Yesterday was Jovie’s 4-mo birthday. Yeah yeah yeah!!! She’s been such a great addition to our family and we couldn’t be anymore blessed.
We did do what our doctor told us to do when she turns 4-mo. Try baby food. But nope, Jovie’s not ready. She still has the little tongue-thrust reflex which is normal for babies, up to more less 6-mo, since this is their way of protecting themselves from choking. We’ll try again this weekend and see how she does. We’re not in too of a hurry and plus, babies her age get enough nutrition from nursing. For more info on when baby’s ready, you can read this little article on BabyCenter. Of course before stuffing food down baby’s throat, always consult your doctor. Ours said it’s ok for Jovie to start at 4 months but every baby’s different.
What was I going to feed her? Well, from what I read, the best food for baby is brown rice. So I found this easy recipe:
1/4 cup fine brown rice (I use a mixer to grind)
1 cup water
If this is baby’s first time eating, I’d cut the rice to 1/4… so about 1/16 of a cup to 1/4 cup water. You’ll be wasting a lot of rice if you don’t. BUT, if baby takes to the food (and remember, most will be out of baby’s mouth than in), you can store your home made rice cereal in little containers for later.
TIP: Once your rice is done, mix it with a bit of breast milk/formula and feed baby when she’s not starving. So nurse/bottle feed baby first and then do the rice. Baby’s first meal should always be the milk. The food is just a tool to help baby practice eating — for now that is.
When M, my first, was a baby I’d cook once a week and store everything in the freezer except for a day’s worth. This worked out really well for me, the working mom. There are tons of websites now (like the link above with the recipe) that can help you with baby food making but if you want to get a book, I still think the Super Baby Food book is still a great reference… even if you’re not vegetarian. Oh, always remember to NOT feed your baby food that can cause allergies until it’s time. This page has a great list.
