Preemie Recipies

[henriksmom]

My son is eight months adjusted (10 and a half since birth). We started solid foods when he was 6 months adjusted. I am making my own with organic veggies and fruits pureed and frozen. It is getting borning. Apples, pears, yams, squash, carrots and fresh bananas and avocados. He eats oatmeal for breakfast with breasrmilk and fruit. I have introduced chicken breast with the fruits and veggies.

He is my only child so I have not done this before. I am trying to transition him to textured foods. He cannot eat dairy until one year adjusted because he has exzema so I am stuck for food ideas. The organic O's cereal may have traces of nuts and those are not allowed.

He eats 6 to 8 ounces of solids a day and drinks about 24 to 32 ounces of pumped breastmilk. Should I still be boiling water if he is to drink it?

Do your children eat less solids and more milk when teething?

Any menu ideas? Thanks.

[aris99]

Hi,

The sooner you get your LO onto table food the better! I was very timid...my dd was always gagging...her chewing skills were terrible...still are at 3.5! But my dd's OT begged me to get her off purees and I listened. We are vegetarian so we did a LOT of quinoa or rice dishes w/small bits of carrot, corn, peas etc. Frozen peas and frozen bananas were big hits and we curried a lot of sauces to go w/the veggies...my dd seemed to like the curry!

The best advice I had was just to keep going. My dd was still throwing up/gagging at 2.5 but she never once choked...she just needed to learn how to chew and it wasn't going to happen w/the purees.

I don't know about boiling water...we use bottled Deer Park brand because our tap water contains lead.

I think my dd tended to chew on toys but eat less when she was teething because the extra saliva caused her to gag more. It was really a rocky time for the first couple of yrs but it does get easier. Sounds like you're doing a terrific job!!

[waldenmommy]

Some things we did with my older kids who were not premature. It might give you ideas, however:
rice chex- very melty
saltines, the low salt kind
bits of granola bars. I like the Kashi brand.
yogurt- can your kiddo do soy? You can add a bit of olive oil for extra fat
canned fruits because those are softer. Plus, it is portable and shelf-stable for the diaper bag!
rice rusks- our preemie adores these!
teething biscuits- our WF has an organic kind.
Gerber fruit and veggie puffs. Not the healthiest but good for self feeding.
You can add well cooked (but not mushy) rice to purrees so they can self feed but still get fruits and veggies in.
Very well cooked frozen veggies like carrot cubes, corn, peas
sweet potato fries- make your own or the Alexxia brand is organic. Good for self feeding!
regular french fries- I made my own in the toaster oven.
whole grain pasta- elbow, spaghetti noodles.
broccoli "tops"
shredded or ground meat/meat subs.
bits of bread rolls
beans! Beans are awesome for self feeding and easy to smush up! The diapers might not be so awesome, though! ;P
any veggie you can shred. I used to do bites of shredded cheese but squashes, zucchini, etc also work well.
If you think he can handle tiny chunks of table foods, sweet potato quasadilla, bean quas, alternative nut butters, thinned VERY WELL with applesauce and spread THINNLY on graham crackers, toast, etc.
Mini whole wheat bagels by Pepperidge Farm, well toasted
You can use your purees in place of butter or jams on toast.

I think I also used www.wholesomebabyfood.com I loved their rice teething cookie recipe! Only good use for rice ceral, imo!

[sbrinton]

Since weight gain has been a concern with both of our preemies, we tried to make heartier purees when possible. We often make things with an added fat or protein:

-Pureed beans with extra olive oil (and cheese, after we introduce dairy)
-Avocado mixed with banana
-Chicken, sweet potato and apple (or pear)
-Coconut cream (the thick layer in a can of coconut milk) mixed with brown rice and sometimes another vegetable
-For a cold treat (when kiddos were at least 1) we blended frozen strawberries, avocado, plain whole milk yogurt and a little honey into "ice cream"

[sbrinton]

Another thing our kids have loved is any type of pancake. We add bits of zucchini, mushroom and shredded carrot, berries or bananas, coconut and pineapple - pretty much whatever we have - and top them with a little maple syrup, homemade fruit sauce, or nut butter.

[henriksmom]

Thanks for the replies. We have been mashing bananas and avocados. He eats Baby Mum Mum. We have been doing the chicken, sweet potato and apple or pear this last week. Today I will try salmon. Any more ideas?

[homewithtwinsmama]

Originally Posted by henriksmom

My son is eight months adjusted (10 and a half since birth). We started solid foods when he was 6 months adjusted. I am making my own with organic veggies and fruits pureed and frozen. It is getting borning. Apples, pears, yams, squash, carrots and fresh bananas and avocados. He eats oatmeal for breakfast with breasrmilk and fruit. I have introduced chicken breast with the fruits and veggies.

He is my only child so I have not done this before. I am trying to transition him to textured foods. He cannot eat dairy until one year adjusted because he has exzema so I am stuck for food ideas. The organic O's cereal may have traces of nuts and those are not allowed.

He eats 6 to 8 ounces of solids a day and drinks about 24 to 32 ounces of pumped breastmilk. Should I still be boiling water if he is to drink it?

Do your children eat less solids and more milk when teething?

Any menu ideas? Thanks.

my preemie did not eat anything but breastmilk until she was 15 months old. And she was fine, growing well. She decided when she wanted to eat and then she did. I can't imagine serving as many things as you are so young. Especially with allergy issues. Why are you boiling water for this child to drink at all? If he is drinking breastmilk then he needs no water supplementation at all. Water was like food for us. When they grabbed at my glass and tried to drink some was when they started getting it. It wasn't until after 1 year of age that I ever put water in a sippy cup for them to basically play with until they wanted to drink it.

[henriksmom]

I asked about water because he drinks more milk than I produce. So I wanted to know about water for emergency formula.

I tried breastfeeding for 5 months and now I am still pumping. So he has gone through my milk in the freezer and sometimes we are two meals from starvation.

[sbrinton]

Originally Posted by homewithtwinsmama

my preemie did not eat anything but breastmilk until she was 15 months old. And she was fine, growing well. She decided when she wanted to eat and then she did. I can't imagine serving as many things as you are so young. Especially with allergy issues.

Maybe it's because Zephan has older brothers and he already wants to do everything they do, but he really, really, really wanted to eat by about 6 months. Every baby is different. He's still breastfeeding frequently and growing well. But honestly if we had tried to delay solids any further, we would have had one very mad little man on our hands!

We don't feed him any junk and try to make every bite "count" - be something that is good for him to eat or good developmentally (self feeding, fine motor skills).

Not every kid wants to wait until 15 months to eat solid food and I think it's okay to follow your pediatricians advice and start solids at about 6 months if your kiddo is ready.

[Amys1st]

My Maggie started reaching for food when she was about 6 mos or so adjusted. She was sitting up and sat at the table with us and would reach for our food. Sadly, her first real solid food was a french fry at McDonalds. She was on my lap and leaned over and grabbed my friend's fry. We LOL about it to this day. Then her second solid food was a donut my DH was eating. She reached over and grabbed it.

So from that point on, we started mixing BM w rice cereal and then eventually moved onto sweet potatoes which she loved. She would reach and grab for things so we started just mashing up or cutting into teeny tiny pieces for her to play with.

[momoftinyhayden]

My son is 14 months, only has 2 teeth so we do not let him have dried cerial, or anything he can't gum easily. He still eats stage 3 baby food, which comes in orgranic in certain stores. When he is out of baby food we just simply put whatever we are having for dinner in the mini food processor and give it a whiz and the pieces are small enough for him to eat. I do not give my son peas or corn because they are a bit too much for him to try chewing, but he does eat broccoli and carrots easily. I have recently started buying the Gerber Graduates (for preschoolers). Our stores carry a wide variety, the pieces are either small or easily cut into smaller pieces for them. They are located at the end of our baby food isle.
There really aren't any foods out there for toddlers, so we buy the stuff for preschoolers and cut it up.

[PE&M]

my dd is 14 months old, 11 months adjusted & she just started having Happy Babies Puffs. They are dairy & soy free.

http://www.happypuffsfood.com/