…I’m so crazy!)

peas

cauliflower

broccoli & potato

mango

banana

honeydew melon (oddly he spit it at me too)

apple

8 months

pear

avocado (without incident I might add)

papaya

multi-grain cereal

turkey

leeks

chicken

rutabaga

9 months

spinach

cheese

yogurt

tomato

egg yolk

10 months

kidney beans

ground beef

You’ll notice that I stop here with Brady, not because I stopped making him food, but because he had the nerve to start walking at 10 1/2 months and even after I kept pushing him down, kidding kidding (well sort of), he was a force to be reckoned with.  I was still cooking, just not writing.

Cooper Mason Fitzpatrick

(Now, and I can’t even believe this but, 11 months old tomorrow!)

5 months

rice cereal

potato

sweet potato

carrot

zucchini

peas

butternut squash

6 months

banana

apple

pear

mango

broccoli

rutabaga

chicken

cottage cheese

7 months

turkey

rice

lentils

cheese

watermelon (no spitting)

cantaloupe

cauliflower

strawberry

blueberry

tomato

8 months

pasta

mushrooms

ground beef

chicken stock

onion

9 months

beef stock

egg yolk

waffles

pancakes

green beans

edamame

oranges

10 months

oregano

rosemary

parsley

corn

kidney beans

black beans

white beans

crab

asparagus

steak

shrimp

scallop

hummus

Keep checking back and we’ll add more!

So there you have it…a bit of a road map to start feeding your infant.  All of these fruits and vegetables can be steamed and then pureed and frozen for easy and convenient use.  There are even machines out now that do it all for you.  I’ll start posting recipes this weekend to do without a machine.  Try and make it a fun experience for both of you.  Take some time and go to a farmers market or organic store together.  It can be a special thing you and your baby do together every week.  Remember, you are helping form the building blocks of your child’s future eating habits.  Enjoy the process and experiment…together.

Related posts:

1. Coop’s Culinary Conquests
2. Past Purees
3. It’s our favorite time of year
4. Babies who lunch