My Food Philosophy

Organic, fresh, frozen, snack, meal, soy, formula, breastmilk, instant, whole grain, processed...these are all terms that you encounter when thinking about foods for your baby or even yourself. I think that I'm fairly moderate in my food approach with my babies.

LIQUIDS
I started out breastfeeding both boys and it went ok. I was feeding both and pumping at every feeding. The pumping was wearing me down...I hate the pump! My little guy wasn't taking too well, though and after a few visits with the lactation consultant and many efforts on my own, I decided to ween to formula. After 3 months, both boys were being formula-fed through bottles. I found that my little one still didn't like the bottle too much, so I felt a little relieved that it wasn't me (because, of course I blamed myself) and a little frustrated thinking that I should have kept with it. Do I wish I hadn't stopped? The instant answer is yes, but I don't regret feeding formula either. We have done our best and both boys are growing well. We are just now starting to transition to whole milk.

I also introduced the cup (see this post) around 6 months. I have only offered water to this point and don't plan to introduce juice until after a year. I haven't exactly decided what, how much, or when I will exactly do this yet, but I'm ok with them not having the sugar for now.

SOLIDS
I have prepared my own organic baby purees and my boys have eaten these homemade foods about 90% of the time. There are times when we are traveling or out of the house that they receive organic baby food from a jar.

I have offered organic puffs for a while now trying to get them use to finger foods and feeding themselves.

Another thing I try to do is to offer the rainbow (which I will post about in the future) or at least provide a variety of foods, so they aren't eating only sweet potatoes all day long.

They consistently feed themselves finger foods now such as cooked sweet potatoes, whole wheat pasta, cheese, turkey, tofu, and cooked egg yolk. There have been some others here and there, but these are the main ones for now. I have a little trouble with the cooked fruits and vegetables as making sure they are cooked soft enough and offered in the correct size (big enough to pick up, but small enough to handle chewing and not choking).

EXTRAS
I have learned alot from Ruth Yaron's book Super Baby Food and have added tahini and wheat germ to cereal and a little behind, but planning to work on more of these healthy additives and legumes very soon! None of these are things I ever knew anything about or even considered before this book, so I think I'm making progress by having introduced even a few so far.

MYSELF
I, myself have never been the moth healthy eater. I try to eat fruits and vegetables along with lean protein each day, but I sure do love carbs!! I have never prepared only fresh or organic foods at home for myself or my husband, but I am learning lots about our eating habits while trying to feed the best to our children. I do buy mostly organic produce, but I also look for healthy options on sale. I don't avoid all processed snacks as I think there is a place for these (anything in moderation, right?). That is why I have bought the puffs, biter biscuits, and cheerios. The boys do like these and I have found them to be a helpful tool in allowing them to learn to pick up food.

So, I don't have a clear philosophy on my food choices, but I go with what I'm learning as a I go and try to offer a variety of healthy foods. I use organic as much as possible to avoid the synthetic chemicals. There's lots to learn about organic and I'm certainly no expert. This also leads to me to an area that I'm not much familiar with, but would love to learn more about buying meat and crops from a local organic farmer. I know there are some in my area and that's on my list of things to research.

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