Homemade Baby Food: Do you have the time?

If you already have a child or will be having one soon you may have considered the idea of making your own baby food.  You are probably wondering do I have the time?  Chances are you do have the time.  Making your own baby food is not as difficult or time consuming as you may think.  Before I started my son on solids I planned to make my own baby food but was not sure how it would work out.  Considering the fact that some nights I cannot even find the time to boil some pasta for dinner,  I was not sure when I would find the time to make baby food.  I have now learned it is so much quicker and easier than I could have imagined.  Now let me just say I have not made anything too difficult yet so I am sure it gets more difficult as your baby starts to eat a wider variety of foods.
The first food that I made for my son was peas.  I bought one container of store bough stage 1 peas so I would know about how thin I should make them.  To make the baby food I bought a bag of frozen peas, cooked them, and pureed them.  That was it I was done!  It takes about 5 minutes to cook the peas then maybe about 2 or 3 minutes to put the food in a food processor and puree them.  All you do is put the peas in the food processor and then slowly add a little water until it is the right consistency.  To store the baby food you do not even need to get anything special if you do not want to.  You can simply spoon the puree into ice cube trays freeze and then pop them out and store in tupperwear or ziplocs.
One advantage of making your own baby food is you know exactly what you are feeding to your baby.  Another huge advantage is that it is so much cheaper.  It costs about $1-$2 for a bag of frozen vegetables versus about  $.50 per jar of baby food.  You can also use fresh fruits and vegetables if they are in season!  So for the price of 2 to 4 jars of baby food you can make about 30 servings. So I think for most people it is worth a shot.

Natural Teething Solutions

If your baby has not started teething yet be happy. You will be faced with many sleepless nights and many cranky days. If you are breastfeeding you will have a baby who wants to use you as a teether. If your baby has started teething then you know how difficult it can be. When you see your baby in pain all you want to do is provide him with relief. No one wants to see their baby cranky and miserable. So the question is what can you do to provide relief?
There are of course teething toys. There are many different toys out there to provide relief to teething baby’s. There are many options including plastic toys, teething stuffed animals, teething blankets, and cool rings you can put in the fridge. Another option is putting a wet wash cloth in the fridge or freezer and then letting them chew that.
Sometimes the toys are just not enough! If the toys do not work one thing you can do is give your child infant acetaminophen ( check with your pediatrician )or baby oragel. But what if you want a more natural solution?
One thing that has worked great for my son are homeopathic teething tabs. We use either Hyland’s or Little Remedies brands. Both seem to work the same and they contain the same ingredients. I find that teething tabs are best at helping my son to fall asleep when he becomes restless from the pain.
What are some methods you use to provide teething relief?
Check out:
Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets (250 Tablets)
Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether
Little Teethers Tablets-150 tablets
Little Teethers Oral Pain Relief Gel