Interesting Diapers

Since starting Aaryn on solids, I've noticed some really interesting and colorful diapers here lately. There wasn't a noticeable difference when we were on the avocado, but the squash, well that's another story. My husband and I are just in awe at how the diaper "solids" looks identical to the purees I've been making. It looked as if someone put one of the puree cubes in the diaper to let it thaw there. The green beans diapers are even more interesting and colorful. I don't remember Cadence's diapers really changing after starting solids. I'm assuming that it's because she ate only store bought baby food. It doesn't take very much to excite us these days, as you can see.

Our Champion Eater

My intentions were to wait until Aaryn was closer to 6 months old before introducing solids. Well those intentions went out the window when she started showing interest in my food. I decided very early in my pregnancy that I would attempt to make everything that my baby ate in my own kitchen. I bought a baby cookbook with lots of baby food recipes and researched baby food making extensively. I got some mixed reviews about it. In the end, I decided to give it a try and see if I could make it work for us.

I have two motivations for preparing my baby's food. The first is that it is a healthier choice. It doesn't have all of the additives that commercial baby foods have. The second reason is cost. I am saving us money by taking a little time to prepare her food.

So far, I've prepared butternut squash, green beans, and carrots. When preparing costs, I found that 5 ozs of Gerber squash would cost me $1.12. I bought a 3 lb butternut squash for $5.45, which after cooked and pureed made 38 ozs. What cost me $0.14 per oz and a little over an hour of my time would have cost me $0.22 per oz at the grocery store. That really adds up. I really saved big with the green beans and carrots. A 1 lb bag of frozen green beans and carrots cost $1.38 each. I was able to make 22 ozs of carrots and 20 ozs of green beans from these bags. Like the squash, Gerber green beans and carrots are $1.12 for 5 ozs. These purees took less than 20 minutes to prepare.

Along with the health benefits and cost savings, I get the satisfaction of knowing that I prepared that for her and she likes it.

We started with avocado this past Monday. It requires no special preparation aside from scraping it from the shell and mashing with a fork. We mixed it with a little rice cereal (which she doesn't seem to like plain). She LOVED it. She got the hang of eating from the spoon very quickly. She's always been a champ at eating. She never had any problem nursing and never had a problem switching from breast to bottle.

We did avocado for 3 days before moving on to butternut squash (3 days), and now green beans. She eats about 2 ozs once a day. We are both enjoying it. Her sister also likes to feed her. It makes her feel like a big girl.

Where to Begin?

The truth is I've never thought about starting a blog. So why now? Well, the initial motivation stemmed from a discussion on the mommy board that I am honored to be a part of. Several of the AMAZING women on there have blogs that I follow and enjoy reading from time to time. After having a discussion about blogging, I got to thinking that it would be a good idea for several reasons. Through this blog, I will be able to keep our family updated about the major and not-so-major happenings in our lives, even the ones 3,000 miles away. My girls will have something to look back at, and even contribute to, when they're older. I haven't been the greatest at keeping my girls baby books updated. Actually, I haven't touched Cadence's in a loooong time, and I have yet to begin one for Aaryn (shame on me). Hopefully, I'll be able to stick with blogging so that some of the most precious moments in our lives are documented somewhere. Life is hectic. It's not easy working outside of the home full-time, taking care of two small children, taking care of my home, and being a wife all at the same time, but I manage. So this blog is dedicated to the stories of our lives with our beautiful children. I guarantee you'll be thoroughly entertained. The stories I have will make you laugh, some will make you wonder, and others may make you cry. Whatever your thoughts and feelings, we hope you'll embark on this journey called "life" with us. Happy Reading!!