Making Your Own Baby Food

One thing I loved while Mason was a baby? Making baby food for him! You're going to need to buy something to blend the food with, you'll need to buy the best produce, and minimize nitrate exposure. Nitrates are a chemical found in water and soil. Babies who ingest too much of it can develop an anemia. 

You need to wash, cook vegetables and fruits that need to be softened, peel & pit the produce if necessary. Strain out any extra seeds.

To prepare meat/poultry remove the skin and trim the fat before cooking.

Serving Tips:

• Serve the food no warmer than body temperature
• Only dish out the amount of food you think the baby will eat in that one sitting. Your babys saliva can cause bacteria to grow
• Don't sweeten your baby's food
• Use seasonings
• Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container and use them up in a couple of days

I wanted to share a few of Mason's favorite  baby food with you guys. Here a few for you to try:

Sauteed Broccoli Puree with Parmesan Cheese - Broccoli Baby Food Recipes

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen organic broccoli
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove (pressed)
2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
Water (for pureeing)

Directions:

Turn stove top to medium high heat. Using a saute pan, coat bottom of pan with olive oil. Add garlic and saute.  Add frozen broccoli and saute on medium-high heat until broccoli is nice and tender. Top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Transfer sauteed broccoli and Parmesan cheese to blender. Puree. Add water gradually until desired texture is reached. By 9 months, your baby should beeating somewhat of a chunkier texture so be sure not to puree to thin as your baby is learning to chew.

Bananaberry Power Puree Blend - Super Food Baby Food Recipes

Because blueberries have amazing antioxidant power, try to incorporate them in your purees as much as you can.  If your blueberries are more on the bitter side, make sure your banana is super ripe to balance things out. Combine any leftovers with Lite Whipped topping and enjoy for yourself!

Ingredients:


1/4 cup frozen organic blueberries
1 small, ripe banana (with lots of brown spots)

Combine all ingredients in a blender.  Puree until smooth.  Serve immediately.

Organic Blueberry Dream - Blueberry Baby Food Recipes - Super Food Purees

Cup of Blueberries.  Photo by jordanmit09.

Blueberries are a superfood rich with antioxidants.  As soon as your baby can start eatingblueberries, give them a serving of blueberries a day for amazing health benefits.  To ensure your baby loves this puree, make sure the blueberries are sweet.

Ingredients:

1 cup organic blueberries

4 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla

Put blueberries into a saucepan with water and cook until fruit starts to burst open. Puree blueberries in blender until smooth.  Use a sieve to remove any fibrous material.  Add baby cereal (rice, oatmeal or barley) to thicken, if desired.

Pesticide Caution:  Blueberries have a high pesticide load, so always consider purchasing organic blueberries when making purees and recipes containing blueberries

I have some websites I go to too when it comes to finding recipes for baby food. 

• http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/
• http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/
• http://www.simplybabyfoodrecipes.net/
• http://babies411.com/baby-food-recipe/baby-food-recipe/baby-food-recipes-4-6-months.html

If you haven't tried making your own baby food before you should definitely try. It's simple and doesn't take long to accomplish. Enjoy!

SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)

I read a comment on my blog post from earlier about how one of my fans had read about Lamar's son dying from SIDS and they were interested in hearing/learning more about it. Lamar's son Jayden died at 6 1/2 months old from SIDS and I had a family member who passed from it as well. As a mother it was one of my biggest fears (besides rolling over onto him while sleeping) I could never imagine going to check in on my baby to find them not breathing. If Mason was ever in a deep sleep you could barely hear him breathing and it drove me insane. I'd check him every 5-10 minutes to make sure his chest was moving and I could feel air.

There are many risk factors when it comes to SIDS. Some before the babies birth, some after.

Before Birth Risk Factors

• Lack of prenatal care
• exposure to nicotine.
• Mother under the age of 20
• Drug/alcohol use.

After Birth Risk Factors

• Low Birth Weight
• Mold
• Exposure to tobacco smoke
• Prone sleep position

There have also been studies that show baby boys are more likely to die of SIDS than females. They are most vulnerable during their second and third month of life. If you have family members who have died of SIDS, the chances that your baby will die of it are higher than if you didn't know someone who had. They also found African Americans, American Indians, and Eskimo infants are more likely to have it too.

Avoiding SIDS

• Buy a SIDS baby monitor
• Make sure your baby falls asleep on his/her back.
• Stay healthy during pregnancy.
• Don't allow smoking around your infant.
• Ensure the right bedding is in the crib
• Avoid making your infant overheat
• Make sure babys room is ventilated properly
• Also, a big one is to keep toys, blankets, stuffed animals, ect out of the babys crib.

 I hope none of you ever have to experience such a terrible tragedy as this and if you already have, I am so terribly sorry for your loss. I can not even begin to imagine what it's like. God bless <3

Pacifiers.

I love doing this whole mommy blog thing. I love hearing your guys's feedback and that you share your personal experiences. I was so excited when after my first blog I had 5 comments from people who were so pumped to think I'd be doing this.

Next topic;; Pacifiers.

When Mason was first born, he wasn't into pacifiers at all but I always kept one on me for emergency reasons. Plane rides, restaurants, and Mason hated being in his carseat so it helped quiet him down during that time too. However I hated using pacifiers because I couldn't see him smile, his facial expressions, and I wouldn't be able to hear his cute little voice when he cooed. 

Lots of people have different things to say about when to stop using pacifiers. Some say you shouldn't use them at all, after 4 months stop, after a year. Mason is going to be 2 in a few days and he still uses it sometimes and I'm not the least bit concerned with it. 

Pros

Reduces the chance of SIDS (Sudden infant death syndrome)

Soothes and comforts baby.

Sleep Aid- Can help the baby fall asleep when he/she is struggling.

Habit Forming- It can be easier to break your child off of a pacifier than it is to break them off of sucking their thumb or fingers

Cons

It can interfere with breastfeeding if the pacifier is used too early. 

Can increase the risk of ear infection

Can change the babies tooth alignment or delay speech 

Need help with getting your child from using a pacifier?

Offer rewards everytime the child doesn't use a pacifier. 

Only use it for nap time or bed time.

Spend time with other children who do NOT use pacifiers. Children are very observant.

Make up a pacifier story. 

The Pacifier Fairy story- The Pacifier fairy (treat it just like the tooth fairy) Tell him/her to put the pacifier under his/her pillow and the tooth fairy will come and take it and leave a special treat.

Pacifier Wish- Take your toddler to a wishing well/fountain and tell them that if they throw the pacifier in and make a wish, their wish will come true.

I used Nuk pacifiers with the animal faces

They were so cute and fun.

I also used Avent (same as bottles)

So, when do you think a child should stop using pacifiers or does it not matter because they'll eventually stop anyways. Love to hear your thoughts!

Baby Bottles && Sippy Cups.

While I did breastfeed until Mason was over a year old, I also had to use bottles sometimes. I thought I'd share the kind of bottles I did use when I had to use them and you should definitely considering using them, they are amazing. 

I used Avent. 

They are BPA free and Mason always had great success with feeding off of them. They especially help babies who have acid reflux or colic. They have many different choices of nipple flow and the bottles come in a variety of sizes. They're easy to clean and I never had a issue with them leaking. 

Obviously Mason no longer drinks from a bottle so for sippy cups I still go strong with Avent.

They also come in a variety of shapes and sizes and some also have handles on BOTH sides of the cup which is helpful when you first transition over to a sippy cup. They're all spill proof so no worries there!

I have also heard that Dr. Browns bottles are very good too. Similar to Avent but I have yet to try them out myself. Avent has me hooked and I think that's what I'll be using when need be for my next little one as well.

Getting Through The Common Cold

Since Mason has come down with what looks like the common cold I thought it'd be the perfect time to share some tips I used when Mason was younger (some I still use) to help you get through cold/flu season. 

Tip 1: Use A Nasal Aspirator. Aspirators clear out the gunk and relieve stuffed noses. 

Tip 2: Use Saline Drops. When the mucus is thick, saline can help. Place a few drops of pure saline solution (never medicated) in each nostril and them immediately apply suction. Especially do it before meals because it's harder for babies to nurse when their sinuses are plugged.

Tip 3: Run A Vaporizer. Steam liquefies mucus, loosening up congestion and making breathing easier. Use a cool-mist vaporizer around little ones for safety reasons. 

Tip 4: Elevate The Baby's Mattress. Propping up the baby's head encourages mucus to drain naturally which can reduce congestion and coughing.

Tip 5: Offer Plenty of Fluids. Fluids keep the body functioning. 

Tip 6: Take a Walk Outside. If it's not too cold take a brisk walk around the block. The air can temporarily clear your childs head and the scenary will keep them distracted from remembering that they're sick :)

Tip 7: Watch For Ear Infection. Ear infections can result from clogged sinuses so lookout for the symptoms. Such as, pulling or tugging on the ears, crying, irratibility, and the baby not sleeping as much.

Tip 8: Track Temperature. If your child has any kind of fever, track it!

Tip 9: Relieve A Cough with Honey. It's not safe to give honey to children under 12 months so please don't do it! You can soothe a older child's cough though with it.

Hope these help you this winter. Oh and wash your hands a lot, that always helps too :)

10 Tips For The First Time Mom.

I asked on my blog what should be the first thing I post about on my new Mommy Blog and I got multiple answers which can all be answered over time but for now I'm going to share some helpful tips for the first time mom. Enjoy!

Tip 1: Sleep when your newborn sleeps! Most new moms are on a high all of their own after having a baby due to the excitement and think they can survive with very little or no sleep at all. That's not the case and I suggest you don't try it. Everything you need to get done around the house can wait until after you wake up. Sleep is crucial in the first few months of motherhood. Every chance you have... SLEEP!

Tip 2: Develop your bond with the baby. The bond you develop with your baby in the first few days, weeks, months, and even years will affect your childs psychological health later on in life. Have lots of skin to skin contact and eye contact. 

Tip 3: How to Soothe Your Baby; Hold your baby on your shoulder and pat rythmically and firmly in the center of their back. While you're doing this put your mouth near his/her ear and whisper a long shhh sound. Remember not to blow directly into the ear as you could damage it, blow past the ear. Also, babies love to be swaddled. It reminds them of being in the womb.

Tip 4: Watch out for over stimulation; Every parent loves playtime especially with all of the cool new toys out there but over stimulating your child could cause them to become over tired. At that point the baby is stressed out, you're stressed out, and neither of you are getting any sleep. If this happens, go sit somewhere quiet and dark and use the pat/shh technique (listed above) Also humming and rocking works too :)

Tip 5: Plan, Plan, Plan!!! Planning for meal times, naps, bathtime, travel, ect will make motherhood a lot easier for you. Make sure you have everything ready before each task. It kills me when people go out to public with their kids and bring NOTHING with them. If you're going out in public, you need to bring it all! Diapers, wipes, pacifer, bibs, spare clothes, bottles, formula, ad ointment, breast pads, the list goes on. Be prepared, anything can happen!

Tip 6: Help your newborn learn to sleep: Put your baby down to sleep when he/she is already awake. You want your baby to learn to go to sleep on his/her own so they can develop good sleeping habits. Teaching your baby that nighttime is for sleeping is a good thing to do straight away. Do this by creating a bedtime routine such as bath, pj's, feeding time, and a quiet cuddle. Keep outside noise and stimulation to a dull minimum as it will keep the baby from sleeping longer.

Tip 7: Have Fun! Look after yourself and make sure you still have fun. It's hard to find time for yourself with a new baby around but do try to set aside a half an hour everyday so you can do something you enjoy doing. If you neglect your needs you could start to resent your baby. 

Tip 8: Socialize. At first everyone comes to see you once the baby is born but person by person they slowly start to disinigrate. Get outside of the house, talk to friends, other new moms, ect. Isolation could bring on depression which isn't good for either you or the baby. 

Tip 9: Learn About Your Babies Needs. Gaining knowledge about what your baby needs will help you succeed in becoming the parent you want to be. 

Tip 10: Buy second hand! Most young mothers are on low incomes and still learning to manage their money. Also babies grow so fast out of clothes that it's not really worth buying new things for them just so they can wear them once.

Hope this helps you new mothers and congratulations to you on your new little addition :)