Today I’m trying to play catch up with the Preparing For a Little One link-up, hosted by Wifesessionals. I got a little bit behind on the discussions here but I just love this link-up so much. It’s such a great idea and it has hit upon all the topics that I get asked about a lot, or just come up in conversations with mommy friends of mine. Make sure to check out the rest of PFALO posts here on Cammo Style Love and over at Wifesessionals.
A couple of topics ago, Buying vs. Making Baby Food was the subject of the day. I wasn’t going to write up a full post on that, but I just wanted to share a couple tidbits before we moved on to this week’s topic. I made baby food/fed them our food for my second/third one. Apparently its a thing we’ve actually labeled now, called Baby Led Weaning. I think its kind of hysterical that we label it, but there you go. Making pureed baby food is 10x easier than I thought it would be. I had a night a week or two weeks I did it with the hubby. we put on a movie and did it together. Then I got Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, and the world of pureed food opened up wide for me!!! I used extra puree’s in my every day food, which was kind of cool. Definitely look that up and get it.
If you don’t feel like actually committing to all your baby food, and feeding your kid table food kind freaks you out (which is okay), here’s some other money saving options!! Don’t buy baby food bananas man, or really any other fruit. just throw that stuff in a blender (bananas, pears, peaches). Also, Mott’s plain applesauce…buy that in bulk, its just like the baby food stuff and 10x cheaper!!!
Okay, now on to this week’s topic, which kind of goes along with what I mentioned up there. Apparently “Baby Led Weaning” is for-real a thing. I had no idea. I think I’m old or something. If you’re like me and didn’t know it was a thing, definitely read up on it. With my first one I just did the normal baby food thing. I also had a really awesome pediatrician who wasn’t telling me at exactly such and such time to start feeding them, such and such food. He was very much of the idea that baby should show an interest in the food. This is an idea that I have carried on through each of my kids. What I have fed them has changed. I remember thinking to myself, why am I spending all my money on this baby food in jars. I have half of this stuff in my pantry, or buy it for myself.
Here’s some bullet points for the whole feeding thing.
- Don’t be afraid – don’t be afraid of the whole chocking thing. Just be smart. They will gum on stuff, suck it, and try to bite it. Just watch them explore the food.
- I like to still use baby rice cereal, oatmeal and some canned or home-made foods and let them play and learn how to use utensils with it. It’s easier for them to manage that way. The result for me has been having a one year old that can use a fork and spoon. I like that!! and when I say play, I mean, I let them squish it around in their high chair while we eat.
- start putting your child in a high chair at the table with you as soon as possible. I love my The First Year’s high chair. It actually sits on a regular chair (yay space saver!) and it has three different tilt positions. So I would bring my little ones to the table when we ate even before they could sit up.
- variety! Introducing and feeding your kids variety from the beginning can only be beneficial. I have three very, very different kids. Some of them are more picky then others, but generally speaking my kids eat some crazy things. And not crazy, as in, weird, but I’ve frequently gotten comments on the fact that my kids eat things like zucchini, salad, spicy food and complex flavors, which kids usually don’t go for. Introducing to these foods to your kids at an early age is really important I think.
Going with your gut is important in parenting. Listening to your mommy voice is key. I think too many people read too many books, and do too much research; which only shoves that mommy voice down until you can’t hear it very well any more. I find, talking to my mommy friends who have like parenting styles is when I get the most help.
Lastly, have fun! Have fun cooking and exposing your baby to the foods you make. I always thought it was great watching them test things out for the first time, the sweetness of pears or the sourness of a pickle. Who knows, you might wind up with a kid like mine that enjoys sucking on limes and licking pepper of her hands!