homemade or from a jar?

[batmanandrobin]

seems to be lots of discussion about feeding and weaning at the moment. am intrigued to hear what's helped or worked for others.

i have made my own food from day one, went 2-3 months of being really funny about organic produce, but have recently started using powder mixes for lunch if i am out (find it easier to ask for boiling water than use of a microwave).

my dear friend however has only ever used jars. both babies have fairly good appetites, mine is perhaps smaller in weight however i have bf and she's only ever ff (if that's makes a difference).

is homemade best? or should i stop being so anal about what dc is eating? usually i blend mine and dh's dinner, or veg soup, fruit smoothie, finger foods are banana, a digestive bisc or rusk, apple, carrot, cucumber, roasted potatos or parsnip.

im sure you have some opinions ladies??

[Littlef00t]

How old is your baby? I've heard some who have only used jars have real trouble encouraging the child onto other food as they are so used to the consistency and the same few tastes all the time.

I'm sure jars and pouches are fine when you're out, but just feed baby a bit of yours makes more sense to be. To be fair my dd is blw and hasn't had any purée.

[UriGeller]

Home made is better of course. Would you want to eat tinned food for every meal?

Mine always just ate the same as us, (watered down a bit) , I don't think there's any need for babies to eat processed food at all. If you're out, a banana is the best convenience food for a baby.

[Iggly]

Home made. Have you tasted the shit food out of a jar?

[bigoldbird]

I would say, whatever suits you best. Probably a mixture of both. Mine are very old now (well into their twenties, I am an expectant Granny), they had quite a lot of jars (much to MILs disgust), powdered stuff and home made stuff. If they are growing, healthy and happy it really doesn't matter. Both will eat absolutely anything as long as it is available in vast amounts, despite going through phases of being very fussy. So carry on doing whatever makes you and baby happy. It won't matter a jot in 25 years time. :-)

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Home made is of course best.

Nothing wrong with jars if used when on the go/in a hurry/Friday night when shattered.

As with anything living off processed or convenience food is not good. As part of a healthy varied diet - Yes

Every meal a jar - no and can lead to problems

[ThatBloodyWoman]

Home made.
Its a pita to do,but important I think.

[PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom]

As with any food, constantly eating pre-prepared stuff isn't the best. And it's very finely blended, so more people seem to have issues with transition to normal food.

I've BLW all three though, so I just lob a bit of what we're eating at the tray.

[ArchangelGallic]

Agree with Penguin.
Ditch the blender and make your life easier.
Food in jars has poor nutritional value, mostly starch as I recall.

[ArchangelGallic]

www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/10/baby-food-nutrition-weaning-breastmilk

Not the article I was thinking of but the gist is there.

[ArchangelGallic]

www.thealphaparent.com/2013/02/the-truth-about-baby-food-jars.html?m=1

Here it is. The blog can be a bit strident at times but thought provoking.

[gamerchick]

It always makes me chuckle the shuddering at jars and powders but formula from birth is absolutely fine and preferred.

Both are subject to the same rigid testing and both are ok for babies.

[batmanandrobin]

thank you for responses. i feel inclined to show my friend this thread as i don't know how else to make her realise that only jar feeding isn't healthy. we both have toddlers too (between 2-3yo) and mine is laid back with food.. part of the "food club" as we call it as she'll take anything. hers however.. hot dogs, pasta and smiley faces are the main part of her diet.

thank you again, :)

[ArchangelGallic]

They're not subject to the same testing though, go read the articles.

Batman, whatever works for you is great and you sound like you know what a balanced meal entails. As for your friend, she may not thank you for pointing out that her meals could be healthier. It gets to a point with some kids where you're grateful for whatever they choose to eat, no matter if they're not particularly nutritious. I'd like to say my toddler eats anything put in front of her but the reality is she loves sausage and beans and does a happy dance if chips are on the menu!

[RedRobin1]

Dd is 10 months old and has rarely (three times) eaten pouches. I found the jars tasted really rubbish so never gave her any.

She's always had homemade purees upto 8 months and then we just went down the blw route and gave her what we were having, even when out and about.

She never liked the taste of even Ella's kitchen pouches as they didn't taste real enough. Even the sweet potato doesn't taste like sweet potato from a pouch and as she was so used to homemade she just turned her head sideways everytime I tried a pouch when out and about so I gave up. I was personal happy that she preferred homemade

[WhyOWhyWouldYou]

archangel bear in mind that blog post has factual inaccuracies and misleading statement (truths told in such a way as to change their meaning).

I think a combination is good.

DS has had mostly home made, but did have the odd jar and now hes 2.5yrs does have the odd convenience food, although its been really hard to persuade him that he likes typical kid convenience foods (except pizza), like cheese burgers, hot dogs, sausages, chips, etc.

[callamia]

I ignored pouches and jars because I didn't want stuff full of apple and purées. I do sometimes buy toddler pasta/stew ready meals if we are away, useful to get heated up in a microwave and don't need keeping refrigerated - so good for travelling with.

Generally, I make food that suits all of us. I never found a need to blend anything; cutting up small or mashing some things, but blending feels just as artificial to me. It's been a learning experience for me to really think about what makes a balanced diet - making sure to include protein, iron and omega 3 across a few meals.

I can't imagine I'm getting it perfect, but I'm pretty happy with the start we've had. I'm just waiting for toddler food rebellion, and hoping we've laid down some decent enough stores.

[StarMeKitten]

I did mainly homemade food with DD1. Shes now nearly 4 and a good eater. I didnt really blend either, just mashed up and lots of finger foods. Very soon after i started weaning she was eating the same as us.
people i know who've just used jars have struggled to get babies to eat lumpier foods.

[ch1134]

Don't show this to your friend! That's not very nice! Just talk to her (I have a feeling you already knew the answer to your initial question too).

[Pico2]

It really doesn't matter that much. Give your friend a break and don't mention it.

[LegoCaltrops]

We fed DD mostly homemade. I used to make batches at the weekend & freeze it in a baby ice cube type thing, then transfer into an airtight box. Label with the name & date, use within a month. DD will eat most things & is generally very unfussy. Our niece was fed mostly on jars etc, & is quite fussy, although she is improving. Both were BFed for several months before moving on to formula.

Making the food at home was a bit of a hassle but I didn't do it solely because of the supposed health benefits - for us the deciding factor was that it's massively cheaper!

[elelfrance]

I've always done a mix, maybe 60% home-made 40% jars/pouches. Tend to stick with organic jars/pouches when possible, not because I'm hugely into organic (and the home-made stuff i make isn't organic), but just because it tastes better
My LO (13 months) at the minute will eat either without any problem, and I love that freedom

[MillionPramMiles]

Do the best you can (home made and a range of foods) but don't beat yourself up about it.
I wasted so much time agonising about what dd ate when she was a baby - Am I relying on Ellas pouches too much? Should I be doing baby led weaning? Am I giving her the same foods too much? Am I spoon feeding her pureed food too much?

At 2.5 dd is a great (and independant) eater, a healthy weight, eats a variety of food and one of the few at nursery who can be relied on to eat all her meals most of the time, be it fish and broccoli pie or lamb & veg curry. I didn't do blw, I did spoon feed pureed food and I did use Ellas sometimes. It made not a jot of difference.

[GobblersKnob]

You should do whatever it is that suits you and leave your friend to make her own parenting decisions as it is none of your business.

[smokeandfluff]

What pico and gobbers said. Its not really your business

[WhyOWhyWouldYou]

I think planning to show your friend is very cruel and not at all friend like.