Operation "Hungry Baby": Homemade Baby Food & Breastfeeding

Happy New Year!

I can't believe it's January already and Aiden will be 9 months in just a few weeks... Seriously guys, he is growing so fast and it makes me kind of sad. I love getting to know him more and learning his personality but I try to think back to the very first time the nurse put him in my arms and it gets a little hazy. I want to go back and relive that moment so much... I look at him, all 21 pounds of him and still cannot believe he was once a tiny, sleepy newborn not even a year ago.

A year! He will be one year old in just over three months and YOU KNOW I am already planning his birthday party... but that's an entirely different blog post... I wanted to give some updates on how it is going with "operation hungry baby" because it seems that the biggest part of my job as a new mom has been to nourish this little hungry boy.

Breastfeeding:

Yes, we are still nursing! I find it strange when people ask things like "you are STILL breastfeeding?" because my son is still an infant. Not that it would be less strange for them to ask when he is a toddler. But anyway, we are still nursing and I am over the moon about it! Giving my baby only breast milk (no formula) was a goal that I was not so sure I would reach.... we supplemented his feedings with formula for the first 8 weeks and I was NOT happy about it. But somehow, with some determination and lots of prayer I was able to ditch the formula and get Aiden on breast milk exclusively. It was so important to me to give him the VERY BEST and I know that God created this milk specifically for Aiden... Since I was pregnant with him, I have been very conscious of what goes inside of him because after all, he is dependent on me for all of his nourishment. That is a responsibility I have not taken lightly. I pump at the office throughout the day and store Aiden's milk in the freezer. He gets bottles throughout the day and then he nurses when I get home in the evening. He still nurses several times throughout the night and I hope to continue for as long as we can. I have no problems nursing Aiden until he is 2 years old and NO I do not think that is weird. For now, the plan is that we will introduce cow's milk when he turns 1 and then we'll see how it goes. I'm so grateful that I have been able to continue nursing despite the obstacles. I still can't understand the weirdness around breastfeeding but I hope to inspire and change the mind sets of people around me if I can. I feed Aiden on demand, anywhere we are. In church, at the doctor's office, the supermarket, - everywhere! I have a nursing cover and thankfully I have never forgotten it but if one day I don't have it and Aiden needs to eat, we'll just break out the mardi-gras beads cause "the girls" are coming out! Haha.



Baby Food:

Aiden started "solids" at 6 months and again, I am really conscious of what goes into him. After lots of reading we decided that Aiden would get homemade baby food and can I just say-- I LOVE IT! It is so much fun to cook for him and it is something I really, truly enjoy. We started with brown rice cereal that I mill into powder and then cook on the stove top for him. I also make him oatmeal this way and he loves it. After introducing all the basic "starter" foods like bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, peas, etc. we have started to mix things together and make some pretty awesome combos. I use breast milk when pureeing the veggies and water for the fruit. Aiden has also had pureed turkey and chicken. He is starting egg yolks this week... We use organic chicken/turkey/eggs because of growth hormone concerns. Just last night he had pureed chicken and apples for dinner and he ate it all! Another really great thing has been organic whole milk yogurt. We buy the Stonyfield plain yogurt and it is great. He enjoys eating it plain and it is also really great for mixing with everything! We mix yogurt into his veggies, fruits, cereals, and it really makes a difference. The main thing I look for with yogurt is that it have lots of good bacteria to help break things down in Aiden's tummy and keep him regular. Stonyfield yogurt has 6 active cultures and that is proven to aid digestive health. I do plan to compile my baby food recipes at some point but here are just a few things Aiden really enjoys:



Butternut Squash

Chicken and Apples

Turkey and Sweet Potatoes

Turkey and Peas

Oatmeal and Nectarines

Brown Rice and Pears

Plums



It takes me a few hours every weekend (after a trip to the supermarket) to peel, core, chop up and steam all the food, then blend everything into perfect purees! It can be a lot of work depending on the food and sometimes I'd much rather just hang out with Aiden instead on my day off but making sure he gets wholesome, homemade food definitely beats out that desire. I have these really great baby food containers that seal great and go right in the freezer. I label everything in freezer bags and it is all ready to go. The containers are super practical and easy to take when on the go too. We have a little ice pack and they go right in with spoons, a bib etc. I always pack a few spoonful’s of yogurt when we go out too!



And another really cool thing -- the MESH FEEDER. Aiden enjoys bananas in his, slices of pear, and his favorite - ice! It really soothes him and even though he still has no teeth, I am convinced he is experiencing teething symptoms. He really loves to suck on ice from his mesh feeder and I love how happy it makes him.



Aiden also gets to drink water now and get this -- he won't take it in a bottle or Sippy cup! He wants to drink from a cup just like grownups do. So we fill his little blue cup with water and let him go for it. He gets so excited when he sees anyone drinking from a cup. It's to the point where if I am going to be drinking something in front of him, I better have his cup with water ready. Breast milk and water are his only two beverages and I plan on waiting a long, long while before introducing juice. There's really no nutritional value so I don't see the point. Some other things I plan to wait on are - white rice and white potato.



Overall, "operation hungry baby" is going really well and he really isn't a very hungry baby at all. He loves to eat and I LOVE to feed him =)