Showing posts with label what are you feeding her. Show all posts
Showing posts with label what are you feeding her. Show all posts

Sunday, April 18, 2010

What are you feeding her?!?!?! April


Clean plate after a lunch of chopped greens, olives, tomatoes, Greek lentils, and yogurt tahini sauce. Clean hair, not so much :]


On behalf of Lily's growth spurt today...whew...I believe it is time for another installment of "What are you feeding her!?!?!?!"
[If you want to see last month's post, you can go here ;]

Now, THIS is unusual, but I noticed today, Lily was being a little adventurous in her eating habits. She is going through a growth spurt for sure.
Here is what she had today from 3-6:30
3:00 About a quarter cup each of brown rice and beans. The beans were butter beans and kidney beans [both have skins that are really easy to peal off] with diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a little green pepper.
4:00 I left a portion of my Greek Yogurt [goat milk hurts meh tummy less] without honey so Lily could try some. Before I knew it, both of her hands, her face, and my knee were covered in yogurt, and my yogurt serving was drastically reduced. [No babies were harmed by honey in the making of this update]
4:30 Nap time in the pompason. We napped/nursed till 5. Yup, she nursed the whole time.
5:30 Golden raisins with the skins removed. I hate feeding them to her bc they are SO tedious.
6:30 More beans from lunch. What can I say, she is my child.

And then we nursed before bedtime.
My. Goodness. We are raising a foodie for sure.

Here are some new things Lily is in love with:
Brown rice:
Soaked for 24 hours, cooked, and frozen. This makes things a lot easier when it comes down to meal time. I don't have to go and start cooking it AN HOUR before I want it. I just pop it in the sauce pan with some water, and voila! Brown rice for baby in about 5 minutes. I'm trying this brown rice cracker recipe tomorrow to see if she likes it :]
Guacamole: Sorta... Lily loves avocados, this, we all know. So I started spicing 'em up a little bit for her. Here's how she likes her guac:
1 avocado [yup, the whole thing] halved, pitted, skinned and diced
1/2 diced Roma tomato
1/2 a lime's worth of juice.
1 pinch of sea salt
dash of pepper
Mix well and serve immediately. [and be prepared to clean...]
Greek Yogurt:
Plain* yogurt from goat's milk is ideal. The proteins in goat's milk are much smaller than those in cow's milk making them MUCH easier to digest. This is good to remember for those of you who are lactose intolerant, too!
*A good rule of thumb for you and you're baby to follow: Don't buy flavored products. They often contain an excessive amount of sugar and preservatives. Instead, buy plain and add your own toppings. It tastes better, and sometimes even costs less!

On top of that we keep her supplements simple, and regular:
1 capsule of Tuna Oil
1 capsule of Innate Choice Probiotic
Soon we will add a calcium supplement for her growing teeth!

She eats 2-3 egg yolks a day [1-2 in the morning, and 1 before bed] and pretty much whatever we eat at lunch. She loves food. I love her.
And on the boob front, she is still nursing 4-5 times a day, BUT has been sleeping through the night! I don't even know what to do with myself yet! It may not last, and that's fine. I honestly wake up and HOPE she's waking up because I feel like my boobs are gonna explode. But she doesn't... I've been having to pump in the mornings bc it gets pretty uncomfortable, but I know she's getting sleep, and it's such a relief!

So, there you have it! Email me with any questions [or suggestions!] that you have :]

Mae


***Always ask your family doctor before introducing new foods to your baby's diet.

Friday, March 12, 2010

What are you feeding her?!?!?! March

I have decided to start a new series called "What are you feeding her?!?!?!" Almost every time we are out in public this conversation happens
Random McStranger, "Oh my goodness! How cute!"
Me, "Thank you"
RMS, "How old is she, he, she?"
Me, "She is 8 months"
RMS, "Oh my goodness, big girl! How much does she weigh?"
Me, "[Fake laugh] She weighs about 23 pounds now"
RMS, "What are you feeding her?!?!?!"

My usual response to this is to make a boob joke, but the truth is, these days Lily is eating a lot more than breastmilk.
An incident like the one described above took place on our last trip to the grocery store. The woman said her second is now 8 months, and she couldn't remember when she started "solids" with her first.
She said "Does she eat food?"
Me "...Yes." I didn't get what she was asking.
RMS "No, like I mean real food?"
I laughed [for real] "Yes, she only eats real food. Like bananas, apples, carrots."
I looked in her basket and tried to hid my reaction. The ENTIRE basket was filled with brightly colored plastic bags, bottles, and boxes of baby "food". There was formula, apple sauce with "granola bits", cartoon character shaped "cookies", juice boxes, and so, SO much more. She must have seen a glimpse of something on my face and started to explain she was getting ready to start her son on solids. She then did something no stranger should ever do to Eamon or me- she asked for my advice.
Its these types of things that make me think God hates me. He tests me so much.
Any way, I point at her basket and say
"Well, truthfully, she's never had anything like that. We just do a lot of fruit and veggies and 2 egg yolks every day."
She looked at me, started to smile, and then pushed her cart away...

*insert cricket chorus here*

Had I said something to offend her? Did she think I was pulling her leg? I thought I was really sweet! But whatever it was, it was unrepairable, as mysteriously as she had appeared, she was gone.
Later that night we went to the Brownings. I was looking around to give something to Lily and Katie suggested I give her some of this awesome new rice cereal that she just got. It's loaded with probiotics and it organic according to the package. I told her I would, but Lily had never had rice cereal and didn't know how she would do with it. Katie gave me the same "Really?!?" that I've received before.

Here is where I believe it is appropriate to start giving some answers :]
Parent after parent have tried scaring me into feeding Lily formula and rice cereal since day one. She was 7 11 when she was born [which isn't premie or anything?] and people kept suggesting that she wouldn't gain weight unless I formula fed. Then once she started to pack on the pounds, people said she was gaining too much weight and that my milk wasn't good. Once they saw that I didn't buy that, they started to say I had to start supplementing with rice cereal because there was no way my body would be able to keep up with her appitite. This one, admittedly, got to me.

At 4.5 months I started to let Lily try things. Apple slices, sweet potatoes, things like that. She showed some of the developemental signs of readiness, but not as much as I would have liked. But she was very interested in food, so we went for it. Next time, I think I'll wait a little longer for our kiddo to tell us, not the RMS's of the world. I started my period again at about 6 months, though it has been VERY inconsistant. But I know it's because she started nursing less then.

Now, however, I think we've got it figured out!
Lily is actually nursing more these days, and it's far more predictable. From 8 am to 7 pm she nurses about 5-6 times and 3 times after bedtime-once when Eamon and I go to bed, and two more in the middle of the night/ wee hours of the morning. I think this may have something to do with my whacky hormones, but I love it. I enjoy nursing Lily at this age for so many reasons, and I'm really glad I've stuck with it :]



So, What AM I feeding her these days?
Everything! Haha, ok, not everything, but so much fun stuff! This is what today's menu looks like for Lily:
Breakfst: One steamed egg yolk. She has this every morning when I eat my breakfast. She LOVES our farm fresh eggs and actually prefers them over anything else she eats.

Lunch: Today she begged to eat some of my curry. It was left overs from Kidney Bean and Cauliflower coconut curry we had a few nights ago. It was mostly broth, but she loved it! I took the skins off of the beans and she had a few of those, some potatoes, and whatever onion was in it. She couldn't get enough! I thought the spice would aggrivate her tummy, but so far so good! We also split the prettiest orange I've ever seen.I love when it's citrus season, it just makes the world better.

Dinner: Tonight will be the same as it always is; one steamed egg yolk, with steamed fruit or veggies. I make sure she eats til she tells me no more so that she's nice and full, then it's off to bathtime and a good tank up from mama. She sleeps so much better because of this.
We haven't added any wheat or dairy yet, though Nina Planck makes a very convincing argument on raw dairy in wee ones.

I'd love to hear your comments or questions! I think I'll do this once a month, so tell me whatchya think! :]