Pureed Food Unneccesary

[Bathsheba]

Great post Manta! yep, that is what I understood to be true regarding iron stores. It is so much better to eat iron in it's natural state as opposed to via articial fortifications.

Excerpt from a Pharmacy website:

For reasons unclear to researchers, infants absorb 100% of the iron in breast milk (less than 1 mg/L), but cannot absorb all of the iron in infant formulas. Most infant formulas contain approximately 12 mg/L of iron, which usually allows for adequate iron uptake. However, some parents attribute symptoms such as abdominal discomfort, constipation, diarrhea, colic and irritability to iron intolerance. In response, manufacturers have marketed low-iron formulas containing only 2 mg/L of iron. The low-iron formulas may alleviate these symptoms, but they cannot maintain proper hemoglobin status and should be avoided.1,5 Iron deficiency can result in anorexia, failure to thrive, delayed development of the immune system, and impaired psychomotor and mental development.9


I figure that as long as I am maintaining my iron levels while BF then it will be transformed into enough iron for my babies.... in the most usable form. When introducing solids I would focus on offering them green vegetables (we don't eat red meat) to get that extra bit of iron... in it's natural state.

[Janie]

Gracie, I have read that same article as MR, and yes, it would appear that babies are more likely to choke dangerously when being fed from a spoon, rather than feeding themselves with (appropriate) finger food. Think about it, when they are being spoonfed, you are shoving a spoonful of food that they haven't smelt, tasted, or felt, and they are just expected to open wide and gobble it up! They have no control over much you putting in their mouth, and no idea what to expect as it's coming towards them. I wouldn't eat well if that's how I was expected to eat! With finger foods, they get to feel it, smell it, and have a little taste if they like before shoving it in so to speak LOL. The baby is in control of the process. Makes sense to me anyway. If you are interested maybe google 'baby-led weaning' and see what info you come up with.

Like Michelle, there are definitely some foods that we spoonfeed, like yoghurt, soup, and alot of things when we go out. But the majority of the time DS is now having food that he can feed to himself, and he responds much better to eating that way.