Homemade Baby Food For Baby 4-8 Months

Hello Everyone!!!

So my baby is almost 6 months old and I started making her baby food at 5 months when I introduced her to foods. I choose to do purees rather than Baby Led Weaning (BLW), and I believe either is a good option. Also, I believe whether you start introducing foods into baby's diet at 4 months or 6 months or whenever you choose to is your decision and is what you feel is best for your baby. 

How I Found Homemade Baby Food Instructions

Before I gave birth I was determined to breastfeed and make my baby's food when the time came. Everyone around me rolled their eyes and told me I was doing too much. But it was something I wanted to do and I wasn't going to let naysayers stop me from doing what I feel is best, for the child I gave birth to.

So I started researching, mainly on Pinterest and YouTube. I found that there are many different ways to make baby food, and many opinions on what to use and what not to use. It took me weeks to finally decide on what I wanted baby to eat and how I wanted to make it.

There are so many good blogs on Pinterest that give you very good ideas so I recommend looking there and YouTube helps you understand how to prepare the food visually so I also recommend checking out videos there.

Foods I Decided to Go With

I choose foods based on what I could find and what I was familiar with. But here's my list:

1. Sweet Potatoes 
2. Peas
3. Carrots
4. Apples
5. Blueberries
6. Yams
7. Butternut Squash

So I have seven different options to go with for now.

I also plan on making: Avocado, Banana, Pears and Peaches.

How I Introduce Foods

I introduce the foods above to my daughter following a widely recommended rule: One fruit or veggies every three days. The reason behind this rule is that baby may be allergic to the food and three days gives you time to determine if it was the peas or the blueberries. Now I do not stick to this religiously, I usually give my baby one food for at least 4 days because I do, no real reason.

Materials Needed to Make Baby Food

Here are the Materials I use when making baby food and are not required if you find other options

1. Baby Bullet (any blender will do)
2. Ice cube trays (silicone or with silicone bottoms)
3. Spatula
4. Sandwich bag 
5. Filtered water
6. Steamer 
7. Cookie sheet
8. Oven
9. Pots

So like I wrote above, any blender will do, you do not have to go out and buy the baby bullet, I did because I didn't have a blender and I choose that one. I recommend silicone ice trays because it is easier to remove the food cubes than in regular trays. Spatula helps get food out blender, sandwich bags because I find it easier to transfer purees into trays by cutting corner of the bag and squeezing, and filtered water to help thin food, if you want it thinner.  Also you will need steamer or a method to steam (I used a colander and a pot of water), cookie sheet to bake sweet potatoes, yams and butternut squash and pot to cook peas.

How I Prepared Food for Blending

Sweet Potatoes 
Clean, poke holes all over with fork, bake whole in 400 degree oven for 40mins-hour, let cool then remove from skin and into blender

Peas
Boil in water for 10-15 minutes, drain peas but save the water in case you want to thin, blend

Carrots
Steam for 30min-1hour (or until fork tender), blend, use water from steamer to thin

Apples
Steam for 30min-1hour (or until fork tender), blend, use water from steamer to thin

Blueberries
Boil 30 minutes or until soft, blend with water (can use less water to have thicker or more water for thinner

Yams
Clean, poke all over with fork, bake whole in 400 degree oven for 40mins-hour, let cool then remove from skin and into blender

Butternut Squash
Clean, slice in have long ways, remove seeds, bake in 400 degree oven for 40mins-hour, let cool then remove from skin and into blender

The Result

After making the baby food I freeze what baby will not be using and use painters tape to label the trays with date which is very important. Once the food is frozen I remove it from the trays and place in zip bags with date and type of food.***

Feeding Baby

When it's time to feed baby I take a cube or two depending on the size of the cube, and microwave it for 10-20 seconds. I always test it on my lips before giving to baby. Some say you should heat to hotter and let it cool but sometimes you don't have time to do that and that's why I heat between 10-20 seconds. I have baby bowls I heat in or I use the baby bullet food containers. Also, I do not mix the food during the blending process because it limits the different types of foods I have, keeping each food separate means I can mix as I go rather than being stuck with one food baby may like today but not tomorrow. 

My baby is almost 6 months and I only feed for lunch and dinner. During both I only feed baby about two ounces. I still breastfeed and diet is primarily breast milk, and baby chooses to not eat more than that. Some babies will eat more and some less. Also pay attention to the ques baby gives when feeding they will let you know if they like it or not. Going back to feeding one type of food for three days, watch baby's skin, mouth and eyes when feeding and after to see if there are any reactions because they may be allergic. It is fine to reintroduce it later to see if the same thing happens if the reaction was not severe. 

***A note: I also use the breast milk bags to store the food cubes
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