Mom to Mom advice

Since Lexi is old enough to eat table food, I have been straying away from making food specifically for her. So to keep more ideas flowing to blog about, I'm just going to talk about my trials and errors of motherhood =o) I know that sharing my frustrations and accomplishments with people makes me feel so much better, most of the time! haha.

My one BIG advice to new (and experienced) moms is to get a moms group or just have a few girls, who are moms, that you can turn and talk about your experiences with. I have found my group through signing up for a moms class at the hospital I gave birth at. Let me tell you, it was the BEST decision I have ever made. We get together and talk about our kids and just have some "mom" time. It is the BEST! haha. Some of the girls read this blog as well, HI GIRLS! =o). It is so much better to know that someone, some people, somewhere is going through the same things you are.

Anyway. Getting on to the real topic. Throughout the baby's first year, they have plenty of doctors visits for check-ups and also those dreaded, especially the first, sick visit. I'm always sure that Lexi is doing fine developmentally and physically, but you never know what the doctor will tell you.

Lexi has always been on the smaller end of the spectrum when it came to the three major measurements, height, weight, and head circumference. We have never been too worried about her since her development has been right on schedule if not a little ahead. But it didn't worry me more till the doctor mentioned something at her 9 month appointment. Her head was measuring a little small and he wanted to get an x-ray of her head. He wanted to make sure that her skill was still fragmented to allow room to grow. Not he assured me that everything was just FINE since her development was great, but as a mom, especially for the first time, it gets your mind racing and asking "What if?" Well, I tried to stay calm and brought her to the hospital to her her x-ray. OH MY GOODNESS, it was the WORST experience ever (haha until recently... I'll get to that one later.) Lexi would not stay still and I had to hold her down to keep her from moving. BOY, was this girl strong! haha Anyway, needless to say, her skull was just fine.
So my advice to moms out there, is that take what the doctor says with a grain of salt (unless it is really necessary and obvious that something is amiss. Knock on wood.) Of course being concerned and just to make sure is not a bad thing, but just try not to over think it and worry too much. Being a mom is stressful enough. I know the doctors are just doing their jobs, but sometimes it put a negative spin on things.
=o) I always stay positive and think to myself "Don't worry, Be happy!"
-Mindie

Homemade baby food pouches

So my friend found this website that has the pouches that I was describing in my earlier post on putting baby food into pouches. I figured that somewhere, someone would have made pouches for parents who make homemade baby food to put their own yummy goodness in. Well here is one option! =o)

http://www.zulily.com/e/the-sili-company-020712.html?pos=12

Here is another option:

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/482846431/reusable_drink_stand_up_pouch_with.html?s=p

I hope it works for you!

I will let you know if I find more!

=o)
-Mindie

Fish (Excludes shellfish)

I actually put off getting Lexi to try fish because I figured, well if she doesn't eat chicken and tofu, she probably won't eat the fish. (Also, I didn't know how to store it, since it pretty much comes frozen uncooked anyway.) Boy was I WRONG! I made fish tacos one day and decided to give her some, without the coating. She gobbled it down like she's never eaten before! Of course I wasn't going to make battered fish tacos every time I wanted to make her fish, so I had to think of another way.
The tacos I made with cod, so I bought some more FRESH cod from the seafood department. I thought about baking them, which would have been fine, but I decided not to.

I just sprinkled some salt and pepper on the fish and lightly fried them in a pan. I broke up the pieces and gave them to her to eat. And again, she gobbled them up. I couldn't believe, but also was relieved, that she liked fish so much.

Since I didn't want to keep having to buy fresh fish every time I wanted to make fish for Lexi, I bought some frozen fish (which is just as easy). The only thing is that you need to defrost it first. No big deal since fish defrosts quick. I also bought frozen fish sticks to give to her as well. She doesn't like the breading, but it does give the fish a nice flavor.

Lexi has tried Atlantic cod, tilapia, pollock, and salmon. 

A time frame on when to introduce fish to your baby is controversial, but I would wait till at least 8-9 months to give the baby fish JUST IN CASE. Luckily our families don't have a history of any type of shellfish/fish allergy, but I would just keep an eye out for this.

Another concern about fish is that some larger fish have a tendency to have a higher mercury count.

This is some information about fish that I found. (the Website: http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/safe-fish.cfm)
Fish to Avoid
High mercury: Atlantic halibut, king mackerel, oysters (Gulf Coast), pike, sea bass, shark, swordfish, tilefish (golden snapper), tuna (steaks and canned albacore).

High POPs (PCBs are persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which accumulate in animal fats.): Farmed salmon. Limit to once a month if pregnant/nursing. Check TheGreenGuide.com for updates on POPs in other farmed fish.

Fish to Eat
The gift of crab.
Moderate mercury: Alaskan halibut, black cod, blue (Gulf Coast) crab, cod, dungeness crab, Eastern oysters, mahimahi, blue mussels, pollack, tuna (canned light). (Children and pregnant or nursing women are advised to eat no more than one from this list, once a month.)

Low mercury: Anchovies, Arctic char, crawfish, Pacific flounder, herring, king crab, sanddabs, scallops, Pacific sole; tilapia, wild Alaska and Pacific salmon; farmed catfish, clams, striped bass, and sturgeon. (Children and pregnant or nursing women can safely eat two to three times a week.)

Take note, though, that low-mercury but overfished or destructively harvested species -- such as Atlantic cod, Atlantic flounder, Atlantic sole, Chilean sea bass, monkfish, orange roughy, shrimp, and snapper -- should be avoided for the environment's sake.

Low POPs: Wild Alaska and California salmon (fresh or canned).

So just be aware of the concerns when giving your child fish. Otherwise it is such a great source of protein, omega -3s, and much more nutrients for you and your child. =o)

Have fun eating!
-Mindie

Moving away from Super Pureed food

So Lexi is at this stage where she doesn't really need the super pureed food anymore, but still needs the food a little softer, since she only have 4 complete teeth and 2 are just budding. So I've been racking my brain to find things that she can mush up in her mouth, but also things that she can feed herself.

On the site that I mentioned way at the beginning has some finger foods which I made and tried to give to Lexi. She wasn't really enjoying them. The one thing she kind of liked was the broccoli and cheese bites. But again, I will need to try to feed her those things again. So I made the turkey meatloaf (as I call it, I forget what it was called on the website), the baked tofu squares, and broccoli bites. I ate them all and thought they were pretty good.. haha =o) Anyway, besides these things, it has been hard to decide what to feed Lexi.

Since my doctor, at the 9 month appointment, literally said "anything goes" for food, I've been giving her a whole bunch of stuff to eat. Pretty much table food at this point.

So all I do is cut up everything large enough that she was feed herself, but small enough so that she won't choke on it. Recently I made velveeta shells and cheese, cut up some meatballs, and threw some broccoli pieces in. She LOVED this! =o)

I'm trying to come up with new and exciting food, since Lexi seems to get bored with the same thing over and over again ( I wonder where she got that from?? haha.. i'm the same way). If I think of some cool ideas, I will let you know!! =o)

Have fun!

Trying to blog from phone....:) let's see if this works!

Chicken

What a week this past week has been!!! Lexi's First birthday was Saturday, and her birthday party was on Sunday. Talk about a lot of planning!! Luckily I had off, spring break, to plan for it. Of course I didn't have time to write about much. I'm nearing the end of making my own baby food though. Lexi is eating table food and as I said before, she is refusing to eat when I feed her. Who knows what I will talk about next??? =o)

Anyway, After tofu, Chicken was the next "protein" that I introduced to Lexi.
I wasn't sure how I wanted to cook the chicken. At first I tried to boil it in a little water and the baked it. It worked just fine for cooking the chicken, but I think it ended up being  a little tough. When I tried to "puree" the chicken, the chicken was very piece-y and not the texture that Lexi liked. The next batch I decided to just boil the chicken. This made the chicken softer and easier to "puree" in the food processor. It was easier to incorporate into the other purees and Lexi liked it better. I also thought about if I should freeze it, so I tried it. It worked out just fine, the only thing was this the chicken was a little dry. But by mixing it with purees, after defrosting/heating, that were a little more watery, i.e. fruits, it worked just fine.

So here is the procedure:

• Cut up chicken breasts into strips, or use chicken tenderloins. (I found that the strips made it less likely that the chicken would over cook.)
• Boil some water, put enough in the pot so that it looks like it will cover the chicken.
• Put the chicken in and boil for 15 minutes. (I forget the exact time, but just take a piece out and check it for 'done-ness'. [Remember the keep the cooking liquid. I actually froze the cooking liquid to be used when cooking other things like lentils in.]
• Place the chicken in the food processor and "puree". (Puree is in quotes because it doesn't really puree completely.)
• Put in ice trays and freeze. 

Have fun!! =o)
-Mindie