Community Supported Agriculture

So where have I been? Why has it been almost a whole month since the last post? Where to begin... well there was a stomach flu for baby, mommy, and daddy... then there was a crazy two weeks of work where all the college kiddies returned... then there was a hurricane...

And here I am! What's new you ask? Jacob is now doing very well with sweet potatoes and oatmeal. He also cut his first 2 teeth (sleepless nights have been another factor in my blogger disappearance).

This week Jacob will try green beans for the first time! I'm planning to make them from the four quarts of fresh green beans we got from our CSA share! He even got to help pick them and sample them on the farm!

This is our second year belonging to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and we find it well worth the money. This year our share includes fruit and veggies and a lot of pick your own opportunities. So far we've picked strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, black currants. peaches, apricots, tomatoes, eggplant, summer squash, peppers, and green beans! In the fall we will pick squash, pumpkins, pears and apples! Although it sometimes seems like a lot of work, we are excited to have started a Saturday morning family tradition. Jacob will understand from a young age where the food he eats comes from and just how delicious fresh fruits and veggies can taste.

Although its late in the season for the northeast, check out www.localharvest.org/csa to locate a CSA in your area. The Lazarski family highly recommends it!

Warning: Carrots can make you late for work

This just in... Carrots have become the new acceptable excuse for running late. No more "I didn't hear my alarm" or "The baby was up all night," the new excuse to use if you have an infant "The baby ate carrots." Enough said.

Carrots, known for being a good source of vitamin A, are also a very good choice for a first vegetable to feed your baby. After mastering baby cereal, most doctors recommend starting applesauce and bananas. While these foods will be MUCH easier to get your baby to eat, there is a belief that starting with them makes feeding blander, less sweet foods (read: green veggies) a challenge. Starting with peas right off the bat is also challenging because, well, they can be the blandest of the bland when you don't season them (and you shouldn't be adding any salt to baby's food).

So Jacob's food of the week was carrots, which I made by peeling, slicing, steaming, and pureeing carrots (and adding water to make it the right consistency). He did pretty well with them, especially last night when his daddy fed them via the "Spackle" technique. But this morning... when I got out of the shower... I found a baby, happy as can be, with orange poop up to his armpits! Jacob thought it was funny, but after having to give an unscheduled bath, mommy was late for work.

So the next time you are running a little late.... just say it was the carrots... any parent will understand!

Celebrating World Breastfeeding Week!

Did you know this week is World Breastfeeding Week?? I promise not you use this blog to be "preachy". Breastfeeding has been a wonderful experience for Jacob and I, but I do believe that a happy mom makes a happy baby, so if it's not for you, it's not for you.... I am doing my part to celebrate the week by blogging tonight about some of my struggles and my triumphs with breastfeeding.

Jacob is pretty much exclusively breastfed, with the exception of the trace amounts of oatmeal I have been able to actually get into his little mouth. This is something I am extraordinarily proud of and I'll tell you why... 

1. It's not easy, especially at the beginning. At the 3 week mark when he and I were still getting the hang of it and he was going through a growth spurt (and eating nonstop). Luckily shortly thereafter it does get better.

 

2. At the hospital one of the nurses tried to convince me to give him formula because "he's a c-section baby and he has a lot of mucus that the formula will help him get rid of." I fortunately was strong enough and knowledgeable enough to stick by my gut and say no. Not an easy thing as a first time hormonal mess of a mom.

and 3. I am back to work full time and I am still making it work. I am able to do this in large part to the support network I have (I work with some amazing women who have all been through it). I would also not be able to do it without my Medela breastpump. It was absolutely the best baby purchase we made.

That said, I am such a huge fan of my pump, and all of the other products and accessories that Medela makes that I was chosen to be a part of MommyParties sponsored by Medela! This means that I have a HUGE amount of awesome products and samples to share with friends. If you are interested in learning more about Medela and want some free stuff, message me!

That's it for tonight! Thanks for celebrating with me!

Every Baby is Different!

Back in my days as a WIC counselor, I would give the same feeding advice day in and day out and I couldn't understand why, month after month, few people seemed to listen. I figured out during my pregnancy that every pregnancy is different, and I am now learning that when it comes to infant feeding, every baby is different.

The textbook advice, and recommendation by the AAP, is that infants are exclusively breastfed (meaning no solid foods of any kind) until 6 months of age. This was of course my goal, and I'm still struggling with accepting that this might not be best for my baby.

Jacob, or as my mom calls him "Herdy-GERDy man", has pretty bad reflux that we have been medicating since his one month check up. We have been in and out of the pediatrician's office each time it gets worse, and at our most recent visit, the doctor recommended starting cereal.

"GERDy man" is growing very well and is otherwise healthy, but no mommy wants to see their child spit up and choke on every feeding... so oatmeal it is! I of course made it from whole oats rather than the baby oatmeal and that was the EASY part... getting even a 1/2 a teaspoon to stay in his mouth was the hard part!

Not so sure about this....

Oh mommy!

Homemade Baby Oatmeal

1/2 cup of Whole Quick Oats
1 cup water

Instructions:
1. Place oats into a food processor and grind to a fine/almost powder-like consistency
2. Boil water on stove top.
3. Stir in ground oats and cook for 1 minute.

Refrigerate up to 4 days. Thin 1 teaspoon of oatmeal with 2 teaspoons of breastmilk or formula to serve. You can increase the oatmeal and decrease the milk or formula as your baby grows.... but this is where we are now =)

Happy feeding and Good Luck!

Helping Little Tummies Smile!

I'm a Registered Dietitian with a wealth of education and work experience in child nutrition. From the my internship with the Florida Department of Education, to my work as a WIC counselor, to running the breakfast and lunch programs in a K-12 school district, I have been able to put my education into practice.... but now I have a new job... I'm a mommy!

So here it is... my blog where I will share how I put what I know to the test. With my son as my guinea pig, I will provide tips for infant feeding, develop infant and kid friendly recipes, and share the trials and tribulations of putting it all into practice.

I hope this blog will be educational and inspirational for everyone... and if all else fails... I hope I can at least capture this awesome time in my son's life!

Welcome to Healthy Little Tummies!!