baby's first solids: preparing and storing solid food for baby

[Cherry143]

mga sis,
ok lang ba bigyan ng ceralac si baby, like yung cerelac na brown rice?
syempre ok parin ang normal na rice na iluto na parang lugaw (grind daw yung rice sa coffee grinder - actually, meron naman ako).

6months na si baby at nabanggit ng pedia mismo ang Cerelac as nabibiling ready na, when i mentioned yung dudurugin na bigas...  she said ok lang daw ang cerelac...  and tataba nga daw si baby dun dahil carbo.  gustong gusto ko tumaba si baby kasi slim sya dahil mahina sa milk; ayaw naman bigyan ng mga pang appetite dahil kapag 1year old na daw si baby yun.

advice din nya for now na wag papalit-palit ng food si baby. para ma-check pa kung saan sya may allergy.  so, feed the same food for ~3days before changing to another new food.

sa ngayon kasi, nasa parents ko yung grinder ko & blender.

mga sis, paano naman ang about storing of food?  like kapag nailuto ng umaga tapos medyo marami good for 2-3feedings, ok lang ba lagay sa closed container then sa ref (syempre after mapalamig na yung food).  Until when pwedi i-feed ang nailagay sa ref?  ano naman ang pweding sa freezer???

[hunny_ally]

^check the sugar content of cerelac. Tama ka tataba si baby. Tataba kasi full of sugar

[clueless]

^^ i read somewhere that feeding your baby a teaspoon of commercial rice cereal (not only cerelac) is like feeding your baby a teaspoon of sugar. and since diabetes runs in my family, plus i had GDM when i was pregnant, talagang adamant ako not to give cerelac. my pedia also did not even suggest it. may GDM ka din yata nung buntis ka diba?

yung mga unang food ng baby ko na veggies, we used to steam good for 3-4 days of feeding, hand blend then pag malamig na, store in covered ice cubes.

most of the recipes in the book top 100 baby purees are suitable for freezing. i highly recommend this book. when my baby turned 9 months, puro dito na galing ang mga pinapakain ko sa kanya. before that kasi puro veggies maybe 1.5 months then after that we combined 2-3 veggies na (like carrots+sayote) plus ground rice.

[Grayce]

Cherry143:
i dont understand why make a big fuss on baby's weight when it seems like your podia's not bothered by it and doesn't even want to give your baby an appetite stimulant. and i third the motion on giving baby those packed cereals. why don't you just make your own baby food? back read for more tips and you can also check wholesomebabyfood website for more tips and guidelines.

[Cherry143]

thanks mga sis for the info, really appreciate! parang hindi ata updated ang pedia namin with regards to baby's healthy eating... kasi i was asking about the rice na dudurugin then gawing lugaw, when all of a sudden she recommends cerelac  .

gumagamit ba kayo ng electric na pang puree, yung food processor?  kasi diba sa unang stage (like 6months), kailangan super soft ang food ni baby.  Yung napanood kong video sa internet for making foods, gumagamit ng puree.   although yung iba namang food ay boild/steemed then mashed.  sulit ba ang food processor kung para lang sya sa food ni baby?  (so far, hindi naman namin kailangan nun for our food).

next question: pwedi narin bang mag green veggies si baby at 6months?  like brocolli, ampalaya?  yung ampalaya, ok lang bang tanggalan ng pait via soaking in water with salt   

nakita ko yung top 100 baby purees sa amazon... hmmm, check ko nga kung masulit ko paring bumili & ship ng items fr amazon, gusto ko narin kasi bumili ng other baby items.  nagtaas na kasi ng shipping fee ang forexworld, and probably pati ang pobox... meron ba kayong other recommended courier?

[hunny_ally]

^i did it the old fashion way...use a fork to mash the food.

broccoli is gas forming. better to introduce it 8-10 mos. check wholesomebabyfood.com. they have a comprehensive list on what type of food can be introduced at a particular age

[Grayce]

^ditto on wholesomebabyfood website! that was the guide I've been using aside from the books my aunt lend me.

^^please check wholesomebabyfood website as what we've mentioned, there are a lot of guides from the net alone palang

[clueless]

i also used wholesomebabyfoods as a guide for what to introduce at what month. but the 2 recipes i tried from there, my baby didnt like. so i relied more on top 100 baby purees for recipes.

cherry143, top 100 baby purees is also available at fully booked. and if you backread, you will find that some of your questions (i.e. is a food processor practical/necessary) have already been discussed hunny_ally also already pointed out before that broccoli is gas-forming.

[Cherry143]

sorry mga sis, hindi ako nakaka-backread ng todo kasi sobrang busy, over!  dami ko pang adjustments sa work after my very long long leave during pregnancy.

share ko lang din, regarding home baby food maker.  i already bought yung Simba na set, ~P400, 4-in-1 sya.  Then just yesterday, nakita ko yung Pigeon, same kay sis Clueless & cupcake. Naku, mas complete sya at mukhang mas effectve ang kanyang grater, mas mortar pa and strainer.  Syempre mas ok na may sariling strainer ang food ni baby.  Ang ganda rin ng kanyang design dahil pwedi mo ma-assemble into 1piece yung mga parts, then naka-cover pa sya by itself!  Microwave safe (though hindi ko eto gagawin) & pwedi ring i-freezer.  Kaya binili ko na kahit P999 sya, tinago ko nalang kay hubby  . Actually, nakita ko na eto dati, kaya lang ayaw ko bumili ng mahal kung meron namang murang versions, eh, kaso, i realized ang ganda talaga ng design & functions nya, na appreciate ko.

Problem ko is paano naman yung Simba na nabili ko.  Hindi pa openned, pwedi ko muna itago in case...

I tried i-grinder (electric, yung kasama sa blender) ang boiled squash.  Alas!  kamukha ng gerber ang consistency, puree talaga na sya.  Unlike dun sa boild & mashed lang with water...

Sis clueless, ano yung hand blender mo?  are you referring yung parang pang chop din ng veggies/ fruits yung iniikot manually (parang Edison ata tatak?)?  Meron ako nito, gusto ko din i-try...

[clueless]

^

This is what a hand blender looks like. I find it better to use this kesa the blender-blender with pitcher and all kasi it's less noisy, easier to clean and small amount lang naman yung food. My sister naman uses an avent steamer and food processor. she said ok daw pero namahalan ako eh. goid that my mom gave me a hand blender. I'vd had it for a while and found a good use for it only now.

[sands_088]

^ as per my pedias advice my baby at 5mos was ready to take in solids already. siempre i did not force solid food on my baby, his first food was kamote and he took it quite well. we are now trying carrots and next squash naman. so far the puree-ice cube tray-freezer bag works well for me. I'm very busy so what i did is make the purees during the weekend then good for one week na. but i read that you can freeze purees for 1 to 3 months. personal choice ko lang is 2 weeks max. I make around 4 cubes per vegetable.

[Cherry143]

^^sis clueless,
thanks for sharing, it triggered my imagination!
i think i have 2 other kitchen tools that i can use to make the puree!  Both manual & very cheap, but  could be very helpful!
1 is the Edmark (manual) food processor, omg  , chineck ko sa kitchen, it is only P399 when i bought in 3yrs ago, hindi parin gaanong gamit at grinder is 1 of its 8 functions!  Sorry, hindi ako makakita dito sa google ng picture to share this.  this item is very common sa SM department store, kitchen section yung palaging may nagde-demo na sales agent ng food processing.  pero, compared sa electric grinder na kasama sa mga blender/ ostorizer, etong Edmark food processor ay medyo malaki, suitable lang kung marami kang pe-prepare na food ni baby.

another 1 i have is the manual blender din na hand-held tapos parang wisk lang sya pero mag-ro-rotate kapag binabaon!  naku-ita-try ko to tomorrow!  this is very time-saver kasi madali lang din hugasan unlike a electric grinder.  At wala ding risk ng broken metal blades (unlike sa blender or the food processors na may mga blades, though hindi naman masisira yung blades if properly used).

[Grayce]

^^6mos ang new rule for introducing solid food kasi for baby as per AAP to avoid any allergy issues on baby. here in singapore

i freeze in big batches but since my baby has a good appetite, mga 2x/week ako gumagawa ng ifrefreeze. i just place them in avent via cups then stack them in the freezer. i have yet to find an ice tray here na may cover.

[guiding star]

we went to our pedia yesterday, according to her we can introduce fish & meat to baby's diet. he is now 8 months..question:what should be the consistency of the food?same as the veggies and fruits?kaya na kaya ni baby kung may fine pieces na?

[hunny_ally]

^dont let your baby get used to too much puréed/soft food. Mahihirapan ka to transition him to table food later on. Since fish is generally soft, size as big or half as big as a butil ng kanin is ok. The baby will mash that between his gums.

[guiding star]

^ Hand mash will do siguro with brown rice. Thanks!

[reb_woods072683]

question mga sis, what kind of oatmeal can i give to my 1 year old baby? pwede na ba yung mga quaker oats?

[snowflakes]

do you give popsicle fruit to your baby?

[batch]

5mos 2wks pa lang si baby nung last visit namin sa pedia. excited akong mag solid na sya kaya nagtanong na ko kay pedia ng pwedeng first foods. sabi nya lugaw, potatoes, at kamoteng dilaw daw na pinaka rich in beta carotine. pero nagbilin din na wait until baby is at least 6 months bago daw mag start ng solid. no need to hurry naman daw since over weight pa nga si baby. she said that 1 feeding can replace 1 milk intake. so wait pa din kami, 1 week to go 6 months na yehey 

[Grayce]

^solids aren't supposed to replace milk intake if I'm not mistaken. expect na hindi ganun karami ang mapapakain mo on his first feeding.