03Mar
“Bean,” I said. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking off my shirt, Mom,” he said.
“How come you’re doing that during dinner, Big Guy?”
“I feel restricted.”
“You feel restricted?” I said.
“Yeah, I can’t fully enjoy these sweet potatoes with my shirt on.”
“Uhhh…okay…” I said.
“I think my head is stuck.”
I’ve talked a lot before about what a hard time I had getting Bean Man to eat solid foods (here and here). The first problem was that he wasn’t ready for a long time. We tried at four months, again at five months, again at six months, and finally success at seven months. The second problem was that Bean didn’t like jarred baby food. He still doesn’t. I don’t know if it is the texture or the taste, but personally I think it is that he didn’t like being fed. He didn’t like the spoon and he didn’t like me putting the food in his mouth for him. He showed slightly more interest when I put food down in front of him and he could pick it up and feed himself, but it wasn’t until he was seven months old that he really started showing interest in food. I guess everyone was right.
He’ll eat when he’s ready to eat.
Now that Bean is an eater, it has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because he is bulking up a little bit faster. He’s still pretty small compared to most babies his age, but I can notice a difference in the meat on his bones since he’s been eating food. But on the flip side, because he won’t eat jarred baby food, that really left me no choice but to make the food myself. And, as a full-time working mom, I just didn’t think that I would have time.
At first, it took me a couple weeks to get in my groove and those few weeks were pretty hectic. Turns out, for as small as babies are they can go through some food! Granted, only about 10% of the food I put in front of Bean actually made it into his mouth, but still. He was going through food like crazy. And that meant for a few weeks my life consisted of working, making baby food, playing with Bean, making baby food, writing blog posts, making baby food, washing my hair, making baby food, etc. But in the past month, I have created a little system for myself and it turns out that with a few simple tools, a good schedule, and a little bit of time, it isn’t all that hard.
In December, I posted about how my mom came to visit and we made pureed baby food that we froze in ice cube trays. It was really great. I’d throw a cube into a little Tupperware container and send Bean to school and by lunchtime the cubes had thawed and were ready to eat. If you really don’t have much time as a working mom, you can feed your baby like this every day and still feel confident that he is getting healthy, hearty, fresh food in his system. But I found that Bean’s independent streak made it hard sometimes for him to eat ONLY pureed baby food. He couldn’t do that himself, so about 15 minutes into the meal, he’d get bored with me doing it for him and he’d start fussing to get out of his high chair. But, I noticed that he would eat Gerber Puffs for as long as I put them in front of him. He just liked being able to do it himself. That’s when I started fresh steaming veggies for him for each meal. I’d steam them and cut them up really small and he could chow on those like he did his Puffs. But that was really time consuming.
It took me a about a week to realized that in the same time as it took me to steam one meal’s worth of food, I could steam one whole week’s worth of food. And that’s when I started to form my little system.
Today, this is what it takes to feed Bean Man…
As a working mom, I am motivated by guilt. Pretty much all the time. Guilt over the time that I’m away from him. Guilt over the stuff I’m feeding him. Guilt over pretty much everything. Its just my nature. And using store-bought, canned, jarred, boxed food was one more thing to feel guilty about. But you know what? I dropped that guilt pretty darn fast. And I’ll tell you why.
My feeling is that as long as Bean has a balanced, healthy diet and as long as the MAJORITY of his food is fresh, healthy, and of the earth, then a little help from the grocery store every now and then isn’t going to kill him. And it gives me more time to hang out with him, and I think that is better for his development than a canned lima bean is bad for it.
Having said that, there are some essential items that are store bought that I keep on hand at all times:
Plain yogurt: Bean loves yogurt. I read somewhere that plain is the best for babies his age because the kind with fruit has a lot more sugar in it. I do sometimes mix his yogurt with fresh fruit at home though.
Canned fruit: I don’t use this a lot, but if I’m out of fresh fruit, its nice in a pinch. Its also been good to use to introduce Bean to fruit that isn’t in season. I use the Lite kind to reduce the sugar and I wash the fruit off before I serve it to him to get any of that syrup residue off. I cut these up into little chunks and he likes feeding these to himself.
Elbow macaroni: I boil a big batch of these once a week and store them in Tupperware in the fridge. When I give them to Bean, I cut them in half. While they don’t have any nutritional value, Bean likes them as little snacks and they make a good filler food to round out a meal.
Lima Beans (or any bean that I don’t have time to cook): Cooking fresh beans is a process and its one that I just don’t have the time for, to be honest with you. So, I use canned or frozen beans for Beanie. Again, I rinse these off before I feed them to him to get that canned starchiness off of the bean. I cut the bean in half and he can feed himself. His favorites are lima beans, but he also likes green beans and peas from cans. (Although, with the peas, be sure you mush them up because those are the perfect size for a choking hazard.)
Applesauce: Now, I know you can make homemade applesauce really easily and especially since I already steam fresh apples for Bean anyway (I’ll talk about that later). But I find the jarred applesauce is just as good and is cheap, too. To me, personally, its one of those things that’s just better out of the jar. I try to get the homestyle or natural when its on sale to reduce the sugar intake, but this week regular Motts Original was the sale item. So, Motts it was!
Gerber Products: Bean loves Gerber Puffs – peach, sweet potato, cherry, banana, any flavor. He loves them! In fact, when he was first starting to actually eat real food, I used the Puffs to teach him how to eat by putting a piece of real food under the Puff so he couldn’t see it. The only thing about them is that they melt on contact with saliva and so they don’t teach him how to chew because they just slide down his throat. He also really likes the Gerber Yogurt Melts. He’s not as crazy about these as he is the Puffs and he prefers real yogurt, but in a pinch, they work just find to distract him or keep him busy.
Not pictures: Frozen veggies, like broccoli (which I steam and then puree to a chunky pulp with apple juice to smooth it out). These are great for those times when I run out of fresh in the middle of the week.
While those store-bought items are staples in our house, we use fresh fruits, veggies, and meat about four times more often. And there are staple items that I buy every time I am at the grocery store:
These are some of the fruits that Bean eats straight-up. He loves apples and strawberries, but I still put these in that great feeder that my sister gave Bean for Christmas. That way, I don’t worry about him choking. The bananas I just cut into little pieces and he can eat those himself. But the avocados? Hands down Bean’s favorite food. I chunk them up into little pieces and he stuffs his face. He’ll eat an entire avocado if I let him. And I’m okay with that because they are SUPER good for him and they mush right up when he gums them. He loves them!
So far, everything I’ve talked about has been low maintenance and quick to prepare. But the bulk of Bean’s food comes from steamed fruits and veggies and those are what needs a little time for preparation. So, here’s how I do it.
On Sunday afternoons, I chop. And I chop. And I chop. I chop enough food for Bean to eat all week long. Right now, my general list of chopping includes squash, zucchini, apples, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Once I get everything chopped, I put them into labeled Ziplock bags that are dated so I know when I chopped them.
While I’m chopping, I am also steaming. I steam enough for 3 or 4 days at a time. I have tried to steam everything at one time for the entire week, but I found that by half way through the week, things got a little mushy and slimy. So now, I steam enough to get through until Wednesday or Thursday. It usually ends up being about one medium-sized Tupperware container.
All total, I think it takes me about an hour and a half to chop enough for the week and to steam enough for half the week. Then, with all my chopped fruit and veggies in their Ziplock baggies, on a Wednesday or Thursday night, I just have to throw handfuls of stuff into the steamer and I’m set to go for the rest of the week.
Some of Bean’s favorites are steamed sweet potatoes. I chunk up 2 sweet potatoes for a week. Throw a couple handfuls into the steamer and Bean eats them like candy. He loves them!
He also LOVES steamed apples. I steam them because I’m a weenie and I’m afraid he would choke if I gave him a small piece of a fresh apple. But if you put some chunks into the steamer, they get good and mushy, while still keeping their full flavor and nutrients. Bean almost likes these better than puffs. Now, at this point, you could add a few ingredients, throw ‘em in the blender, and make yourself some applesauce. But Bean is a purist and I’m lazy, so we just stop at the steaming and pick up with the jarred applesauce when we’re feelin’ frisky.
More recently, we have added a little meat to Bean’s diet. I boiled two chicken breasts on Sunday and shredded one of them and put the other in a Ziplock baggie. I usually mix the shredded chicken in with apples or squash or something else with a mushy texture so that it isn’t so dry and hard to swallow. So far, Bean seems okay with it, but it does give him pretty gnarly gas. I think that’s cause he’s not used to meat in his system yet.
I know some people say that you can also just cook the baby’s food while you cook your own food, but the truth is that Chris and I don’t really eat simple enough for Bean. Or healthy enough for that matter. And I was always cooking two separate meals at night; one for us and one for Bean. Doing it this way seems to save me a lot of time. I spend an hour and a half on Sunday afternoons and then half an hour on Wednesday evenings when I steam. And when you add these fresh, steamed fruits and veggies to the fresh fruits and veggies and the some help from the store, Bean eats a LOT and he eats really healthy. And we’re ALL happy.
The last tip for feeding babies while your working is to create a space in the fridge that belongs to your baby. I made a little area on the right side of the bottom shelf in our fridge and that is where anything Bean eats is stored. This makes it so much simpler to pack his lunches and feed him meals because I don’t have to think or search. I know whatever I pull out is Bean-approved. Its also nice for when Chris pitches in at mealtimes. Because I’m the primary food-giverer, Chris sometimes doesn’t know what foods Bean can have and what he can’t. So, if Chris has to pitch in one night, he knows that anything in that one area is for Bean.
Being a mom of any station has all kinds of pros and cons. But being a working mom at times feels like its own beast of burden. I’m finding though that the more I plan ahead, the more time I make to spend with Bean. And doing simple things, like giving him the healthiest meals that I can, make me really feel like I’m doing okay. Like even though I’m working so much, I’m still providing for my baby’s needs. And that puts a smile on my face.
Today Bean is eight months old. Freakin’ crazy, right? I can’t believe it. Every time another month goes by, I have a mild panic attack. Another month? Another month?!?! ANOTHER MONTH?!?!??!
Knock it off, Bean.
He is growing up so fast that it feels like he learns something new every single day. But at the same time, Little Dude is TINY. He is still the smallest in his class. And that includes a five month old baby girl. He’s a petite casual kind of guy. He still doesn’t weight 20 pounds, although my forearms would beg to differ. But they’d be wrong. He’s landing right about 18 pounds right now. But he’s pretty tall. I don’t know his exact height, but he’s taller than most of the babies in his class. Any weight he is gaining though is going straight to his belly. He’s got a nice little pot belly that’s pokably perfect! I love it. Good for blubberin’.  His unique little proportions make it a little hard to dress him right now. More often than not, he fits into 6 months clothes. But the pants are usually a little short on him. And sometimes the shirts are a little tight, but only around his belly. I just bumped him up to 9 month clothes, but those are a little big on him. I’d rather them be a little bigger though than too tight and uncomfortable, so we’ll just wait another month or so for him to grow into the 9 month clothes and I think we’ll be good to go.
He just cut his top two teeth this week, so now he has four. His bottom two have been in since he was four or five months old. He seems to get really fussy about 2 days before his teeth break through, but once they pop through he immediately goes back to his normal happy self – albeit a little more slobbery… I give him Tylenol at night when his teeth are coming in, even if he hasn’t been fussy. It helps him sleep and keeps him from laying there with nothing to distract him from the pain. Teething is no fun, but Bean doesn’t seem to wallow in it for very long.
Developmentally, Bean is right on target. He’s babbling and screeching like a crazy person. His newest sound is a ga-ga-ga-ga sound and Chris and I are now each campaigning to make sure that his next sound is either ma-ma-ma-ma or da-da-da-da. I think Chris might win. We’ve heard him say the “d” once or twice and I know he’s about two seconds away from completing the phrase. But I’m not giving up.
I birthed you, boy! Ma-ma-ma-ma
His other big milestone news is that he has figured out how to get up on his hands and knees in a crawling position. He doesn’t really know what to do after that part, but I’m sure it won’t take him long to figure it out. He’ll throw a toy and then get up on all fours and reach for the toy. Soon, he’ll figure out that if he rocks forward just a little bit, his whole world will change! Its so exciting and yet terrifying at the same time!
Then just this morning, Bean was in his crib playing while I folded some clothes and put them away in his room. I turned around and HE WAS STANDING UP IN HIS CRIB. He had pulled himself up to a standing position and was smiling at me. Just standing there. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. Time to drop that crib bed down to the lower setting, I guess. And if he’s figured out how to do this in his crib, chances are he’ll figure out how to do it other places, too. Which means cruising is coming! I’m tired just thinking about it.
After all the advice you guys gave me about Bean’s binky, we’ve decided to let him keep it at night, when he naps, and in the car (that last one is for me more than for him!). We’ll reassess around a year old, but hopefully it will just phase itself out over the next few months.
You all also gave me such support and encouragement about Bean’s lack of interest in solid foods and that really helped me to just chill out. The most common comment that I received was that he’ll eat when he’s ready. And you know what? He has. When I stopped trying to make him eat, he started being more interested in it (little booger). I have figured out that he actually eats better when I don’t sit down and try to feed him. If I put some food on his tray and then go about my business in the kitchen, he is more interested in the food. Its a lot messier and its a lot slower, but he will actually eat a lot like that. And we found his new favorite food – avocados! I just chunk them up real small and he can feed himself. He loves them! I also have learned to use his love of Gerber Puffs to my advantage. He loves them, so I put a piece of whatever I’m trying to get him to eat – like a peach or a pea or apples – behind the Puff. Then, he thinks he’s getting a Puff, but he’s also getting a bite of something nutritional. And after a couple bites, he’ll just take the food and not the Puff. So, I’m being a little more creative and a LOT more patient and it seems to be going much better.
At eight months, Bean’s personality is shining! Really, really shining! He is in a great mood most of the time now and truly only cries when something is wrong. He gets mad, he gets frustrated, he gets silly, he gets energetic. He goes through so many more emotions now than ever before and its so fun to watch. You can see him concentrating on something, like putting a block in a bucket, and he’ll scrunch his little face up and you can just SEE the frustration and impatience on his face.
Sorry, Beaner. You get that from me.
I think my favorite part of Bean being 8 months old is how mobile he is. Not on his own really yet, but he can pretty much go whenever we want to go. When he was younger, we really had to think through and plan a lot more when we wanted to run errands or go out to eat. Was it going to interfere with his nap? Would it mess up his eating schedule? Would he be cranky and pitch a fit? But at this age, he is so much more portable. We can really just get up and go almost whenever we want. He sleeps when we’re out if he’s sleepy. I throw a bottle of juice or formula and a Tupperware container of food in his diaper bag and he can eat wherever we are. He can sit in high chairs in restaurants and shopping cars in stores. He is happy and interested in what’s going on around him, so doing things with him right now is a lot of fun.
THIS is the reason we had a baby. THIS is what we hoped it would be. Just another little person to hang out with us. Someone else to make things even more fun. Eight months has flown by, but I have loved every single minute of it.
But, seriously. No more growing, Bean.
Bean has been having regular solid foods twice a day (at least) for the past six weeks. By now, I expected things to be much smoother. Everyone said, “Just give him time, just give him time.” So, I gave him time. Six weeks of time. And not a darn thing has changed.
The kid hates food.
I mean, I’ve tried everything. Homemade baby food, pieces of my food, jarred baby food, frozen, warm, with a spoon, without a spoon, in a high chair, out of a high chair, at different times of day. We’ve eaten fruits, veggies, meat, sweet, savory. Nothing seems to matter. Its the same result every time.
Total meltdown.
And if by some miracle there isn’t an actual meltdown, there is the open-mouth. I’ve seen him eat things. I know he knows how to do it. But when I try to feed him actual food and he doesn’t want to eat it, he just sits there with his mouth open, until the food slides out.
Oh, Lordy, how it frustrates me. But I try not to get frustrated. I sing and talk and distract him until I am just as irritated as he is and then I sing out, “ALL DONE!” and I go have a drink.
I try not to push him to the point where he’s really upset at meal time. I want him to think its a positive experience. I want him to enjoy it.
WE’RE HAVING FUN, DAMMIT!!!
But Bean knows I’m lying. He knows we’re not having fun. In fact, I’m convinced that he does the open-mouth thing as a way to entertain himself because mealtimes are just that un-entertaining. I know this because when I do manage to get something in his mouth, and he sits with his mouth open and the food starts sliding out, he laughs like that’s the funniest thing he’s ever seen.
Yeah, Bean. You’re freaking hilarious.
And I know what you’re thinking. “Don’t laugh! You’ll just encourage him!” and that might be true. But at this point in the game, its either laugh or pick up a handful of peas and chunk it at him. And since I’m pretty sure child protective services has something against throwing food at your child, I’m left with laughing out of frustration.
Under normal circumstances, I would just give up. I’m a quitter. What can I say? But seeing as to how a human life depends on my not giving up in this instance, I’m left to continue on. I can tell he’s getting hungrier for something more than just his bottles and I know that at any time now, he’s going to have to just get it and when that time comes, you can bet I’ll be there with my rubber spoon and face guard.
But for now, I’m woman enough to admit it that Bean is winning this battle. But I’ll be damned if he’s going to win the war.
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