need a bit of advice oh wise ones

[squirmyworm]

ok - we're into week two of solids (great fun so far) but I have got stuck on a few things

1. when I put our ice cubes of food into the microwave to defrost them do they need to heat through or just warm?

2. when cup feeding, how do you go about it? we've had a few goes with the top of a bottle but it's mega messy

3. how fussy are you about organic. I've done mostly organic stuff but haven't gone hyper cautious and he has ingested some non organic food. I now think this may have been a bad idea -little tiny liver and immunce system etc - thoughts?

as ever - all advice v welcome

God sorry I just don't see the only organis arguement (this will blow up I suppose) but I think it is probably a bad thing to stop children having what they would get outside of the home as they got older - they need to build a resistance or at least a tolerance to it (chemicals, undesirable things that you ordinarily would prefer them not tohave/suger etc...) and stopping them having lots of things is IMO setting yourself up for a kid who crams junk down its neck as soon as your back is turned!!

Theer and I'm pregnant so you can't be mean to me!!

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Totally agree with you Twinkie. We get organic vegetables delivered and they do taste better. But that's as far as I go.

Squirmymum - Please don't get so het up about non-organic foods. Not all non-organic stuff is bad and you'll never avoid it complete..... so just relax. And the problems with childrens immune system these days is a LACK of exposure. They never get a chance to develop resistance and then are suddenly out in the real world. So carry on the way you're going.
As for the heating frozen foods.... I would imagine you have to heat it well then let it cool down as you would anything else you had to defrost and reheat.

Don't know what you mean about cup feeding. Why are you trying to give your baby food from a cup?? Or have I got the wrong end of the stick??

We've never bought organic, far too expensive

DSs seem fine (livers still intact ) and DD is being 'nonorganically' weaned too.

What kind of cup are you using? Is it one with a lid and spout? Sorry, should read the post better! Try a cup with a spout ie tommee tippee one, it directs the liquid a bit better, but yes it is messy. I wouldn't try cup with a valve ie anywayup cup etc yet IME they are hard to suck on until they get a bit older.

Microwaves - I always did mine hot and let it cool down again if it was something I'd cooked previously, like with the instructions for ready meals. If it was something raw like fruit though, I'd just defrost it.

Hope your having fun and HTH a bit!

I'm the same as Twinkie and M2T.

We tend to have a "mix-match" of organic/non-organic stuff - fruit/veg tend to be organic and some meat - but I'm not obsessive about it and I have a probably buying non-organic.

As they get older and eat outside the house, you can guarantee that most things they eat will not be organic - particularly if they eat at nursery or school.

With regards to their immune systems, I think it's down to our national obsession of "anti-bacterial"/bleach and the "must live in a sterile environment". Nothing wrong with a few germs and rolling around in the mud

"and I have a probably buying non-organic....."

errrr...what I MEANT to say was..

"and I have NO problem buying non-organic"

Also just to add - reason I tend to buy organic fruit/veg is down to them tasting better - not because I think they're better for us!

Agree with the other advice re organic/non organic and warming.

If you mean that you are trying to give water from a cup, then I think I understand your comment about it being a mess. I.e you can't see how much water is pouring in etc and you need to really tip the cup up to get the water out. A friend of min has found an ingenious water cup that is a slant. this means you can see how much water you are pouring and the cup doesn't need to be tipped up. Unfortunatley though I have no idea where she got if from, I will have a scout around and see if I can find a link

If thats not what you meant by 2, ignore my babble

god you are all fab

thanks
yeah I'm being a dork about organic aren't I? I was going from exactly where some of you are coming from about building up tolerances and getting used this big bad old world and then I met someone who seemed to think that with a little baby organic was the only way and I thought 'eek'. thanks for reassurance. His immune system is being gloriously trained in many other ways (2 cats, lots of rolling around the carpet and a 'what is dusting' approach to house cleaning)
on the cup thing - it's just another way of getting milk into the little chap. WON'T take a bottle and will need to have some milk when I'm not around so I have tried beaker (just chews the spout) and now a little bottle cap since it's nice and small and shallow

by the way - big congrats twinkie! so pleased for you

Squirmy, can I just say that it's entirely up to you (obviously) but I was fussy with ds and organic food when he was tiny and I will be about dd too. I'm not saying I'd worry about the odd bit of non organic either but I do think organic food is better for you and tastes nicer. Yes, I know they'll get given non organic outside the house at some point but for a while you'll presumably be preparing most of his meals I presume so you might as well do the best you can. Don't want to argue with anyone, all IMO of course. On the milk thing, could you add some to other foods?

IMO organic is v overpriced and I thought that for it to be any good EVERYTHING had to be organic inc cheese, meat, etc etc

There are lots of good drinking cups. I got one from Sains which has a softer teat and should be fine for the age of baby you have.

I agree with the others...heat meat and defrost sweet! Oh a little poem for you to remember it as well!!!!!!!!!!

thanks www - all views welcome - my sister was totally organic with her little girl and I always thought I would be - it was only when I'd pureed a load of stuff and frozen it and though -'oh god was it organic or not' that I realised I hadn't given it much thought since ds was born

wow collision - a poet to boot!

Squirmy how old is your little chap - DD stopped drinking milk completely at 7 months and I just gave her yoghurt instead, she also ate lots of cheesy stuff - health visitor said it was not a problem.

You could try and avent soft spout cup with the valve taken out??

still a wee bit young I think twinkie - coming up for 5 months. will try the spouty cup again. I'm not even sure how much milk he should really be drinking in the first couple of months of solids - I think I read somewhere that it was 40 oz a day - does that sound right? having been breast only I@ve not a clue what he's having at the mo

This is wise advice indeed about the organic stuff. Mu ds2 is a month older that your baby I think Squirmy and I did the organic quandry but he's not going to live in a bubble and non organic never did me any harm, however I do use organic beef and chicken in minute amounts.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the non bottle feeding as mine won't suck from one either.

Squirmyworm, why make a hard and fast decision about organic / non-organic? I've generally gone for the option to use organic if I can afford it and it's available and to go non-organic when I can't. I'm not an organic purist by any means, but I can't quite get my head around why people think giving non-organic food will 'build up resistances'. If anything it will be the other way around. Resistances are to natural things not to things like pesticides which is what non-organic has that organic doesn't. All the natural bugs and viral things are organic. Non-organic food is more 'sanitised' than organic. Organic veg isn't a lot more expensive and is fairly cheap to get hold of. So is organic formula, especially the Hipp one which I think is even cheaper than ordinary formula. And yoghurts etc. are not too dear. Loads of other things are stupidly more expensive and not worth bothering with. For me, I guess I'm most fussy about dairy and meat products as those are the ones most messed about with in the non-organic world. But I don't avoid them entirely, just when I can.

I've really rambled. Sorry!

Hiya SM. Im on week 3 of weaning.Not done the organic route as not that fussed. My other dd is fit and well and was dragged up on jars and packets.

Have spent day freezing various veg mixes to add to jars this time. Must admit that the jars are organic.

Having to keep off dairy products as suspected intolerance and am only on two meals a day of a couple of table spoons, not sure if i should be upping that amount or not. He certainly wolfs it down ,but that may be cos he loves my cooking .