Home-made Baby Food: A Natural Start to Solids

Lately I've been getting a lot of questions about my plans for when to start my son on solids, and while I plan to continue the recommended 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding, it's had me thinking a lot about what I'll feed him when he is ready for solids.  I found this wonderful website about Homemade Baby Food  that has me excited at the idea.

While there are many new, 'organic' options out there for store-bought baby food, making your own baby food with ingredients you buy yourself is not only less expensive, but everyone knows there's nothing like fresh, homemade food.

 But what about the iron and vitamins that are added to comercial baby food products?  Usually, breastfed babies won't need supplement, but if you talk to your pediatrician they can give you prescriptions for vitamins and iron that comes in liquid form that can be added to you baby's food or given separately with a dropper.

For mothers who spend the months breastfeeding and forming that special bond with their little one, they often find it difficult when they switch their little ones to solid food who no longer depend on them for their nutrition. Not only do you get to make your baby food full of love :)  you can thin out your purees with breast milk for added benefit!

While thinking about Homemade baby food might bring you visions of messy kitchen and stressed preparation, it's easier than you may think.  Foods like bananas like avocado are so soft they only require peeling and light mashing with a fork!  For younger babies you may choose to water down this puree with the liquid of your choice, but if you wait the recommended 6 months before introducing solids, this shouldn't be a problem.

Not only are avocados easy to prepare, they are an excellent form of nutrition for you little one, and are even an good alternative as a first food opposed to the traditional baby cereal.  It has be found that breastfed infants especially may benefit from starting on solids that are not cereals, and this fact has been recognized by La Leche League and others.  While you may choose to stick with tradition, you should still consider adding avocados to your baby's diet.  They have nearly all the vitamins and minerals your little one will need, and the website I mentioned above has a full page outlining their benefits.  For some reason, I can't find commercial avocado baby food, probably due to the tendency of avocados to brown quickly after peeling, it would be hard to find a way to keep it fresh long enough to sell.

There are so many wonderful recipes out there for baby food that you can't find sold in stores.  Let your baby experience new tastes all made with love and fresh ingredients! Good Luck, and Best Wishes!