Similac Go & Grow

Beginning at one year, Rickybear can transition over from infant formula to whole milk.  It sure would be a lot cheaper, but based on some of the research I have done, I think that I will continue giving formula for at least a little while longer.  I worry that if I let him drink milk, he might no longer take the formula, so I might hold off on milk altogether. 

Both Similac and Enfamil make formula specifically designed for older babies.  Since Rickybear doesn't seem to like Enfamil anymore and only drinks Similac, I think I will use their stage 2 product (although I do have a few cases of Enfamil's Enfagrow to try just in case). 

The main reason I want to continue with formula is to ensure he gets the best nutrition available for as long as possible.  I know toddlers are some of the pickiest eaters EVER, so even if he lives on crackers for a month or two, as long as he gets his sippy cup of formula twice a day, he should still be on the right track.  He would be getting more iron and other nutrients that he would with whole milk.  Plus, formula contains DHA and ARA (hello, brain and eye development!), which he would certainly not be getting in his diet otherwise.

Here is some information I have found:

The  formula has:

• DHA (Omega 3) and ARA (Omega 6) for brain and eye development
• Calcium for strong bones - no palm olein oil
• Nucleotides to help support the immune system
• Prebiotics to help promote digestive health
• Carotenoids naturally found in breast milk

• Same unique fat blend as Similac Advance EarlyShield™ to promote greater absorption of calcium
• Over 25 essential minerals and vitamins
• 30% Daily Value^* for calcium in 8 fl oz for growing bones
• 32% Daily Value^* for iron in 8 fl oz for brain development
• 48% Daily Value^* for vitamin C in 8 fl oz, an important antioxidant
• 48% Daily Value^* for vitamin E in 8 fl oz
• Complements nutrition provided by table food

Similac Go & Grow — A Complement to table food and milk
Food	Percent of Daily Values† per serving||			DHA/ARA	EarlyShield®
	Iron	Calcium	Vitamin E
Cow's Milk (whole) (8-fl-oz)	1%	35%	2%
Applesauce (6 oz)	4%	1%	15%
Mac & Cheese (1/2 c)	3%	7%	0%
Chicken Sticks (approx 1/3 c)	11%	7%	4%
Banana (4 oz)	3%	1%	2%
Similac Go & Grow Milk-Based Formula (8-fl-oz)	32%	30%	48%

So, yes, I have bought into the "hype".  Despite Abbott Laboratories feeding my baby crushed beetles with his formula (and yes, Rickybear was SO SO SICK from it), I think they are an outstanding company.  They handled the recall well.  I got all of my money back from the affected product, plus some (I always used a coupon or rebate check to buy my formula), and I feel that their quality measures are better than ever as a result.

Does anyone else plan to do the same?

Make yourself comfy, boy!

My son sure knows how to kick back and relax when he wants to!

Teething is not fun.  I am missing my sleeping thru the night baby.  He just can't seem to get comfortable.  I feel so badly for him.  He hates when I put Orajel in his mouth, but I know if has to feel better after I do it.  I put some frozen apple slices in the strainer yesterday and let him mash on those.  I don't know if it helped, but it resulted in apple juice running all down his face/neck/chest/onesie, so he ended up having his second bath of the day after dinner.  My child is a huge fan of bath time!  He was in there for about 30 minutes and didn't look ready to get out, but mommy was tired!  Daddy arrived home in time to sit with him, too, and watch him play.  It's the little moments, you know?

We have started letting him eat more and more table foods as long as they aren't salty.  Hubby swears the baby's mouth waters when he watches daddy eat dinner at night, lol.  My MIL cooks wonderful Mexican food, so he has been munching on her rice and beans.  My mom made jambalaya for us this week and so he had some of the chicken and rice in that for a few days.

Since my baby boy no longer lets me spoon feed him, he is pretty much purely eating finger foods.  I like to make all his food from scratch, but since I have been trying to give him more table foods, I have loosened up a bit.  I would prefer to steam my own carrots/green beans/etc. but I have been looking closely at some of the canned veggies at the store for ingredients and nutritional content.  I usually open up a can of some sort of veggie to serve with dinner when I cook and I usually just pick up the store brand of whatever I feel like grabbing.  This past week I spent a lot of time in the aisle and realized that the store brands do make no salt and no sugar added veggies.  Furthermore, a lot of my favorite veggies have only water listed as the other ingredient!  I can spice them up myself after I spoon out Rickybear's portion.  So he is getting some canned peas (he hates the texture when I buy fresh or frozen), carrots, and limas this week.  Before I know it he will be munching down on chicken tenders (OMG!).

Toddler Nutrition Information

I have been researching about infant and toddler nutrition since we are about to hit that one year mark that opens some magical doors.  I am going to rundown what lil boy currently eats and then I will attach the article that I have found pretty helpful.  Here's our current eating situation:

• 24 oz of formula a day.
• 2-4 oz of water total w/ meals to practice using a sippy cup
• 1 serving of veggies
• 1 serving of fruit
• 1 whole grain pancake
• 1 container of YoBaby yogurt
• 1 or 2 snacks of Gerber Puffs/Crunchies/Yogurt pieces

Depending on what I cook, he might get some pasta noodles, egg yolk, or chicken pieces, but that's not an everyday thing.  We also offer him oatmeal, but he's not a huge fan.  Aside from the Gerber snacks, I am still making his food- no salt or sugar added.

Here's the article, found at KidsHealth.org:

Nutrition Guide for Toddlers

Nutrition Through Variety

Babies grow at a lightning pace — 3 inches or so every 3 months. A toddler, in contrast, grows at a much slower rate — only 3-5 inches in an entire year.

While growth slows somewhat, nutrition remains a top priority. It's also a time for parents to shift gears, leaving bottles behind and moving into a new era where kids will eat and drink more independently.

The toddler years are a time of transition, especially between 12-24 months, when they're learning to eat table food and accepting new tastes and textures. Breast milk and formula provided adequate nutrition for your child as an infant, but now it's time for toddlers to start getting what they need through a variety of foods.

How Much Food Do They Need?

Depending on their age, size, and activity level, toddlers need about 1,000-1,400 calories a day. Refer to the chart below to get an idea of how much your child should be eating and what kinds of foods would satisfy the requirements.

Use the chart as a guide, but trust your own judgment and a toddler's cues to tell if he or she is satisfied and getting adequate nutrition. Nutrition is all about averages so don't panic if you don't hit every mark every day — just strive to provide a wide variety of nutrients in your child's diet.

The amounts provided are based on the Food Guide Pyramid for the average 2- and 3-year-old. For kids between 12 and 24 months, the 2-year-old recommendations can serve as a guide, but during this year toddler diets are still in transition.

Talk with your doctor about specifics for your child. And younger toddlers may not be eating this much — at least at first. When a range of amounts is given, the higher amount applies to kids who are older, bigger, or more active and need more calories.

Food Group	Daily Amount for 2-Year-Olds	Daily Amount for 3-Year-Olds	Help With Servings
Grains	3 ounces, half from whole-grain sources	4-5 ounces, half from whole-grain sources	One ounce equals: 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of ready-to-eat cereal, or ½ cup of cooked rice, cooked pasta, or cooked cereal.
Vegetables	1 cup	1½ cups	Use measuring cups to check amounts. Serve veggies that are soft, cut in small pieces, and well cooked to prevent choking.
Fruits	1 cup	1-1½ cups	Use measuring cups to check amounts. An 8- to 9-inch banana equals 1 cup.
Milk	2 cups	2 cups	One cup equals: 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 1½ ounces of natural cheese, or 2 ounces of processed cheese.
Meat & Beans	2 ounces	3-4 ounces	One ounce equals: 1 ounce of meat, poultry or fish, ¼ cup cooked dry beans, or 1 egg.

Milk Matters

An important part of a toddler's diet, milk provides calcium and vitamin D to help build strong bones. Toddlers should have 500 milligrams of calcium and 400 IU (International units) vitamin D (which aids in calcium absorption) a day.

The calcium requirement is easily met if your child gets the recommended two servings of dairy foods every day, but this amount provides only half of the vitamin D requirement. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends vitamin D supplementation of 400 IU per day if a child is drinking less than one liter (about 4 cups) of milk a day.

In general, kids ages 12 to 24 months should drink whole milk to help provide the dietary fats they need for normal growth and brain development. Reduced fat (2%) milk may be given if overweight or obesity is a concern, or if there is a family history of obesity, high cholesterol, of heart disease. After age 2, most kids can switch to low-fat (1%) or non-fat milk. Your doctor will help you decide which kind of milk to serve your toddler.

Some kids initially reject cow's milk because it doesn't taste like the familiar breast milk or formula. If your child is at least 12 months and having this difficulty, mix whole milk with some formula or breast milk. Gradually adjust the mixture over time so it becomes 100% cow's milk.

Some kids don't like milk or are unable to drink or eat dairy products. Explore other calcium sources, such as fortified cereals, calcium-fortified soy beverages, broccoli, and calcium-fortified orange juice.

Meeting Iron Requirements

Toddlers should have 7 milligrams of iron each day. After 12 months of age, they're at risk for iron deficiency because they no longer drink iron-fortified formula and may not be eating iron-fortified infant cereal or enough other iron-containing foods to make up the difference.

Cow's milk is low in iron. Drinking a lot of cow's milk also can put a child at risk of developing iron deficiency. Toddlers who drink a lot of cow's milk may be less hungry and less likely to eat iron-rich foods. Milk decreases the absorption of iron and can also irritate the lining of the intestine, causing small amounts of bleeding and the gradual loss of iron in the stool.

Iron deficiency can affect growth and may lead to learning and behavioral problems. And it can progress to anemia (a decreased number of red blood cells in the body). Iron is needed to make red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body. Without enough iron and red blood cells, the body's tissues and organs get less oxygen and don't function as well.

To help prevent iron deficiency:

• Limit your child's milk intake to about 16-24 ounces a day.
• Serve more iron-rich foods (meat, poultry, fish, enriched grains, beans, tofu).
• When serving iron-rich meals, include foods that contain vitamin C (tomatoes, broccoli, oranges, and strawberries), which improve the body's iron absorption.
• Continue serving iron-fortified cereal until your child is 18-24 months of age.

Talk to your doctor if you're concerned that your child isn't eating a balanced diet. Many toddlers are checked for iron-deficiency anemia, but never give your child a vitamin or mineral supplement without first discussing it with your doctor.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: October 2008

Banana boy

Little boy loves eating finger foods now.  Granted, he has only eaten Mum Mums and Gerber puffs up until this weekend.  Twice now he has eaten bananas pieces (I broke them up way smaller after the picture was taken) and he LOVED them.  It’s such a small thing, but I am so proud that he can do it by himself.  He is so sticky and gross afterwards that he needs a full-body wipedown, though.  He also knows how to tip the bottle back when he wants to drink.  He is unbalanced and doesn’t hold it there for long, but it’s still progress.

I think I am going to steam some yellow squash tonight and see if he can eat them as finger foods.  I peel the skin off so it shouldn’t be hard for him to digest.  I don’t know how well I can store diced veggies in the fridge with the tupperware I have.  I will have to experiment and see how that goes…

Yummy baby food

Today I am making chicken and sausage jambalaya for dinner.  Since I was cooking chicken, I decided to bite the bullet and prepare some chicken for the baby.  This will be the first time he has had any meat!  Now that I am cooking it, it's not nearly as oogie as I thought it would be.  The recipe called for one apple, one sweet potato and two chicken tender strips.  I chopped everything up and let it simmer in two cups of water for twenty minutes.  I have it cooling now, and I must admit, it smells delicious!  I might add a pinch of basil in there too, during the pureeing process.  I am pretty excited for Rickybear to try it!



Why I make my own baby food

I was asked why I decided to make my own baby food.  I didn’t give it much thought, actually.  I just knew I wanted to do it, like I wanted to breastfeed and co-sleep.  Once I made the decision, I reached out to find other mommies who believed in the same things I did to give me guidance.  My greatest resource is http://wholesomebabyfood.com.  I used the information I found there to type up my own manual, which includes recipes and the recommended age of introduction for virtually every fruit and veggie out there.  I recommend this site to anyone who has an interest in making their own food.  It even has sippy cups tips and suggestions for how to deal with picky eaters!  Love it!

With no further ado, here are my top ten reasons for making my own baby food:

1.      It makes me feel like I am a good mom and that I am providing my child the best nutrition possible.
2.    I know exactly what goes into food I feed him.  No salt, sugar, fillers, or preservatives.
3.      Most of the fruit/veggies are organic, which is better for everyone.
4.     I can easier make the purees smoother, thicker, or chunkier with ease.
5.     I can easily mix and match the foods he eats.  I can take a cube of green beans and mix it with squash, or I can hide a cube of peas by mixing it with three cubes of pears.
6.      There is very little waste.  I take out exactly how many cubes of food he will eat for each meal. 
7.   It takes minimal effort.  I can spend one full afternoon cooking and pureeing and make enough food to feed my child for a month.  I freeze the food in ice cube trays and then throw the cubes into a freezer bag.  They can store that way for three months.
8.      The way I prepare the food preserves as many vitamins and nutrients as possible.
9.   It tastes better than jarred baby food.
10.   It costs so much less than buying jarred baby food!

Ricky did not eat any solids until after he made six month- I feel very strongly about that.  I do not make my own yogurt.  Ricky eats YoBaby Organic Yogurt.  For finger foods, he eats Mum Mums and Gerber Puffs.  Again, the puffs are far more nutritious than any similar snack I could make.  Aside from that, he drinks Similac, which he will until he hits age 1. 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

Eat some corn!

I steamed some corn yesterday and it was so yummy that I thought my lil man would enjoy some, too!

He isn't old enough to eat corn, even ground up, so I just gave him the cob after the corn was off.  Even without butter or salt it was super tasty and he gnawed on it for ten minutes.  As daddy pointed out, it probably felt great on his teething gums.

For dinner last night I grilled some chicken on the George Foreman grill and served it with some red pepper alfredo sauce over pasta.  Delicious!  I am a little leery of pureeing meat, but I guess I need to try and see if he wants it.  I saved some chicken breast to boil with some basil today and once it's cold, I will puree it and add it to some carrot or squash puree. 

To any mommys who make their own baby food- how do you prepare meats?

It's time to eat!

I love that I can make all of my baby’s food.  I don’t know why it’s so surprising to people when I tell them that I waiting until 6 months to start Rickybear on solids and that I make all of his food.  What did people do before they had jarred food?  It’s not much of a burden.  It doesn’t require a lot of time. I can take an hour on Sunday night and make enough food to last the entire week.  I feel like I am doing something special for him.

Last night one of my Babyfit friends posted that they had made over 200 ice cubes worth of baby food!  She had to have spent hours doing it, but that’s enough food to last for weeks!  I usually just make enough to last him a week (he only eats about 2 cubes a day), but one day I might be that adventurous.  Anyway, her post motivated me to get up and prepare his food for the week, so now he has carrots and yellow squash to try.

So far he loves bananas and sweet potatoes, likes avocado, tolerates oatmeal, and doesn’t like green beans.

We have tried Gerber Graduate puffs, but he hasn’t gotten the hang of them.  He has gotten better at picking them up, but once they go in his mouth, they just sit on his tongue and massive amounts of drool pour out while the puffs dissolve.  LOL!  He still needs to work on that!

Every day with him is an adventure.  I love being a mom!

That would be sweet potatoes... yummy...

Avacodo = success!

Rickybear has his 6 month birthday on Thanksgiving, but we were out of town celebrating with family, so his first meal had to wait.  On Friday 11/26/10, we broke out the highchair that has been hiding behind the dining room table since before my lil man was born.  Apparently, Rickybear had a great time...

I didn't really research high chairs before purchasing one- I just bought the whole Graco Winnie the Pooh set.  I am happy to say that it's a good product.  I like the adjustable height and how easy the tray is to put on and take off.  Easy to wipe down and clean.  Overall, it was a fun experience!

Baby food, here we come!

The big day is almost here!  My lil man will be 6 months old on Thanksgiving Day!  While I can’t imagine that he is that old already, it certainly does feel like I have always had him in my life.  Having a baby is a wonderful thing.  He can brighten my day like no one else can. 

He has a special treat coming for his half birthday- he is going to begin solids!  I am so excited about it, but I am also fully aware that he probably won’t even eat the first few times that we attempt to feed him.  He seems to be showing me cues that he is ready.  He shows interest in what I am eating and we have been practicing giving him formula with a spoon just to get him used to the idea.  My plan is to give him avocados first, followed by other green veggies.  I don’t feel the need to give him rice cereal, and I want his first foods to be more nutritious.  We are planning to make our own baby food.  It is obviously less expensive and by doing this I know exactly what my child is eating.  No fillers or additives.  Since I have been following the E-Mealz meal plans, we have been eating a lot more fruits and vegetables than normal.  It won’t be hard to feed him foods that I already have around the house- foods that we eat ourselves.  I want my child to be accustomed to having those yummy healthy foods around.  The only disadvantage might be the lack of DHA that is not in a lot of processed baby cereals, but I will find a way to make sure he still has it in his diet.  Since he will still be drinking Similac, which has DHA in it, I don't won't have to worry about it too much for now.

A few months ago I made myself a booklet based on information that I had found on the Wholesome Baby Foods website.  I absolutely love this site!!  This past Sunday I made a trip to Babies R Us to go buy ice trays to freeze my baby food in.  I was intending to buy Fresh Baby So Easy Baby Food/Breast Milk Trays, but of course their food prep section was a MESS and all I could find were the starter kits, which I didn’t need.  My sleeping baby and I probably spend 20 minutes just standing there staring at all the neat baby food making supplies that I didn’t even know existed.  All I had really researched before were The First Years Babypro All In One Baby Food Maker and Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker, neither of which I was prepared to pay for, nor did they have fantastic reviews.

I had a lot of fun shopping.  I ended up buying a lot more than I had planned, but I still only paid around $50 for everything, and that’s a small price to pay.  So what did I buy??

• Masher and Bowl
• Micro Cook Container
• Ice Pop Molds
• Food Mill
• Freezer Trays
• Fresh Food Feeder
• Take and Toss Bowls