Getting Started With Your Baby

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I started dabbling with purees when my baby (hereafter referred to as M) was just 3 months old. I introduced M to oatmeal and rice cereal when he was just 3 1/2 months old. And he loved it. Now I know that there are millions of sites and Pediatricians that preach how a baby needs to be either 6 or even 8 months before starting on solids, but I’m a firm believer that you know your baby best. Some little ones are ready earlier while others are ready much later.  Within 3 weeks M was getting bored of it and one day I gave him some green beans pureed into his rice cereal. Wasn’t his favorite. Four days later I gave him peas and that was a winner. From that point on I have been dabbling in the kitchen mixing different flavors to come up with new and exciting meals for my little guy. Some are successes others not so much. But the entire experience has been loads of fun. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. 

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To start, there are some ground rules. The most important one is check with your Pediatrician before starting your baby on solids. He or she may have concerns that you should hear about. Also, click on the following link for additional signs that your little one is ready. I love this website, it has a ton of information on homemade baby food. I highly recommend it: www.WholesomeBabyFood.com

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 Second big one is the 4 DAY RULE. Anything you give your infant must be given to him/her for four days straight. This will allow you to see if your baby has any reaction to the new food. However once you have cleared an ingredient, you can use it in combination with another new one. For example, if you give your little one applesauce (just pureed apples) for four days and nothing abnormal happens, then try adding banana to the applesauce for four days. If there is a reaction, you know it’s the banana. I used this rule with spices as well. I added cinnamon to the applesauce and watched for four days. Nothing happened so now we are trying cardamon. 

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Third rule is to make sure you don’t keep homemade baby food in the fridge for more than 72 hours. Bacteria can develop in the food which can be very harmful to your precious little one. Freezing is really the best way to store some baby food. But I have an issue how some foods reconstitute. So I have developed menus for you to follow that use up one ingredient several ways so that you can keep it in the fridge and use it up in the 72 hours. Please see RECIPES.