Saturday, July 30, 2011

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!

Monday, July 25, 2011

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!!