Solids 101

I never thought I would have such strong feelings or emotions connected to pureed food. I also never thought my husband and I would discuss poop via text during the day. ( me: "i cant evn bgin 2 describe owen's diaper 2 u. brett: "dont") Along with baby, comes change.

I am in no hurry to feed Owen solids. I think I mentioned that before and I also mentioned that Owen won and has been eating bananas for over a month now. If I had my way, he could have  a treat of bananas every once in a  while but mommy's milk would be the #1 food for much longer. Unfortunately, I'm not getting my way (for several things, but we won't talk about going back to work because, yep, cue the tears). Owen is/ has been showing all readiness signs to start solids and the recommendation is between 4 and 6 months, although like everything, it's a personal choice. We decided that 5 months would be our starting point so that we could see the funny faces he was sure to make when trying new foods. The plan was to give him rice cereal on his 5 month birthday and start a new food every 3-4 days after that, watching for any signs of an allergic reaction. So that's what we did. On October 11, Owen "enjoyed" his first helping of rice cereal. Mixed with breast milk. Then mixed with bananas. The jury is still out on his opinion of rice cereal. A few days after, we gave him sweet potatoes and then pears, both of which are now favorites in Owen's book.

I decided that at least to start, I wanted to make Owen's baby food. With the help of a friend who did this last summer and the internet, it was a breeze. I found this website - Wholesome Baby Food: Momtastic -which was a wealth of information. I especially like their chart of foods to give baby for each stage. I downloaded and printed mine and stuck it in Owen's section of the Home Binder.Why did I want to make his food? Who wouldn't want to be up to their elbows in steamers, food processors, and purees? Seriously. I just felt that since I am home and have the time I could at least provide Owen with the best possible food to start. I don't know if I will make all of his baby food, but he is now well stocked for a while. Because I made his food, I know that there are no added ingredients, no chemicals, and that it is as fresh (or was before i froze it) as possible and is all organic.

What I did
For starters, Living Social offered a Whole Foods deal several weeks ago that I bought and recieved $20 worth of roceries for $10. So last week Owen and I headed to Whole Foods and purchased some organic fruits and veggies (and maybe a thing or two for mom and dad). I also purchased some packaged food just to have on hand. Here's what we started with:

Organic carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, apples, pears
Earth's Best Rice Cereal and Oatmeal
Earth's Best Sweet Potatoes (jar)
Sprout - Squash, Peas, Pears

When we got home, I got my supplies ready. For the sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots, I steamed them using my steamer basket inside a pot with a lid. After they were very tended, I used a food processor to puree them. In order to get the right consistency, I used the water they steamed in which also ensured we didn't lose any good nutrients. For the apples and pears, I peeled, cored, and diced them and then baked them covered on 300 for about 30 minutes. I then used the food processor for them also. They didn't need much water added because they created so much of their own.

So when I had several bowls of pureed foods lining the counter, I started filling up ice cube trays with all of the purees. I put them in the freezer over night, then popped them out into their own labeled freezer Ziploc bag.

Now, whenever Owen is ready for some food, I simply pop out a cube and let thaw. If we are in a hurry, I will nuke it in the microwave for a few seconds but I then make sure to stir it well and text to make sure there are no hot spots.

There you have it. I have enough cubes to last him until well after i go back to work since right now he is only eating one cube a day.

So simple. If anyone has any questions, I would be more than willing to offer my advice. I'm no expert but found this to be a very simple and economical project.

Another Attempt at Being Organized: A Household Notebook

So I've had this idea stewing around upstairs to create some sort of notebook to stay a little more organized and on track while I am home and to make things a little easier when I go back to work. I started looking around the internet for inspiration and it seems that my idea was definitely not original. Blue Eyed Bride posted just today that she has completed her Home Organization Binder. Impressive. She provided several resources at the bottom of her post, one of which I found extremely helpful  - Organized Home's Printable Pages for Your Household Notebook.

To start, I needed to figure out exactly what I wanted my notebook to do for me and in what areas of our life. In other words - what can I just not get organized.

Recipes. I am a hot mess when it comes to recipes. You might even call me a recipe hoarder. I love them. I crave them. I get them everywhere. But then what? They end up on the coffee table, on the dining room table, in my purse, mixed in with my coupons, in a "recipe catch all" binder.

Menu Planning. I have tried printing a template. I tried making my own. I did really well leading up to Baby Boy's arrival. Then it all fell apart. I guess a baby sort of does that to you. So, to get back on track, I need a central location to write what we will be having for dinner and a place to track things we need so I'm not running to the store 4 times a week (even though an evening alone at Target is becoming quite a treat).

Chores. Oh boy! Another hot mess! I actually enjoy cleaning. When I have the time, supplies, organization and desire. I hate the scramble to clean something quickly and would rather take me time and do it right. That's probably why several chores don't get done as often as they should. Again, I need a system. Fly Lady? Same problem as menu planning.

To Do List. I am the queen of lists. I make lists of lists. The problem is that I lose the lists or simply don't follow the lists. I actually put things on my list that I have already done so that i can cross them off and feel like I have done more than I actually have. I need to have a weekly planner in the category so I can map out how I will get errands run, phone calls made, etc. This also needs to include a long term list of things that need done. For example, things I need Brett to do; I could simple look at my list and tell him what I need done as opposed to saying I don't know.

Things to Look Up. One of my biggest time wasters is the internet. I will see one thing (be it online, on TV, the radio, out, etc.) and go to look tup. An hour later I have looked at 17 things since that initial one. I need a place to write down websites, products, etc. that when I am relaxing I can look those things up as oppose to dropping everything and doing it "right now". i don't know that this list would completely eliminate this because that's just the "drop everything" kind of person I am.

So this is where I want to start. I figure that if I can start small and this seems to be working I could add to it things like a car maintenance section. Update on this project to come...