Sometimes I feel like jarred food would be better :(

[jay2yay]

I feel like DS doesn't like any veges I make. It's not like I do anything to them.....most of the time I just add water, but sometimes I add formula. And he doesn't even like mashed banana mixed with milk!
Sometimes it's okay... but I often am feeling very stressed. He seems to take to jarred foods so much better and easier. I take so much time and make all kinds of foods and feel like I'm going to have to waste it all. I feel maybe he'd do better if I started mixing the veges together but it's almost like I feel like I don't have 'time' to figure all this out and it's becoming very overwhelming

[aidenmc]

Hi Justine. I know it can be overwhelming when they are just starting on solids to know what they will like and to figure out what to feed them. Honestly, with all 3 of my boys I relied fairly heavily on jarred food, gradually adding more and more homemade food as they aged. Do you think it's a texture or taste thing?

Anyway, if it is stressing you out, maybe step back a bit and accept that for a while he will eat more jarred stuff as you gradually test out different homemade stuff. He doesn't need the solids for nutrition right now (milk is still most important). Maybe if you think of it as opportunities to try out things and practice for when he truly needs it for nutritional purposes. I found the early stages of feeding solids to be pretty tough with mine (what to feed, when how much etc.) but that stage actually passes fairly quickly and soon enough your lo will be eating what the rest of the family eats, as long as its an enjoyable stress-free experience.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

I agree that I would try not to stress about it too much.  He really doesn't need the food so if he doesn't eat it, oh well!  I would just freeze the remainder in cubes so my hard work didn't go to waste.  Also, I would definitely mix fruits and veg.  Things went better for us doing that.  Here are some recipes:  http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/.  Have you tried just giving him pieces of food rather than purees?

[jay2yay]

Thank you Becky and Kate Becky, it could be a texture thing but sometimes he takes clumpier food no problem, and then other times he gags on it. But then other times, it's definitely taste. He'll eat jarred peas but not homemade peas. Which stinks bc I made SO much peas! 

Kate, I do freeze most of what I make but (I read) it only keeps for about 4 weeks.

I haven't yet really tried giving him larger bits of food but I think I might tomorrow. Right before mashing the banana tonight I gave him a clumpy piece off my finger and he took two of those. Then when I mashed it, he gagged on it and started crying. So, I added milk but it was the same reaction. 

Thanks for the site, I'll definitely take a look and see what I can mix. Wouldn't mixing fruit and veges still make the food sweeter, therefore, encouraging a preference for sweets?

[tigerlilly905]

Funny, I was going to suggest wholesomebabyfood too!! LOVE that site.

The frozen food is best if used within a month, but honestly, it's good up to about 3 months.

I agree w/ Kate. The veg/fruit combos are good ideas. And once you start to introduce meats, a great combo is something like beef/sweet potato/apples - and you can always sneak extra veg in there too... The apple adds a little sweetness, but also makes the meal savoury.

I've read babies naturally have a preference for sweet. Breastmilk is VERY sweet for their little taste buds - hence one of the reasons they like it so much So I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Try and stick with the homemade food if you can. I'm a HUGE fan of making your own baby food. You know exactly what's in it - and unfortunately not all jars are free from chemical preservatives ect. that can leach into the jarred babyfood. They don't have to list those if it's in the packaging...

[Erin M]

My pediatrician gave me the whole "give veges before fruits" this time around -- which they didn't when I started solids with the girls.  Anyway, I honestly don't think it makes all that much of a difference -- both my girls eat plenty that's not sweet (well, dd2 does, dd1 eats roughly nothing, but that's another story...) -- I think it's just exposing them to lots of different tastes.  Dd2 was never into the mashed stuff either - if you check out the Baby Led Weaning thread, that's what we did with her more than the purees.    You're doing a great job!

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Thanks for the site, I'll definitely take a look and see what I can mix. Wouldn't mixing fruit and veges still make the food sweeter, therefore, encouraging a preference for sweets?

I know we hear this a lot but a lot of people say it's a load of bs.  I certainly found that.  I really didn't worry about it.  We all have a natural tendancy towards sweet things.  I mixed veg with fruit for Austin and I also gave him actual fruits/veg and he ate lots of veg until he became a picky toddler!

[Lemonthyme]

He's 7 months.  I would stick to making your own and just saying to yourself 'ho hum' if he doesn't eat it.  Not a problem if he eats it or not at this age. 

[firsttimemummy]

oliver will eat most things if I use the blender and puree them completely - I know he can manage lumps so am not worried and prefer that he eats a variety of things (we can't really use jars as they all contain carrots and\or dairy ).  We also are starting finger foods - he loves breadsticks!

We actually do fruit before veg often as then they are not always expecting something sweet to finish! I mix fruit and veg together - odd combinations but if they eat them, why not! Murray still likes the Ella's Kitchen broccoli, pear and peas one!  Jars always contain carrots etc as they are sweet so don't see a problem with putting fruit in to sweeten it,

Have you tried banana, without milk? Oliver loves it ...

[Lemonthyme]

Tbh, my little one was much better when I gave him pasta than with lumpy purees.  Don't blame him tbh, lumpy purees sound gross!

[Sam-n-Max's Mommy]

Justine - know how you feel.  I went out and bought a new food processor when DS started solids and was SO excited.  He hated all of my purees! Well most of them.  He did like the fruit purees and from my experience eating fruits before vegs didn't stop him from eating vegs.  We did/do a combo of homemade and jarred.

To share a funny story, I was SO excited about making my DS this puree out of this baby puree cookbook.  If I recall, it had turkey and apples etc in it.  My DH was watching me as I sauteed the apples, boiled the turkey, etc etc.  I made this thing with all of my love for my DS and couldn't wait to have him try it.  Well, I should have.  He literally took a spoonful, gagged, and vomited.  I was devastated!!! It wasn't funny back then, but thinking of it now, it is actually kind of hysterical.  These little guys have all got our number and they eat what they want when they want! 

I have found that as he gets older though he likes more of my cooking and I'm sure you will find that too.  The best (and hardest) thing to do is just roll with the punches.  You're doing a great job - your LO is lucky that you put so much time, effort, and love into his food!

[Lemonthyme]

Do remember though that some days they will eat well and like something and another day they will refuse it.  A health visitor said to me once it can take 15 tries to get a baby to accept a new food. 

I just used to make a batch of something, freeze most of it and try it with him.  I used to make a lot of stews, chicken, beef etc with vegetables all blended together.  It is a pain when you see your food rejected but some of the baby food is shocking.  I mean you look at a beef stew jar and it will contain 8% beef!!!  It's all filler!  So even if only a little of your home made lovely food gets eaten, it's still going to be more nutritious.

One thing I also used to try is giving finger foods for him to play with as I fed him.  It helped him start getting into finger foods and also helped with the feeding process.

[jay2yay]

wow, thank you everyone so much for all the helpful tips. I'm going to keep at it for sure and try not to put the focus on me

The frozen food is best if used within a month, but honestly, it's good up to about 3 months.

This is good to know, maybe my peas won't be wasted after all

Have you tried banana, without milk?

Yesterday, I gave him some bits of banana...I had to really help him since it was so slippery but he definitely seemed to like it much better than pureed banana!

Nicole- your story made me laugh! I, too, got my *amazing* food processor for Christmas so I was really super excited to make his food. I really should stop making this about me!

Do remember though that some days they will eat well and like something and another day they will refuse it.

Yes, thanks for this reminder. I think I'll also try the finger foods while he's eating and see how he does.
I really need to read up more about finger foods....to me, it still felt so far away but he's 7 months already!

When I gave him jarred or packaged baby food, I always tried to make it organic but it doesn't even sound like that makes a big difference. So, thanks everyone so much again!

[Lemonthyme]

Yep you can introduce finger foods from 6 months so I'd try now.

[sdaeffler]

My little  nugget gagged on bananas too when I first tried.  He also gagged on Peas and Broccoli.  However, when I puree his food to a consistency identical to the consistency in baby food jars he eats just about anything (including Peas and Brocccoli, and he LOVES his banana puree).  Put your blender on high and let it run for over a minute - keep adding BM, formula, or the (filtered) water from your steamer pot until you get that perfect puree. 

Stick with making your own baby food if you can!  It's so much better for the LO, and very rewarding.  The cost effectiveness is also incredible (Think $.80 a jar for organic sweet potatoes or $1.50 for 2 organic sweet potatoes that make over a dozen 2oz jars). 

Like the other ladies said, wholesomebabyfood.com is AMAZING!!   A great resource.