First Foods

We have been so blessed that the little girls have grown and thrived solely on breast milk since they were born. Nursing isn't always the best option for every family; but for ours, it's just worked. And for that I'm so thankful!

But with pretty intense reflux (Audrey Kate spits up from the time she starts to nurse, while she's nursing and then at random for the 3 hours in between feedings while Anne Perry becomes congested, coughs and wheezes due to the reflux)...

...it was time to start solids with these little girls.

So on October 20th, the week my camera decided to break and my sweet friend DiAnna let me borrow hers, our little girls had their first rice cereal.

Yes, I realize that it's now November. In fact, it's November 8th! But I took them then and am at least posting them now ;)

Audrey Kate was pretty cool about the whole thing. In fact, she was even willing to help!


That is until she got a taste of that stuff that just doesn't have any taste at all!

Now, she's the messiest eater ever! She blocks the spoon with her tongue and almost immediately spits it out with a grimace on her little face. When she's done eating, she has a pool of whatever she's eaten behind her head (when she's in the bouncy seat) because of all the drool and spitting out!

Ok. Ok. Yes, she's MUCH better with eating now, although I'm pretty certain that she's not a fan of food. She flat out refused bananas and has given me the worst faces for sweet potatoes, carrots, peas and even pears! I'm hoping she'll start to like it soon!

Anne Perry on the other hand literally slurped the rice cereal off the spoon!

She's got this chewing thing down!

And she loved watching Addie while she ate!

I couldn't not post this picture, no matter how out of focus is might be. Peace baby!

Overall, the girls are doing great with food. Less mess and more open little bird mouths ready for food to be shoveled in!

Now if only I could keep their fingers out of their mouths and their hands from knocking the spoon out of mine, especially when I don't have an extra set around to help feed them!

Next up...stage 2 and meats!

Mommy Poll

Alrighty all you Mommies out there! I've done several Mommy Polls through email in the past: Baby things you can't live without. Car seats. Favorite toys. Sleep habits. Now we're at another stage: finger foods.

So my questions:

What healthy finger foods did you start out feeding your baby?

What healthy foods do you now feed your toddler?

How did you manage portion size, storage (apples do not save), and variety?

Answers to any or all of the questions would be much appreciated! Feel free to leave a comment with any tips you might have!

Overwhelmed...

So I'm finding myself a little overwhelmed in attempting to catch up on my blog READING. So I'm taking a break from long posts in hopes that I won't overwhelm others! :) Don't worry; I'm sure it won't last long!

Our dogs (Abbey and Mollie) discovered Addie almost 6 months ago. In the past 6 (ish) days, Addie has discovered them! We're already working on the concept of "gentle."

"ohhhhhh!" Addie says.

"Maybe 2 is a little more than I can handle," she observes.

I know she looks "fearful" here, but I can assure you everyone knows who's boss!

"I've got you now!" she screeches.

do note how Abbey's head is turned slightly...that would be due to the iron grip Addie has on her ear hair! Thank goodness we have "gentle" dogs!
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On a totally different subject matter:
Prunes don't just work for "older" people...they work wonders for babies too! I won't share pictures of what occurred less than an hour later...but I can assure you prunes are stronger than green beans and rice cereal! whew!

I do love how she sucks in her bottom lip...I think they are a little tart!

"yummy...?"

Baby Food

Well, as you know, Addie has started eating "solid food." "Solid food" isn't exactly what I would consider it; but since she's been on a strictly liquid diet most of her little life, this is solid to her! After buying some stage 1 organic food (and realizing how expensive all of it is, not just the organic; as well as realizing how many tiny little plastic containers we would be consuming & discarding), I decided that I'd better at least look into making my own baby food.

No, I promise I'm not bored (see previous post) and looking for things to do...but the budget and the world in which I WANT my child to grow up and the world in which I FEAR my child will grow up in were the driving factors!

For those of you that know me though, you know that I DON'T cook. It isn't that I can't cook; it's just that 1.) I don't enjoy it and 2.) my husband is a FABULOUS cook...so why bother! :) (I did cook dinner 2 of the past 3 nights though, so I'm getting better!). Anyway...so me choosing to make baby food is a much bigger deal than it is for most mothers, I think.

Everything I read kept saying how "easy" it was and how "anyone could do it." I found a great website call Wholesome Baby Food that had everything you could ever want to know about buying, pureeing, and freezing food for your baby. I got a lot of encouragement from two women who make their youngest child's baby food...their youngest of three!!! (Megan and McMama). If they could do it with 3 kids...I sure better try it with just one!

So I gave it a try, starting with some vegetables that I didn't have: green beans and carrots. Apparently steaming keeps the most nutrients in the vegetables, so I steamed the fresh carrots (it removes most of the natural nitrates that aren't good for babies this young) and boiled/heated the frozen green beans (frozen is ok, canned is not).

Then I got brave today and tried a butternut squash, sweet potatoes, peaches, plums, and the rest of the carrots. I got a little puree happy! I baked the squash, sweet potatoes, peaches, and plums. Needless to say, our house smelled pretty yummy!

So...after I pureed them, everything went into ice trays.

...and then into the freezer.

I popped them out of the ice trays so they wouldn't stay in that harder plastic and put them in freezer bags all labeled and everything where they'll last 3-4 months!

And the final product turned out pretty yummy...at least yummy in baby terms!

Addie had her 1st homemade baby food a few nights ago and really seemed to enjoy it. I'll let you be the judge though!