Organic Homemade Baby Food

Being a Momma who likes to cook, I decided to try my hand at homemade baby food. It's not that a have a real problem with store bought stuff, but I like the idea of knowing exactly what's going into Gracie's food... especially the lack of preservatives. I also like that it saves me money. And I'll admit, I like feeling like a Momma from the good ol' days who didn't have a Walmart two miles away. So this weekend, I made fruit for Lil' Miss Gracie. Peaches, pears, apples, plums. Here's what I did.

My sister-in-law accompanied G and I to Trader Joe's on Friday night where we picked up affordable organic produce to get things started. Trader Joe's, if you haven't been there, is the way to go when it comes to organic. I bought everything you see here (all organic mind you) for $45. Peaches, pears, apples, plums, pumpkins, butternut squash, and acorn squash. Gracie can eat all of it now, except the pumpkin. But I'll save that for a few months from now. I might add that we stopped at Dollar General to pick up foil pans and ice cube trays, 3 for $2. I bought 12 of them to make the process faster.



Next you half the fruit and bake it open-side down in about an inch of water at 400. Bake until the skin puckers. Some fruits take less, some take more, but on average this take about an hour. I discovered after doing this process several times that you should half the fruit AND de-seed it, too. Makes the next part easier.




Once the skin has puckered, remove from the oven and let cool. I turned the fruit cut-side up to cool faster. As you can see, the seeds were still in my pears, but I learned with plums and apples to remove them before baking. Handling hot fruit is more difficult than room temperature. After the fruit is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and any seeds. Place the "meat" in a full size blender and puree until smooth. I used a bit of the leftover juices from the pan to thin the puree when needed.

Finally, pour pureed fruit into ice cube trays and cover with foil. Freeze overnight. I put the frozen cubes into freezer-safe baggies and then put one of each type of puree into a larger freezer bag. Frozen purees are good for 3-6 months, but I'm sure we'll go through faster than that!


Before I began this process, I was worried whether it would really save us money or not. Because while I do like the idea of knowing what's in her food, if it isn't going to save us any money, I'm not interested. Plenty of babies eat store-bought baby food and turn out just fine. But I was really happy when I calculated it out. Basically, store-bought baby food is about 25 cents per ounce. If I were to pay 25 cents for each ounce I made, the total would be $50.75 (that was 203 oz if you're counting). Since I only paid $45 for all the produce, I'm already ahead of the game... but remember, I haven't made the pumpkin and squash yet. I figure I'll be about 50-65% of the price of store-bought food by the time I'm done. And's it's healthier for my little girl. So I'm happy!

And speaking of my little girl, here's a picture of her 'helping' me. And yes, that is a roaster pan she's jumping on... gotta use your resources. Her little legs just aren't long enough yet, but she prefers to look at the world head-on right now!

4 months

It's been awhile since I last blogged, but Little G is now 4 months old! Actually 4 and half months, but who's counting? She is just the best thing right now! We are having so much fun as a family... which is probably a contributing factor to the lack of blog posts.

Let's see... where to start?!

Gracie had her 4 month appointment last week and she is perfect! She's still in the 25th percentile for weight - weighing on 12 lbs. 15 oz. She has jumped even higher in the length category - 75th - 90th percentile. Dr. Bays said she's closer to the 90th, as long as a 5 1/2 month old - 25 1/2 inches long. She also gave us the green light for starting solids. Since we started just over a week ago, Gracie has eaten avocado (first food), sweet potatoes, and rice cereal. She begins pears tonight! She is doing very well with learning how to swallow. The doctor explained why we wait until 4 months for food because they aren't developmentally ready until that point. Some babies aren't ready until even later. Gracie seems to be doing okay, although new substances are making her belly rumble a little bit and of course diapers are a bit different, too!

Sweet PotaTOES!

Over the past several weeks her sleeping habits have changed. She used to sleep for 8 hours at night, but gave that up in favor of eating every 3-4 hours. I'm crossing my fingers though because the past 2 nights, our Sleeping Beauty has resumed her 8 hours (ish) schedule, which makes Momma and Daddy so very happy. So very, very happy! In fact, last night around 2 am, I woke up and wondered if she was alive (yes, I still check for breathing often). Indeed she was still alive and didn't wake up until 4:15. Wahoo! Daddy is convinced her 'decision' to sleep longer at night is the result of a story he told her.

Here's how it goes:
There once was a fishy who lived (still lives) at the Weaver house and this fishy is missing a few fins. He's missing these fins because everytime he got up at night, Papa Weaver removed a body part from him... that's why he's missing so many fins. I guess it took this little fishy several nights to learn to sleep through the night. (Side note - This fishy is a 'science' fishy from Momma's school. He arrived missing a few body parts!)

As Daddy and Gracie were looking at the fishies in the tank a few nights ago, he told her this story. So now that she has slept more at night, Daddy always says she's been thinking about the fish. This morning he said she was probably awake several other times at night, but didn't make a sound for fear of losing her toes! Probably so! How's that for a bedtime story?! Sweet dreams, Little Gracie!

Below are a few pictures of Gracie from this month. She's grown so much and is able to do more things. Practicing rolling over. Fabulous at giggling. Making great sounds with her mouth. Eating her toes (see video above). Sucking her thumb. Putting her paci back in by herself... sometimes. Snorting. Surviving her first 2 colds.

Fall jacket, courtesy of cousin Kia!

Momma's new crafting obsession - making hair bows!

Faux-hawk at bath time.

Baths are Momma and G's favorite time of the day!

She's always so happy and fun!

This is what we wake up to each morning!

Happy girl!

It's Not Shaken Baby Syndrome

Gracie loves Daddy! Whenever he walks into the room, she stares at him and tries to make him smile. It's super cute! Here's a video of them together last week when we had our first fire as a family.

3 months

Little Gracie isn't so little anymore. She's getting so big and SO fun! She is such a happy baby!

She's mastered the melt-your-heart smile... which I love! Several people, including myself, have even noticed that she looks like ME when she smiles! Yay! I love seeing myself in my baby girl. When we walk into the babysitter's house, she greets Barb with a huge grin. I get the same thing when I pick her up. She smiles and wiggles until I pick her up and smother her with kisses. So sweet!

She's also getting really giggly these days. Ryan and I each have our own ways to bring it out of her. It's so cute watching Daddy try to get her to giggle. Last night she came pretty close to a full on school-girl scream when he was playing with her. Even Daddy was giddy! The best to watch.

We are so in love with her. Each phase is more fun that the one before. When I look at the 6 week old at Barb's, I get a little sad inside. My G isn't a newborn anymore. But it's hard to stay sad when she smiles and giggles at the sight of my face. Love, love, love my time with her.

My goal is to blog more often and post more pics... so check back soon!

Back to work

Sadly, Momma Weaver has started back to work. Wednesday was my first day back and it was difficult for me, but it didn't phase Gracie at all. The hardest part of her day was Daddy learning that she likes her milk warm-warm, not just warm. Once he figured that out, here's the picture text I got saying, "Wow! I can't believe I ate 4 ounces!" This is about half an ounce away from her milk-drunk look. When she's eaten a whole bunch, she gets this look the baby community calls "milk-drunk." Daddy and I tell her she's schnaukered (not even sure how to spell that word).









My last few days of maternity leave were so fun. I spent Monday with Gracie, just enjoying our time together. I found myself watching her sleep in the early morning hours. It must be a mom-thing, but I could stare at her for hours, especially when she's asleep. I honestly can't think of anything better than when she wakes up in the middle of the night for a feeding. I change her diaper first. Her room is dark and she's still asleep. When I unzip her sleeper, her legs are crossed and pulled up to her belly, just how she was in my tummy. She arches her back and wrinkles her forehead and makes sweet baby sounds. She's so warm and snuggly and I just take in her baby smell and snuggles. My favorite!

On Monday she also learned a new trick. She can now grab ahold of things. She's much better at using her left hand than her right. Momma's wondering if she's gonna be a south paw like me?! We'll just have to wait and see! This is a snip-it of the text we sent Daddy that day.

On Tuesday my sister had a colonoscopy. No fun. And by the way, everything turned out to be just fine with her. I watched Kyle and Kianna while Steph had it done. It was a bit of a crazy day. With Grace being so young, Kianna being so inquisitive, and Kyle being so active, I was on the move all day long. It gave me a glimpse of what next year will be like when we job-share. I'll definitely have to work on a routine. I also won't be nursing... which will take a huge load off.

We had a super time together though. Kyle and Kianna helped make lunch. We had spaghetti and meatballs, broccoli, and homemade apple sauce. By the way, if you're looking for yummy homemade applesauce that's healthy, try this. Steam thinly sliced apples (just like veggies) with cinnamon on top. Puree the steamed apples and just a little bit of the water/juice to desired consistency. I made up the recipe on the fly because I wanted to have something homemade for Kianna since Kyle and I got to enjoy the spaghetti. The applesauce was super sweet, without adding any sugar. I just Fuji apples, just FYI.

My adorably-cute neice, Pebbles... I mean, Kianna!
She broke the pasta in half before we boiled it.

My amazing broccoli-washer and right hand in the kitchen...

A few other random pictures from this week...


One of Grace's favorite activities is bath time. Momma enjoys it, too, because she is so animated and alert when she's all soaped up! I'm probably going to regret it later, but I encourage her to kick-kick in the bath tub. She loves to make splashes. Later when my bathroom floor's a swimming pool, I kick myself for telling her it was okay.

Blowing spit bubbles...

Big Day!

Today was a big day for Gracie for a few reasons. First off, she woke up in her own bed this morning. It was pretty funny when I went in to get her. She was smiling and laughing as usual, but when I turned the light on, she looked around and noticed she was in her own room. She seemed very proud of herself and was kicking and waving her arms in excitement!

The night was fairly uneventful. She nursed at 6:50 pm, had a bath and bedtime story before rocking to sleep around 7:30 pm. Then at 8:00 pm I laid her down for night-night. Of course I checked on her multiple times to get my Gracie-fix, but she didn't awake until 2:30 am to nurse. 7.5 hours since her last feeding and 7 hours of sleep for her. She nursed and went back to sleep right away, just like always. Then woke again at 6:40 am for another feeding. After eating, she slept again until 8:30 am. What a good sleeper she is!

She's always a happy girl in the mornings. It's hard to be sad about my little baby growing up when every morning starts like this! Please excuse the out of tune singing... Little Gracie isn't aware of pitch just yet, so she enjoys our songs.

Today was also a big day because Grace had her 2 month appointment. I know, 2 months?! Insane how fast time flies! She checked out very well, weighing exactly 10 lbs and measuring 23 inches long. She's in the 75 percentile for height/length and the 25 percentile for weight. Because she's sleeping so well, she has dropped a few feedings. The doctor isn't too concerned about her weight, but said she's a little behind schedule. We're going back in a few weeks for a weight check, but Momma isn't worried. In my unexperienced opinion, she would be fussy if she wasn't getting enough to eat and she isn't. She's all smiles unless she's tired or ready to eat.

Her appointment also included 3 shots and an oral vaccination. I decided on the way to the doctor's office that I wasn't going to get upset about her shots. I knew she'd cry, but I also knew I was doing it to protect her from serious illnesses. As expected, she did cry. I stayed calm and was able to comfort her quickly. So 3 hot pink band-aids and 2 sore thighs later, she's taking a nap to rest from her busy morning.

In her own bed

So tonight is a little bittersweet for Momma Weaver. Gracie is in her own bed for the first time. She's been sleeping soundly in there since 8:00 and Momma has mixed emotions. I'm sad because it feels like the end of an era. Daddy said 2 months is hardly and era, but I disagree. She'll never sleep in our room again. But again, Daddy disagrees. He said she will. Not that I want her in our bed very often, but I secretly hope he's right! I won't be listening to her infant grunts and moans as I drift off to sleep anymore. I won't be able to reach over to her cradle to feel her chest rise and fall. I won't be able to watch her innocently sleep every time I wake up at night. I won't be able to lean in and smell her newly washed baby-smell. There are so many things that will change once she's in her own bed. But I've decided that I can do all those things... I'll just have to get my tushy out of bed and walk across the hall to do them! Right?!

There are a few things to look forward to now that she'll be in her own bed. Right now, for example. She's in bed and we're awake. Daddy is snuggling with Tysie and I can blog again! Turning the ceiling fan on... I always thought it'd make her stuffy. Not stubbing my toe on the cradle when I get out of bed. Turning on the light when I wake before Gracie in the morning. Just a few little things I'm using to 'look on the bright side.'

I've always said life is all about choosing your attitude. I could be super sad that she's growing up so fast or I could choose to roll with the changes and be happy where we're at. I'm somewhere in the middle right now, but I'm trying to obey 1 Thessalonians 5:18. It says, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." I'm trying to give thanks and rejoice for all the happiness God has given to me, rather than dwelling on the sadness that comes when time moves too quickly.

I'll update soon on her first night in her crib. Maybe she'll sleep till 4 or 5 am like usual. Maybe she'll get up several times tonight and need her Momma. Maybe I'm not sure which I'm hoping for?