Homemade Baby Food

This kid loves her food! 

After posting a picture on facebook of my recent baby food stash, I got some requests to do an informative blog post about it.  So here we go!

I started Sawyer on solid food when she was exactly 5 months old.  She was showing very clear signs of being ready (drooling when we ate in front of her, watching our food all the time, being able to sit up).

WHY
I knew I wanted to make her food, but nothing confirmed it for me more than seeing how expensive pre-made organic baby food is!  At almost $1.50 a package (3.5 oz) we would be spending over $30 a week on just 3 meals a day.  That is crazy to me.  I make her food all organic and it's pennies on the dollar.

Also, when we went to the beach in May, I bought organic packs of food to make vacation easier on myself.  She didn't poop for 5 days.  She's never had that problem before, and as soon as we got home and back to our homemade food, she never had it again.

We never did baby cereal. You can read why we decided against it HERE

HOW
My tools-
regular pots and baking sheets
vitamix (food processor works just fine)
These ice cube trays 
spatula
big ziplock bags

As far as meal planning, my friend Natalie recommended the book by Tyler Florence.  I ordered it used on Amazon for 3 bucks.  He has awesome recipes and tips, and I highly recommend it.  I also went to the baby food aisle and looked at the combinations they offer.  That was a great way to figure out recipes.  

BUY
Here is my secret to making this process easier for myself.  I buy almost everything I use at Whole Foods in the frozen section. I can buy bags of frozen peas, fruit, mixed veggies, etc for usually $2.49 a bag.  Two bags makes about 3 trays full of food--which fills up a gallon freezer bag.  That is roughly 15 meals if she's eating 3 cubes a meal.  When we first started, she only ate 2 cubes at a time.  Each cube is a little less than 2 ounces.

When we first started out, I did single foods at a time.  I had blocks of mango, sweet potatoes, peas, avocado, etc.

At about 6 months, I started combining flavors.  I'd make sweet potatoes with apples and prunes.  I'd buy bags of mixed veggies (peas, beans, carrots, corn) and steam and blend them all together.  Now at 9 months, we're in advanced recipes with texture like squash, apples, prunes and then I'll mix in quinoa after the veggies are blended.  At 6 months I also started adding seasonings.  I add cinnamon to squash, cumin to turkey, thyme to sweet potatoes, etc.  Just have fun and experiment.  Babies like flavors--they had them when you were pregnant and they get them from breast milk.

COMBOS
I always have, at a minimum, a stash of:
-root veggies (squash, sweet potatoes) with a grain (quinoa, couscous, brown rice)
-cool veggies (greens, corn, carrots) with a protein (chick peas, ground turkey, beans)
-fruits (strawberries, bananas, mangos, blueberries) with oatmeal or yogurt when she was younger

COOK
With the frozen produce, I follow the directions on the bag to cook them.  This usually involves boiling 1/2 cup of water, then adding the produce.  It steams for about 7 minutes and that's it.  I wait for it to cool, then put it in the vitamix.
I also roast a LOT of her veggies and fruits. My favorites to roast are sweet potatoes, apples, prunes, and any kind of squash.  You just put them on a baking sheet at 425 degrees for 40-50 minutes until tender.  I don't peel any of it before baking--just wait for it to cool then scoop out the potatoes or squash.  Apples I keep the skins on (only if they're organic).  I now make a batch with ground turkey also.  I just cook it on the stove, then I pulse it in the food processor or vitamix to make it more fine texture.  I stir it into whatever veggies I'm adding it to.

BLEND
Once I have everything cooked-I put it in the vitamix.  Sometimes I don't need additional liquid because the steaming caused the veggies to retain moisture, so they blend fine.  When she was really small, I added breast milk to thin it out if needed, but now I just add a little water if it needs.  If you don't have a vitamix, throw it in your food processor or blender.  A blender might need less at a time to make sure it blends evenly, but the food processor can take more at a time.  When my veggies or fruits are blended, I add the grains or oatmeal and stir by hand.  This way she's getting texture as well.   I now make a batch with ground turkey.  I just cook it on the stove, then I pulse it in the food processor or vitamix to make it more fine texture.  I stir it into whatever veggies I'm adding it to.

STORE
Once it's the consistency your baby likes, start pouring into the ice cube trays and spreading it out with your spatula.  Stick the trays in the freezer and wait.  Once they're frozen, pop them out and store in large ziplock bags.

SERVE
Sawyer eats the fruit and oatmeal for breakfast.  The night before, I take out three cubes and leave them on the counter covered over night.  In the morning, they're defrosted and ready for her to eat.  I then take out her lunch and dinner (three cubes-usually two green and one orange) and cover them and leave the on the counter.  This way I'm not microwaving her food all the time.  I do it if I forget to take her food out, but not too often.

TIPS
We also bought this spoon made by boon.  It was SO handy when she was eating smooth food and we wanted to go somewhere.  I would just defrost the food at home, then pour it into the spoon.  It's one of my favorite handy tools.

Here are a few resources I used when I started:
My favorite one: StyleBerryBlog1 and StyleBerryBlog2
Wholesome Baby Food

SO I think that covers it!  Feel free to ask me any questions if I didn't answer something for you.  I feel so passionate about making our own baby food.  It's healthier and cheaper, easy and it's fun!

What I've learned so far...

OK, we are in week seven living in baby world, and I have definitely learned a lot in the last 49 days.  A. LOT.

The main things I've learned?  This is hard.  This is amazing.  This is terrifying.  This is humbling.  And most importantly: I WILL NOT JUDGE OTHER MOTHERS EVER AGAIN.

I cannot tell you how many times I've judged other moms.  We've all done it.  I've had thoughts like, "get that kid out of your bed" and "take that pacifier out of her mouth" and my favorite, "just tell your child NO!"

Wow.  I've learned that it is positively unfair to judge another mother for her choices (save abuse, or blatantly obvious things like giving them junk food for every single meal) I can tell you that I've already done things I never thought I'd do, and my kid is only seven weeks. 

Here's the truth: you do the best you can.  You do what you have to do to SURVIVE, because honestly, sometimes it feels like these precious little beings are actually out to harm you.  Or at least make you cry. 

I've never been forgetful, and I've always been pretty good about staying on top of house work.  I've lived my adult life priding myself in my ability to maintain strong friendships and keep up with each of my friends lives. 
Guess what?  In the last seven weeks, none of these things have been true. I left our changing pad and wipe case in the bathroom of a Buy Buy Baby.  I am appauled at how messy I've let my kitchen get before I've tackled cleaning it.  My best friend Steph actually asked me yesterday if I was depressed because I hadn't called her in two weeks.  Who AM I?!  

I love Sawyer.  I love her more than I ever thought I could love a human being.  I could smell her head all day every day for the rest of my life and never tire of that sweet scent.  I love her so much that I am happy to get up with her in the middle of the night because she coos and kicks differently at 3am.  I enjoy changing poopy diapers because she smiles so big once her butt is clean and it makes my eyes water inadvertently.  I love that she relies on me for everything, and I relish in the fact that there are things I can do that absolutely no one else can do for her. 

So the conclusion is, being someone's mother is hard, but it's worth it.  It is challenging, but it's rewarding.  You can live on less sleep than you ever thought could be possible.  You can go without a shower for longer than you probably should.  Your laundry will get folded eventually, your kitchen will be cleaned at some point, and your friends-if they're true friends, will understand. At the end of the day, I am just so thankful I was chosen to be Sawyer's mom.  I can honestly say I've never been happier to be proven wrong time and time again. 

Our Birth Story...

Friday, 11-11-11 was our “guess date” and the day came and went with no signs that our baby was going to make her appearance any time soon.  I tried not to get my hopes up, knowing that the date doesn’t mean a lot, and our baby would come when she was ready.
Saturday night we went to my parents house to hang out.  We watched “The Change  Up” which was absolutely hysterical.  It felt good to laugh that hard and get my mind off of waiting. We went home late that night and went to bed wondering if our baby would make an appearance soon.

At around 2:30am, I woke up to a very wet bed--my water had broken!  I woke Vince up and we spent the next hour beaming and saying, “oh my god, it’s happening!” Even though my water had broken, I was having no signs of contractions, so my mom told us to get some sleep.  We did, even though it was difficult because we were just so pumped! 

We woke up later that morning with NO signs at all of labor.  I knew that if we were delivering in a hospital, any OB would have told us we had to come in.  Once your water breaks, you are on a 24 hour clock because of the supposed risks of infection.  We had spoken to my mom and our midwife (Charlotte), both suggested taking a lot of walks to get contractions going.  I made some cookies, called some friends to share the excitement, and Vince and I started walking the neighborhood.

By 3pm, we still had no contractions, so Charlotte suggested taking black and blue liquid cohosh.  This is a natural supplement that can help to induce labor.  I started taking them every 30 minutes as she recommended.  We went for long power walks, and by 7pm we still had nothing happening!  It was so frustrating, but I trusted my body and Charlotte to know what was best for me and our baby.

At 7:30pm, Charlotte told me to try castor oil to get things going.  I took the castor oil, and we also used the breast pump for nipple stimulation (which is another way to help get contractions started). So we did this while watching the first season of Friends and eating Roasters for dinner. We still weren’t worried, we knew things would happen when it was time. I think we also really enjoyed this time together, knowing that our baby would be here soon-and this was the last few hours of just the two of us.

At about 9pm, the castor oil did it's job (google it if you don't know what that job is) and around 10pm my contractions FINALLY started.  they weren’t unbearable at all, but they were about 2 minutes apart from the beginning.  I knew right away I was having back labor, so every contraction required Vince pushing hard on my lower back (called “counter pressure”). I would lean over our bed with every contraction and he would push hard through it. We did this for a few hours, contracting, talking, laughing, and getting more and more excited. Moving through each contraction and having Vince push on my lower back felt amazing, and almost took the pain completely away. After about 2 hours of this, it was definitely time to call my mom and my sister to come over.  My contractions were getting stronger, and I was having a more difficult time talking and laughing between them.

My mom and sister arrived around midnight, and I was still able to talk between contractions.  They got busy setting up the birth tub, getting the bed ready, and other things we might need during labor. Charlotte arrived at 1:20am and checked me to see how far along I was. I was only 2 centimeters dilated, so we assumed it was going to be a long night.  Right after being checked, I had to use the bathroom, and while I was in there--my contractions got A LOT more intense.  I ended up having about 45 minutes worth of contractions in our bathroom, leaning over the counter.  Vince and my mom would take turns pushing on my lower back. I know now that this was the “transition” phase I had read so much about.  Transitioning means that you are going into the final phase of labor, and you can feel the baby very very low.  I told everyone at this point that she felt so low, and I felt like pushing.  I had been rocking side to side through each contraction, but now, my body was starting to squat also--totally on it’s own, I had no control at this point of what was going on.  I had no train of thought either, I was just 100% letting my body do what it was made to do. Charlotte said she’d check me again, but since it had only been 45 minutes, I think everyone was sure I hadn’t made much progress.  When I laid down on the bed and she checked me, everyone was shocked to hear I was 9 centimeters! She said it was time to get in the tub and push.  I couldn't believe it was already time to push!  It had only been 4 hours since my contractions started, I was fully prepared for a long labor-but our little baby had other plans.  She was READY to meet the world!

I have to mention here that while I was on my back for Charlotte to check me, I had a contraction.  I could not BELIEVE how painful it was on my back! Up until that point, I had been able to rock and move through each contraction.  Having this one on my back was EXCRUCIATINGLY painful. It made me realize that in a hospital, hooked up to machines, women have to be on their backs a lot-and no WONDER they want an epidural.  Our bodies are made to move during contractions.  The more movement we have, the better it is for our baby’s positioning, and now I know, the less painful contractions are.  I am so thankful I was in a place where I could move and listen to what my body needed me to do to bring my baby into the world.

SO we got in the tub, and WOW did it make a difference.  It felt so good in the water-my contractions hurt less, and the weight and pressure in my belly was alleviated immensely.  Once we were in the tub, Charlotte started coaching me on how to push.  Vince was in the tub with me the whole time, pushing on my back again through contractions.  He was incredible-I cannot say enough about how lucky I am to have such a loving, supportive husband.  He was my rock through labor-I felt like he was going through the whole thing with me rather than being an observer.

While we were in the tub, Charlotte tried to get me in a few different positions, but our baby just wasn’t moving as low as she needed. We had to try something else.  At this point, she suggested trying the birth chair which can be helpful in getting the baby to move lower. I would have stood on my head if she told me it would work-I just wanted to get my baby out, no matter what. I can honestly say I didn’t have a train of thought throughout this phase. I just listened to Charlotte, and listened to my body.  I didn’t let myself think about how long it had been, or how things were going. I put ALL of my effort and energy into pushing during contractions, and resting in between. When we realized that the birth chair wasn’t working, Charlotte suggested I get on the floor on my hands and knees.  Again, I didn’t even think about it, I just did it.


This is where things get a little fuzzy for me and I have to depend on my mom and sister’s memory. I was so “in the zone” that I don’t remember exactly how things happened from here.  When a contraction would come, i would push with everything I had in me....and I started to hear everyone say they could see the head. This was so encouraging, so it helped me push harder with the next contraction. As our baby moved lower, Charlotte would listen to her heart rate. Every time the baby’s head was crowning, her heart rate was dropping.  This was worrying Charlotte, so if I couldn’t get the baby out with a contraction, she had to push her back in between my contractions. This was the most painful part of my labor, because I could feel that she was so close to coming out, and then I could feel her going back over my pelvic bone each time. 

This happened three times; baby’s heart rate would drop to about 100 and Charlotte would have to push her back in and then it would go back to 130/140. After the third time, I knew I had to get her out with the next contraction. I didn’t want our baby to have any problems, and I didn’t want to have to go to the hospital or have any sort of emergency. My mom suggested I pop one leg up-like a runners stance-and I did that with the next contraction. I felt the surge coming on, and I pushed with everything I had in me: and it worked!  She came out so fast, and I turned around to see our beautiful baby girl!  I said right away, “it’s a girl, it’s a girl!” My dad was downstairs waiting, and he heard me say it, and HE started shouting, “A BABY GIRL! WE HAVE A BABY GIRL!” It was all so incredibly magical.

As soon as she came out, Charlotte rubbed her to get her blood flowing, and she suctioned some fluid out of her mouth, but she didn’t need any other attention, so I got to hold her within seconds. I couldn’t wait to feel her in my arms, so while she was still attached to my placenta inside of me, I held her and fell in love. We named her Sawyer Catherine- there couldn’t be a more perfect name for her.

I couldn’t stop looking at this perfect little thing, Vince and I were in heaven-she was wonderful and healthy and I DID IT! I couldn’t stop thinking, I DID IT, I DID IT! I was so proud and so relieved to be holding our baby in my arms, and know that I brought her here safe and sound. I was amazed at what my body could do, and the fact that we were in our home, surrounded by family who loved us and our baby so much.

My sister was there, getting towels warmed in the dryer to welcome our baby, and taking amazing pictures of the experience. My Dad was downstairs waiting to meet his granddaughter, and opening the champagne. My Mom was absolutely invaluable as my Mom and as a Doula. She helped Vince with the counter pressure on my lower back, she helped me stay focused during contractions, and I felt so comfortable with the process knowing she was there with me every step of the way.  

So while I was holding our baby, we waited for the cord to finish pulsing before Vince was able to cut it, and then I handed her to him. I couldn’t wait for him to hold her-and sure enough, he fell in love with her too.

After Vince and I got to hold her for awhile, we moved up to our bed-so Charlotte could check me out and make sure bleeding was under control.  I needed some stitches, so my family took Sawyer out while Vince stayed with me. After I was taken care of, and comfortable in our bed, Sawyer was brought back in and it was time for her check up.  This was one of my favorite parts of being at home.  The midwife set up a heating pad and blankets to lay her on at the foot of our bed. She was so calm and peaceful during her check-up, and we were all right there watching.  Charlotte weighed her and measured her- she was a slight 7lbs 12oz and 21in.  During the end of my pregnancy I cannot tell you how many people tried to convince me that we were having a “big baby”.  Even Charlotte thought she’d be big.  It just goes to show you how little we can tell what the baby’s actual size is until it comes out-she wasn’t a big baby at all. 

After Sawyer was checked out and everything was fine, we were able to crawl under the covers as a little family of three and get some rest. We had been up all night and were definitely feeling tired at that point. Falling asleep together in our home, with our perfect little baby-was a feeling I’ll never forget. My mom and sister were downstairs if we needed anything-but it was just the three of us in our bed. It was truly incredible.

Why we chose a home birth...

First of all let me say, I am not a hippie.  A lot of my choices for our birth seem very hippie-esque, but again I’ll say: I am not a hippie. I just like to be informed, and I felt that researching every aspect of birth was important before we simply made a decision just because it's "normal". 

When we found out we were pregnant, we had already discussed the option of having a home birth.  My mother is a doula and her experiences have given me an inside view on hospital births in our country and I truly couldn't see having our baby in a hospital.  Vince didn’t really have an opinion yet, so we watched a few documentaries and did some research.  After watching “the business of being born” he looked at me and said, “forget hospitals, lets have our baby at home”.  From then on we were sure of our decision.  

I searched for a home birth midwife, and found Charlotte Sanchez.  I liked how knowledgeable she was about birth and health for mom and baby. I was comforted by how experienced she was, having delivered hundreds of babies over the past 18 years.  After meeting with her I knew we were in great hands.  we were also great candidates for a home birth.  I was very healthy and my levels were all text book, so there was no reason I couldn’t deliver our baby at home.  Our appointments were so different from what I’d experienced in doctors offices over the years. they were calm, inviting and we never felt rushed.

So many people have asked us why we chose a home birth.  People seem to think it’s risky, dangerous, or even irresponsible.  I find this almost funny, because the majority of hospital births I’ve seen or heard of sound a WHOLE lot scarier than home births.  In a hospital, you are on their clock.  You are on a schedule, and your baby coming isn’t solely up to you and your body.  There are nurses and doctors, most of whom you’ve never met, coming in and out of your room constantly.  You have to adhere to the hospitals policies, most of which are in place to protect them from law suits. I wish women would do more research and ask more questions when having hospital births.  Most women don’t know that pitocin makes contractions harder, stronger, and can put your baby in distress.  Most women don’t ask what the side effects are when the doctor flippantly recommends interventions.  In my case, if I had had an epidural-my delivery would have ended in a cesarean.  A doctor would have told me that "my birth canal wasn't big enough" and that's what I would have walked away believing.  As I tell our birth story, I’ll explain how different things would have been if we’d been in a hospital.

I know and trust my body, and I know it's capable of doing amazing things.  I also know that God made it to give birth-and I believed that the less we interfered with that, the better chance we'd have for a wonderful birth.  I was right.  

I don’t judge those who feel safer delivering in a hospital.  I understand that home birth isn’t for everyone, and while I’m so incredibly thankful and happy I delivered our baby at home, I know not every woman can or should do it.

Week 19 and the Gender Dilemma

People ALWAYS ask if we're going to find out the sex of our baby.  When we answer,

"no, it's going to be a surprise"

I am stunned at some of the responses we get. 

My favorite is always,

"you're crazy.  I'm such a planner, I just HAD to know" 

I find this hilarious because I am the epitome of a "planner" so I don't really see how these two things correlate.  Being a planner doesn't mean I have to know the sex of my baby.  I don't like pink or blue things, and I don't want our nursery to look any different than the rest of our house, other than the fact that there's a crib in it.  I am not a fan of any sort of characters or animals on clothes, so gender neutral stuff is my style anyway. 

The reason we made the decision to wait is very simple.  I've always imagined Vince telling me what our baby is as soon as it's born.  I cannot wait to see his eyes when he looks at our baby, then at me and says,

"baby, it's a ___". 

I have no doubt that this will be a magical experience and I'm not willing to give that up just because I'm a planner. 

Another reason I'm so happy we're waiting is something I never would have thought of before we were pregnant.  Not knowing the sex of this baby has given us HOURS of wondering to discuss.  We lie awake and night and talk about all the reasons we'd like a boy first, then all the reasons we'd like a girl first.  We discuss subsequent children as well,

"if it's a girl first, she'll likely always be a Type A personality, as first born girls often are"

"if it's a boy first, he'll be able to protect his little sister or brother in school"

and so on.  It's provided us with so much insight into how the other feels about birth order and the gender of our children.  If we knew the sex already, it would be limited to, "what's he/she going to look like"

I certainly understand why most people choose to find out.  For us, there are so few surprises in life anymore.  We are a culture obsessed with knowing everything, all the time, no matter what, and for the most part, we are the same way.  However, this is something we have really enjoyed so far, and we are looking forward to our surprise in November! 

Week 18 and a reminder for me

 

Here we are in week 18 and I cannot believe how fast time is flying now.  When I was 6 weeks pregnant, I remember feeling like this was going to last forever, and now I cannot believe how fast it's all coming.  

I've gotten so many sweet comments and compliments for my pregnancy pictures I've been doing.  I love being creative, and I absolutely adore trying to do something different from the norm.  However, today I was reminded just how unoriginal I actually am!  

I did a Google image search of bell peppers for the weekly update I send to our family.  One of the pictures that came up was this one from THIS BLOG:

I mean, I thought my pictures were pretty cute, but this girl just blew me away!  You must click on the link to her blog to see all of her fruit and veggie pregnancy pictures.  Just too cute, I tell you!

Now just for fun, I'm sharing one of my favorite images from Pinterest today.  If you're not on Pinterest, you're insane and you must head over there as fast as your fingers can carry you and sign up.  It's wonderful inspiration for absolutely anything you want to be inspired by. 

Here's my Pinterest love of the day:

What a great idea, huh?!  I might do this with all of my crayons and craft markers as well...

Check it out here

Creating pregnancy memories...

I am so happy we've started taking pictures of my growing belly to document this process.  I've come across some incredibly creative folks out there who inspired me to do more than the usual "self portrait in our bathroom" shot. 

Here's Week 16 and Week 17:

Pretty crazy to see how fast the baby is changing.  I'm looking forward to making these pictures into a book eventually, like they did over here at Kissing Tree

Or here at Hanna Mac

 

I just love how inspiring other blogs can be.  Seeing so many insanely creative people out there always pushes me to try harder.

Write You a Letter...

I decided on this blog name because so far, our baby has almost exclusively listened to Ray Lamontagne, due to Vince's severe obsession with his music.

Every time I hear this song playing from his iPhone in the nursery while he's working so hard to get it ready, it makes me think of the letters I want to write to our beautiful little baby.

SO while this blog will continue to be all things crafty, weddings, and home-making...it will also be a space for an occasional letter to our baby...

Because I already have so many things I want to tell this little miracle growing inside of me.

(PHOTO CREDIT)

Nursery Planning

We have had so much fun planning the nursery for our little Zulu Bean.  (Vince is from South Africa, and he started calling the baby Zulu Bean as soon as he knew we were pregnant, and the name has just stuck!)

Here is our inspiration board for the nursery:

-The armoir we might not do, as we don't have enough space.
-Vince is going to build the changing table as of now.  I might end up buying one if I can find a good deal.  I love the idea of the baskets so as our baby gets older, it will be easier for him/her to access toys and books, and of course to clean up!
-The lighting I adore, and have been on the hunt for something similar.  I know I'll find it soon!
-We will be purchasing our glider in the next few weeks, we are going to get a Best Chair and I cannot wait to rock our sweet baby to sleep in it.
-The crib we already got, but haven't put it together yet.  It took forever for me to find what we were looking for.  I wanted solid wood ends, and that is hard to find in white.  We finally found this one on Amazon.
-The bedding was also an exciting find.  I was planning to make it myself, as I have never seen bedding like what I had in mind.  I wanted all creams and neutrals with absolutely no characters on it.  I happened to find it on CLEARANCE at a baby store, and I snatched it right up.  Here's a sneak peek of it:

I just love all of the texture and interest it has.  I cannot wait to put it in the crib!

-We were going to build a corner unit, but again, space is preventing that from happening.  Vince has been working diligently to get the wainscoting finished, and so far it looks wonderful!  I will post pictures as soon as it's ready. 

So that's all for now.  Planning and decorating our baby's room has been such a fun experience.  Vince says he loves working for hours in the room and imagining what our baby will be like.  It gives us a lot of time to daydream and plan...

Baby Van Rensburg

Well, we have officially made the announcement that has been KILLING me not to talk about on Facebook and Twitter.  We are expecting our first little one in November!

We found out on March 11th that I am pregnant.  Right now I am about 11 weeks along, and we have heard the baby's heartbeat already!  Vince calls it our little "Zulu Bean", so that's what we'll be calling it until it's born, as we are not finding out the sex of the baby.

I'm so happy we enlisted the help of our dear friend and very talented photographer, Becca Enslein to take some "announcement pictures" of us.  Here are a few of our favorites: