Making baby food

It was definitely not something I thought I would have time to do. But honestly...it is super easy! My friend let me borrow her Baeba and off we went.

We started rice and oatmeal cereal around 5 months and waited for the purees until 6 months.
Here is the order of food Ethan tried: avocado, banana, sweet potato, squash, pears, green beans, carrots, apples, peas, and prunes. I pretty much stopped keeping track after that. The pediatrician said to wait 3-4 days before introducing new foods to see if there were any allergies. Once I knew a food was ok for Ethan, I would mix it with another. Sometimes it was just easier to buy the Gerber purees at the store so we did that too. And sometimes I'd mix the Gerber food with something I made.
The Baeba is great because it steams the food first and then blends it. My work has Fruit My Cube deliver to work so anytime there is leftover fruit, I just throw it in the Baeba. He loves when I mix up fruits like pears, bananas, and apples. And just today, he enjoyed spinach, green beans (Gerber mix), and carrots. He LOVES anything mixed with pumpkin. (I bought a can of pumpkin from Trader Joe's and mixed with some apple and some with banana. What a hit! I went back for more and they said they won't carry it again until next October. Boo!)

Beware of the "dirty dozen" when making baby food. I try to purchase all of these items organic (mostly at Trader Joe's). These are: peaches, apples, red bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, grapes, spinach, lettuce, and tomatoes. I have only made a few of these (apples, pears, and spinach).

My bible has been Wholesome Baby Food. I check when foods should be introduced, what they taste good with when mixing, and if I need to purchase organic or not.

Ethan still has his bottles, eats 3 purees a day, and is now eating finger foods too. He gets bits of what we have for dinner and enjoys snacks in his highchair. Watching him eat makes me feel like he is such a big boy. Man, does time fly :)