I’ve started feeding solids to my second baby. And I have to admit — it’s very different this time around (oh…and that’s a picture of my little guy).
I remember being so scared – and overwhelmed – the first time. Should I make my own baby food or use jarred food? It seemed like such an ordeal to make my own baby food. But soon I realized it was just easier to use regular food.
This time I’m already trying to find ways to have my boy eat what we are eating. And in doing so I’m reminded that the best first foods are actually the easiest to prepare.
1. Iron-fortified cereal: I’ve noticed that some moms are skipping cereal and going straight to fruits and vegetables. The problem with this is that babies need iron due to their rapid growth. At about 6 months of age, iron stores deplete and babies need iron from complementary foods. A key reason iron-deficiency has declined in recent years is due to iron-fortified products like cereal.
There are plenty of whole-grain infant cereals available like Earth’s Best. These cereals are can be combined with other foods including vitamin C-rich fruits and veggies (see below) which help increase the absorption of iron.
2. Cantaloupe: I’ve noticed that cereal is often blamed for baby constipation. I personally think stopped-up babies just aren’t getting enough fresh fruits. At 6 months babies can eat mild, skinless raw fruits like cantaloupe, pears and mango. Cantaloupe is rich in vitamins A and C. If it’s ripe enough it can be mashed with a fork or thrown in the blender to smooth it out.
3. Avocado: All you have to do is mash avocado, add some breast milk or formula and you’re ready to go. For a thicker consistency mix it with oat or rice cereal. Avocados are a source of vitamin E, contain fiber and are rich in monounsaturated fats.
4. Sweet potato: I recently bought a bag of a bunch of small sweet potatoes. All I do is punch both sides multiple times with a fork and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes each side. Then I cut it in half and spoon out the insides and mix it with breast milk or formula until reaching the desired consistency. Sweet potatoes are rich in both vitamins A and C.
5. Winter squash: I love making this at dinner time so it’s easy to save a little for my boy. Like sweet potatoes, winter squash is an excellent source of vitamins A and C
6. Banana: Bananas are the easiest and most convenient fruit to prepare. Simply mash up to desired consistency and add breast milk or formula. Add it to cereal or serve it by itself. Bananas contain fiber, potassium and even some vitamin C.
Now that my boy has tried these easy first foods, it’s time to step it up and start cooking and pureeing some veggies. I also plan on including pureed meat as it’s a highly absorb-able source or iron and zinc. I’ll be sure to update you on the next phase of feeding my baby. I have to say, so far he is an eating machine.
What a cutie!…I tried to make all of my babyfood too. It was incredibly easy. One thing I did was combined foods as much as possible to get the most bang for my buck. I mixed TJ’s Organic European Whole Milk yogurt with just about anything….including TJ’s canned boneless and skinless wild salmon (pureed). I also tried it with sardines…she liked them at first, but then wasn’t so fond of them. However, At 14 months, she still likes salmon and now she eats sardines! When she was ready for eggs I would make an egg “pancake” and puree veggies and stick them in with some cheese. That was a big hit and still is:) I pureed tofu and added it to my pureed veggies. I also pureed lentils mixed with lots of veggies. I made my own beef stew loaded with veggies and a spaghetti sauce with ground meat, veggies and alphabet pasta from jimbo’s. I rarely served a food as a single item, once I knew there wasn’t a food allergy the food was fair game to be mixed! I also found the Super Baby Food book to be a great guide as a new mom…however, MaryAnn came up with an amazingly helpful chart that I used pretty religiously.
I ended up making batches of things and freezing them. Kidco makes some freezing trays that are BPA free and have lids on them. They have them at Babies R Us…but they are also on-line. Another really great find was “babycubes”…also BPA free and the nice thing about them is that you can freeze in them and also use them as containers for food when you are on the go or for storage in the fridge. Whenever we pack a picnic to go to the park, I fill up the babycubes and we are good to go.
Happy Feeding!
Thanks Stacy. Those are some great ideas! I just started him on yogurt and he loves it. I can’t wait to mix a bunch of stuff in there.
Curious to know if you know why moms are skipping cereal and what you think of their reasoning.
Michelle — I think it’s the refined carbs that gets people. I believe iron-fortified cereal is important for breastfed babies to help meet their iron needs. There are some good whole grain options on the market that work well.
From what I’ve read and heard from friends, it’s they don’t make sufficient amounts of amylase to break down high amounts of carbohydrates that are found in cereals (whole grain or refine). At 6 months of age, the iron stores begin to deplete, however the iron in breastmilk is highly absorbed and when you combine that with other iron-rich foods (not fortified) it is more than sufficient for a baby’s needs. I’m up in the air with what to do with my son, so I’m trying to gather all evidence I can. 🙂
Michelle — I’m working on this topic right now for the book. I’ve never heard of amylase being a problem. Is there any research you can point me to? As far as iron goes it really depends on baby’s iron status at birth. Some babies have better stores than others to last them (some 4 months, some 6 and others may last till 9 months). Breastmilk, while well absorbed has very little iron 7 months or too early <4 months, babies may be at higher risk for celiace disease. This reseach is preliminary but if a child is at high risk it's worth considering. There are also the new iron recs from the AAP ot help prevent ID https://www.maryannjacobsen.com/2010/10/new-iron-recommendations-for-babies-and-toddlers-and-weekly-meal-plan/
I’ve been looking in the reseach, many say that by 6 months pacreatatic amylase is sufficient but that doesn’t seem to matter as most infants can digest starch even with low levels of amylase. According to a 2000 study http://www.hkjpaed.org/details.asp?id=248&show=1234
One of the major concerns for the use of rice-based ORS is that young infants have low levels of pancreatic amylase which may result in incomplete digestion of starch.42 However, other studies have shown that infants as young as 1 month can digest and absorb substantial amount of rice possibly due to amylases in the saliva and breast milk. Brush border disaccharidases such as glycoamylase are plentiful at birth 43 and are also well preserved during intestinal inflammation compared with other disaccharidases.42 In addition, bacterial fermentation in the colon may contribute an important part in carbohydrate digestion and absorption by converting malabsorbed sugars to hydrogen gas and short chain fatty acids.
I realize this is four years late, but I just want to say you conveniently forgot her other point about iron in iron fortified foods not being as well absorbed, which is true for adults as well. Naturally iron rich foods are a much better option, specifically liver. It doesn’t take but an ounce a week for a baby, and they shouldn’t get more than that, and any anemia issues should disappear. There are other iron rich vegetables, but I notice that leafy greens tend to come out whole in my daughter’s diapers, so, not sure how much is absorbed. Also, breastmilk is only low in iron if the mother is low in iron, so mom’s should work some liver into their diet too. Dieticians and nutritionists are a breastfeeding mother’s worst enemy. They completely ignore all the other amazing benefits of breastmilk for an easily remedied problem of low iron. I realize this post want about breastfeeding, but I hate to see it slighted when many mother’s, including myself, have sacrificed blood, sweat, tears, and sanity to give their growing baby the best. For you, as a medical professional to downgrade it is abhorrent. You should know better than anyone how important mother’s milk, the most natural food in the world for a baby, really is. And instead of teaching women how easy it is to increase their own iron for their milk (i.e. eat more iron rich foods), you give them one more thing to scare them away from breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months, which is the healthiest for mother and child.