I was just wondering, seeing as food is such an issue with our GERDlings... for those that are on solids.. what sort of food do you use...??
I make almost all of the boys food, with fresh fruits and veges, meat etc. The only "bought" stuff I have is jarred custards and baby yoghurt.
I wonder if there is any correlation between the types of food we use and GERD. I am curious as I know many of littlies have food allergys and the like.

I voted on Evan's behalf. He could only handle the boughten baby food, and only some of the time. Homemade just had too much more texture. I made most of Brandon's baby food though.

Emma prefers homemade over store-bought.

Cady eats almost all jarred food. Clamps her mouth shut tight if I put homemade stuff near her. She'll eat cheese and turkey sometimes, but that isn't really homemade.

Nathan eats mostly store-bought, but only because mom can't get it together enough to make all his food. He loves home-made though. Homemade applesauce and pears is a favorite. :D

I should clarify...Emma prefers homemade, but eats store bought most of the time. :oops:

Daniel could only eat the jarred baby food because I never got mine smooth enough, either.

Hmmm, I forgot to add tube fed as an option.. I had better go and do that now! :D

I'm sure lots of mums use pre-prepared baby foods for convinence as we all have busy lives!!! I enjoy making the boys' food though and in fact make some meals for the little boy down the road each week (just to be nice). The favourite with the boys at t the moment is chicken with gravy and veges or chicken pie... YUM!! Even Dad says he will lick the spoon!! I'm afraid to say that some of the store bought stuff tastes disgusting!!! :lol: :lol:

The favourite with the boys at t the moment is chicken with gravy and veges or chicken pie... YUM!! Even Dad says he will lick the spoon!! I'm afraid to say that some of the store bought stuff tastes disgusting!!! :lol: :lol:

Mmmm, that sounds good, Sarah! How do you make those?

I know! That sounds really good! :D

Bethany won't really eat anything, so I gave up making stuff homemade
( a lot of work wound up on the floor!). I now fight to get her to eat some of the stage 1 jarred foods. I do find that I like Beech Nut the best--it tastes better to me (she doesn't show a preference--refuses everything!)

Mmmm, that sounds good, Sarah! How do you make those?

Oh, they are soooo easy!! Chicken pie.... I just boil up chicken and chop it up, add cube pre-cooked potatoes, throw in mixed frozen veges (or mashed carrots and kumara) and some pasta cheese sauce (homemade of course), sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top and bake in the oven.

With my veges.. I actually pre-cook frozen peas and corn, cook and mash up carrots, potato and kumara and put them into pottles in the freezer until they are ready to eat. For chicken & gravy with veges, I just pull out one of those pottles of veges and add the chicken- I boil up 1 breast of chicken, chop it up, mix up some gravy (with chicken stock) and mix the whole lot together- YUM!! 1 breast of chicken does my guys 3 meals... so that would be 6 meals for a singleton!!

I also make other things.. including spaghetti babynaise (baby version of spag bol), sausage and cheese pie, chicken alfredo etc etc. Some things the boys like, some things they don't- just depends!!

Sam prefers the bought foods. I think that the homemade has too strong a flavor for him so I am slowly mixing the two together and each week reducing the amt of bought with the homemade foods. Seems to be working okay for him. He is still only on fruit and veggie so I don't know how he will react to meats.

I've never made my own baby food. I figured I'd try it out once Noah had tasted several foods, but I guess I still don't have a clue what he would like.

Do you just blend the food and add water? Any special instructions? Sounds like a fun project to me!

Maggie - I use frozen veggies to make food for Sam.

I blend up the thawed veggies then I put them in the blender and add some water to get the consistency I want. Then to cook them I put them in a bowl and cook them in the microwave after it is blended. You are suppose to blend it after it is cooked, but I have found that if I do that the veggies are so soggy. Also by cooking in water (boiling) you leach out a lot of the nutrients so I have found this method to work.

Have fun making food for Noah! I hope he does better with it!

I was so desperate to have Iain eat that we tried making our own foods after having him refuse all store bought, including the organic varieties. It was not a success for us at all, but then again he was not given reflux relief until 14 months. Now, due to time constraints I buy the jar stuff at the store. He eats only puree fruits though and always has. :roll: Thankfully he has passed puree only these last couple of months, but I need to fall back on it during non-feeding weeks.

I think it is great that you are so dedicated for making the boys their own foods, Sarah! Kudos! Maybe one day we will see " Sarah's Own GERDling Baby Foods" :wink:

Do you just blend the food and add water? Any special instructions? Sounds like a fun project to me!

In the beginning, I would cook the food and then blend it (hand blenders were the BEST invention ever!!). I usually use the water that I have cooked the veges in.. as they have alot of the nutrients still in it. You can also add a little bit of flour if you think it's too runny.
As the boys got older, I just mashed (so they could get used to lumpy stuff) and added things for flavouring... beef/ chicken stock, tomato sauce (although not too much), gravies etc. No special instructions Maggie... I just did whatever took my fancy.. and believe me, I am NO cook!! Just ask my DH!!!

It really doesn't take that long (and whatever you make always does more than 1 meal anyway- you can pop it in the freezer for another night)and as the boys got bigger and started eating more, the jar stuff became so expensive (with the 2 of them).. it was definitely cheaper to make rather than buy.

There are lots of baby food books out there to help you with recipes to ensure they are getting a balanced diet. I just use everything in moderation. The only thing they have not had is fish.. simply because I can't stand the smell of cooking fish- ICK!

Hey Leigh... I just assumed SAHM's made all their own baby food. :oops: :oops: That's why I started a poll.............

I was not a SAHM. :oops: It is a great question, though. :D

Really, with even ONE child I found it hard to do stuff, let alone two. I mean it, my hat is off to you, Sarah. :wink:

Well you know what Leigh.. I don't know how you manage 3 boys!!!! And working as well.... sheesh! Hats off to you hon! :D
Hmmm, may need to start another poll about whether we are SAHM or not. That would be interesting.....

kumara
What is that, Sarah?

I'm a little late on this one....I am embarrased to say we never really got into the baby food thing, Alexys just didnt like it at all. She still doesnt really, but I do have a few stage 3 jars that I keep in the diaper bag. I tried making my own for awhile but she just wouldnt eat any kind of puree at all. Now I do buy the gerber graduates, the meals and the snacks. They are very handy as you just pop them in the microwave and they are like big people food so she can feed herself.

kumara
What is that, Sarah?
It is the maori word for potato of the earth... i.e. sweet potato. We don't tend to say sweet potato here.. it's kumara!!! LOL :D

Well you know what Leigh.. I don't know how you manage 3 boys!!!! And working as well.... sheesh! Hats off to you hon! :D
Hmmm, may need to start another poll about whether we are SAHM or not. That would be interesting.....

Quite awhile ago I remember that was a conversation around here, but it was not a topic, I do not think. Would be an interesting poll for sure.

As far as having three, it is hard as everytime you turn around POP! There is another kid! :lol: We are into a routine of sorts with them, but it is hard for us to find the time to separate them and give them private Mommy and Daddy time. That is what I really want to focus on so that I can know what my boys are feeling and thinking. They shine with their private time and I feel so close to them, even if we are just going to a shop to take a peek around as it is no where near as hectic and you can focus on one.

With Iain being so sick for so long and Curran having GERD and poop issues, I feel that Walker has suffered from lack of special time, especially since he needs the extra speech and language help. Funny thing is that once we realized how truly helpful he wants to be we actually "use" his services and he LOVES it! You make time where you can. :wink: