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Hello,
Im trying to figure out if it is worth investing in some good freezer containers for freezing baby food.
How long did you feed your baby special homemade freezer meals, and when did your baby move to just eating the family dinner?
We always eat alot of veggies with our meals, I dont see why bub cant just eat what we are eating? (Mashed up).
Thanks!
They can eat what you're eating, you don't even need to mash it :)
DD was eating the same as I was from when she began solids at 6months. Have a look around for information on Baby Led Solids.
I bought some containers when I had my DS and I used them maybe 3-4 times. We've done baby led solids with both the kids and never really found the need to freeze anything. They both just usually eat whatever we have for dinner, or if it's not suitable for them (like if we are lazy and get take-away) then I just cook up some pasta or something like that for them :)
I had a few meals in the freezer for if we were having something really spicy, but other than that my kids were on family meals from 6 months when they first started solids. I didn't mash it up either, veggies are easier for them to eat if you keep them in chunks as your baby can pick them up and bypass having to be fed or learn how to use a spoon. Google baby led weaning for more information but it's really so easy to just feed your baby family meals.
we did "baby lead weaning" meaning that from 6 months, DS just gets a serve of whatever we're having.
we don't mash or puree it - just make sure they're a good size for him to grip.
I just used ice cube trays and once frozen I put them in zip lock bags :D
For those that did Baby Led Solids, did you start with rice cereal? What foods did you offer to prevent constipation?
I didn't do rice cereal and went straight to veggies and meat. Both chicken and beef are great for littlies to eat when cubed and cooked well. To prevent constipation I avoided foods like banana.
We never did rice cereal, it is actually one of the foods that can cause trouble with bowel movements because it is fortified with iron. I never really offered anything to prevent constipation, just a healthy range of food and thankfully my DD has never experienced constipation. Food that can be a bit binding are things like banana and too much white carbs/dairy. Things that can help are porridge, kiwi fruit, pear, prunes and most importantly; making sure breastmilk or formula is still the main source of nutrition. Providing a sippy cup of water during meal times can also be a good idea.
Im just not sure what route to take (purees or BLS) ,and there is so much info out there. Did you still do the one food every 3-4 days? Do you just steam everything (including fruit?) so its soft, but so they can hold onto it?
I didn't do the one food every 3-4 days because when I did it with my eldest he quickly became bored of those foods and refused to eat them. Even now aged 7 he is a fussy eater. My other children literally ate the variety we ate and are all excellent eaters. My youngest son is allergic to dairy and we were still able to work this out without limiting his original variety of foods.
As for cooking we didn't steam veggies unless that was how we were eating them anyway. I generally boiled or roasted veggies, or cooked them in a stew with my meat. I cooked meat until it would pull apart and therefore was nice and soft for baby to eat, but we often eat it that way anyway so it was no big deal.
We did a mix of the puree and baby led solids for both ours. For freezing things, I used Tupperware ice block trays and then just put them in a bigger freezer tupperware. I would often put aside a portion of our meals and freeze that, and so for that I found the Avent Valia freezer containers useful - the ones that you can use with EBM. I still always have some freezer meals handy, JIC, eg if we're late getting home and they're ratty, or if we're going out for dinner.
But if we were having veggies etc, I'd just put a portion aside for them in a container in the fridge and they would have it the next night (thats when they both ate a lot earlier than us).
For what its worth, I've pretty much done the same thing with DS as I did with DD, but he's always been alot fussier, whereas she eats pretty much everything (except slimy mushrooms :lol: )
We never waited between introducing new foods as there was no family history of allergies. I did make note of what she was eating so we would have a general idea of what the potential culprits could be but we never had a problem. I never really cooked anything in a special way, just however I was already having it but did ensure meat was well done (which I do anyway, I like my chicken dry and my meat falling apart haha). I also made my porridge a bit thicker so she could pick it up with her hands while she was learning to use a spoon. If they don't have teeth, they will just explore the flavour and texture by gumming the food and because they are in control of the intake, they are less likely to choke. Gagging (which involves them bringing up the food on their own and no restriction to breathing) can be a perfectly normal part of learning to eat, is different to choking and not something to be concerned over (although it can seem very scary to watch) but babies should obviously never be left to eat unnattended.
Food is for fun before they are one and breastmilk or formula should be their main source of nutrition. Learning to eat is more than actually getting food into them but exploring different textures, tastes and techniques (grasping the food, smooshing it between fingers etc) so there isn't a need to worry about it seeming like they aren't getting much into them at first.
No, never gave them special meals, they always ate what we ate. No need to cook fruit or anything. Just start with softer fruit like banana and pear, etc and cut it up into chunks they can hang on to.
We also didn't give one food every few days, just gave them a variety from the start. Easy peasy. Check out the BLS area :)
I started quite strict with the "3-4 day" rule with my DS. This time with my DD we've been a lot less strict. We don't have any family history of food allergies, and my DS never reacted to anything. We tend to give DD something and we figure if she reacts to it, then we can rule out each ingredient one by one :):
As for the steaming, we did lots of that the first time around as well, but not so much this time. I've learnt that these little kids of ours are quite capable when it comes to many foods. My DD is only 9 months old and she already eats apples unpeeled and uncut. My DS is 2 1/2 and has some little friends the same age that will only eat apples cut up.
I know this is late, but someone else might need info :) We still sometimes freeze things for DD, mainly because she often eats way earlier than us (i.e. very soon after we get home), so having a few meals in the freezer for nights we can't cook something up quickly helps. That being said, it's just small portions of what we eat. During the week she'll often eat on one day what we ate the previous night (whilst she was asleep).