I thought someone reading may be interested in our "schedule" and what P eats. I use the term schedule lightly as you know if you know me. I actually hate schedules. They feel like taskmasters to me and I don't like it. I like to be "free." However, the more kids I have, the more I am seeing a necessity in a little order. I will never be organized, I have accepted the fact, but, I am trying really hard to reign in the chaos just a little.
This article led me to do a little research on my own and what I found was surprising.
Did you know that it is really not a good thing when you feed your baby and ten minutes later he/she can not hold his eyes open? It may sound like a good thing to a sleep deprived mommy, but really what has happened is that the carbs turned sugar are sitting in your babies' gut, undigested and literally weighing him down. In order to try to digest all that gunk, your baby goes to sleep so his digestive system can work overtime and uninterrupted. The same thing happens to us - think of Thanksgiving Day and everyone lying lethargically in front of the football game after a meal of stuffing, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese. It is a carb-fest!
So, what is the "right" way to feed a baby? I am no expert, but after researching the topic, I have decided not to feed P any grains at all, with the exception of his first birthday cupcake, which will be gluten free, but made with a combination of rice and almond flour. (Unless I find a grain free alternative between now and then.)
What exactly do I feed my baby?
Well, for the first year of life breastmilk should be the main source of calories and nutrition. It is the absolute best thing you can do for your baby. If you have an extenuating circumstance, like adoption, and you can't breast feed, then my personal recommendation is to make home made baby formula. You can find a recipe for that in the Nourishing Traditions cookbook and I order my ingredients from Radiant Life.
I like to wait until the baby is a minimum of six months old to start any solids at all. With various children I have waited as long as eight months. P started solids about 7 1/2 months. That was only one meal per day and tastes of things that we were eating. Now, at 10 1/2 months he eats three meals a day, but he take five bottles of milk, so his meals are not huge meals, just samples of fruits, veggies, and protein.
In case anyone is interested, here is a day in the life of our 10 month old: P gets up around 7 or 7:30. He plays in his playpen while Daddy takes a shower and gets dressed and Mom makes coffee and eggs - 2 scrambled for Daddy and 2 boiled for P.
Next is his first bottle - around 7:45 or 8:00. Five and a half ounces of home made formula. Around 9:00 he eats 2 egg yolks, mashed with coconut water to the consistency of smooth egg salad. I add one spoonful of unsweetened applesauce to this mixture. He LOVES it! Protein to start the day.
Around 10:00 P goes down for his morning nap. He sleeps about an hour, sometimes a little more. When he gets up he plays with one of his many siblings and now that he can, he crawls around and puts every little thing on the floor in his mouth. Nice.
About 11:30 he gets another bottle.
Around 12:30 he eats lunch. We put him in his highchair, which is a nice break for me since I don't have to follow him around and rescue legos and air soft bullets from his jaws. I'm going to post a list of what he eats and how I prepare it at the end.
About 2:30 he gets his third bottle and goes down for an afternoon nap. That is if it is a good day and we are home all day so he can stay on schedule. Otherwise, he cat naps in the car between tennis lessons, grocery store runs, and other assorted errands. On a good day, he sleeps about two hours at this point.
From 4:30 on we try to go for a walk or sit out in the driveway while P walks in his walker until time to come in and make dinner. I give him his fourth bottle around 5:30. I do try to utilize the playpen a little more with him than I have before, simply because our house is bigger and harder to cordon him off and with so many older kids there are just so many choking hazards all over the floor. He is actually pretty good about playing in there for a while. He also likes his walker and of course, I can usually convince someone to throw a ball with him for a half hour or so.
Bedtime is 7:30 or 8:00 depending on how naps have gone that day. Last bottle is just before bedtime. P is my first baby to actually sleep through the night and in a crib. He just started sleeping in the crib about a month ago. We love to have our babies in bed with us. I sleep better with them right next to me. Now that he is older, he seems to be one that sleeps better in his own space. He is still in our bedroom though.
That's it. That is how our days go. Of course, many afternoons we have dentist appointments or other such "interruptions" so please don't think that our days go like clockwork. If you know me, you know they don't, but this is a rough guideline that I try to follow.
Now, back to the food. I make all of the food P eats. I have a few things in the freezer, but mostly I just make extra at dinner and feed him the leftovers for lunch and that sort of thing. Here are some of his favorites:
Baked Sweet Potatoes - just bake them and mash them with a fork - totally plain
Baked Squash - butternut, acorn, or pumpkin - same as potato - bake and mash
Baked Beets - I bake my beets in a glass dish with a little water in the bottom and foil over the top. I leave the skins on to bake and then scoop out the middle. Mash with a fork and serve! Great for cleansing the liver (don't let the black poop the next day freak you out!) Just sayin'
Green Peas - I admit I buy these frozen. I thaw them out and put them in the vitamix with a little plain yogurt. P loves them!
Avocado - Scoop out and mash or cut into bite sized pieces for little "pinchers" to practice.
Plain Yogurt - I am working on making my own raw yogurt, but so far my batches have not turned out. I buy plain organic and put strawberries in the vitamix and blend in with the yogurt. I add just a little agave or stevia to sweeten. P doesn't like the tart taste - your baby might like it. Just remember to never give babies honey.
Unsweetened Applesauce - I usually buy this. Not baby food, just regular organic unsweetened. You can make your own by boiling apples and mashing them.
Broccoli and/or Cauliflower - I steam one or both of these veggies together and then put them in the food processor with a little milk or half and half. I feed this to all of my family - tastes like mashed potatoes. P love it. Sometimes I throw in some leftover chicken as well.
Black Beans (or any bean really) - I just "squish" them a little and let him pick them up on his own.
These are Patrick's favorite foods. He also takes bites of pretty much anything that we are eating or drinking (like smoothies). He has never refused anything. He even drank some of the drink I got at Whole Foods today - carrots, ginger, orange, and garlic. I did not let him have too much for fear of upsetting his tummy, but he loved it!
I encourage you to let your baby experiment with good, whole foods. You don't want them used to a diet of processed, sugared and salted foods. Food has plenty of flavor on its own. I can attest to the fact that if you allow your children to eat a PB & J instead of what you made for dinner, you will create picky eaters. I did that with my first two. My younger three will eat anything!
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