Struggling to know what to do with feeding my DS

[Nip]

Please can someone assist me with many questions I have. Firstly I have to explain that I don?t have any one close with a young child so have muddled my way through the first 10 months of DS?s life! I?m trying really hard and take lots of info from MN however I have so many questions and worry when I read other peoples routines etc that I?m doing it wrong.

I seem to get into a routine which I think is right and then realise that it probably needs adapting because of his age (but I don?t know if this is right). This is his currently daily intake and would love to know your thoughts on this:

Wake Up ? 6.30-7.00
7.15am ? 8oz Milk
9.00am ? Weetabix & mashed banana (every morning the same thing)
12.00 ? ham sandwich or cheese sandwich or houmous pitta bread with some grapes or sultanas and a fruit pot
2.00pm ? 8oz Milk
4.00pm ? cooked meal (ie cheesy veg, chicken w/sweet pot, tuna & sweetcorn pasta) and a yoghurt
5.30-6.00pm ? toast or some more grapes or sultanas
7.00pm ? 8oz Milk
8.00pm ? Bed

Is he getting enough of a mix of food?

Seems OK to me. Maybe a bit more green veg if anything?

You are bang on with changing your routine as they grow. I think the first year sees more changes than at any other time.

I dont know how to get more into his diet - I make his cooked meals in one go and freeze them for the following week - so everything is kind of mushed together - should i not do this? I take recipes from A.Karmels meal planner and he loves them - but its just a matter of making ones that i can freeze.

I know everyone says that you shouldnt just cook for your DS and he should have what we eat. But to be honest though this is totally impractical - first of all i dont pick him up until 4.30 from nursery - so he's already had 'tea' and my DH and i dont eat the best of food. (and i'm an awful cook although cooking DS's food is imporving my skills!)

I feel totally out of my depth with the feeding thing and just try to do my best.

Hi Nip. When my ds was that age, I decided to try to get him to eat as many different things as possible, but it's really hard to think of things!!
One thing I would say is that the example that you give in your post is mostly wheat based, but I appreciate that you probably haven't listed every single thing that he eats. Do you give him any other grains? My ds eats Oatibix instead of Weetabix and he also has rice (and rice cakes and rice noodles), polenta, ready brek and beans/lentils to vary it as well as potato and sweet potato and a wide range of fruit/veg and his milk/yog/cheese stuff. I have millet and barley in the cupboard too but haven't got round to experimenting with it yet!! As a rule of thumb, I try not to feed him the same of grain more than once a day. I am sooo lucky though as he will eat pretty much anything I give him. HTH

really feel for you Nip, but you are doing great! Could you steam a bit of broccoli or some peas or something to go with the mush at tea time? He could eat those with his fingers.
In an ideal world we would all eat the same stuff but my DS is 5 and we still don't - only at the weekends - because of DH's working hours.

FWIW, I think most parenting is just muddling along trying to do our best

mawbroon = Grains - now this is where i get stuck - i have no idea what foods come under grains?
Polenta - never heard of it
Lentils - never cook/eaten them myself wouldnt know where to begin
Millet & Barley - never heard of it

Tommy = He will eat peas off his table but for some reason doesnt like broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, cucumber on its own - he'll eat it with other things. He eats his sandwiches with his hands, picks up the sultanas & grapes.

Unfortunately i've been bought up on the bog standard foods, hence why i know little about 'grains' or 'healthy eating' let alone for my DS!
I just want to make sure he's having a good mixed diet i guess.

polenta is cornmeal. it's easy peasy, you can get it ready made from tesco. you just slice it up and cook it anyway you like, boil, fry, microwave, grill, bake. takes about 3 minutes ish. and you can add on to it what ever you like. dd's current favourite is polenta slices fried in a little olive oil, topped with a slice of courgette and mozzerella or cheddar melted on top. the idea is to use it where you would use potato, but you can also use it instead of bread.

you can also buy it not ready made, and you can then mix into it cheese or other things to give it flavour.

Hi Nip

When my DTS were that age, I gave them different meals to DH and I because it was easier as they went to nursery 3 days a week.

On the days they were not at nursery, I gave them food that I had already cooked and freezed so they always had homemade food.

They would have porridge or Weetbix for breakfast.
Lunch and dinner was:
chicken casserole (cooked with lots of veg like carrots, peas, beans) served with mash potato
lamb stew (again with lots of veg) served with mash potato
Chicken curry
Red lentil dahl served with mash potato
Red lentil stew
Plaice in cheese sauce.
Tinned sardines with baked beans, mash potato and grated cheese
Baked salmon

Dessert was rice pudding, semolina or fruit cocktail.

I very rarely gave them rice or pasta because for some reason they would not eat them at home, even though they ate them at nursery! Also, they would not eat bread so sandwiches were a no, no.

Now that they are nearly 3yo, they eat what we have now but I still cook and freeze food for them because atm, I want to lose 7lb. For example, last night, I made chicken cacciatore and froze 5 batches for them.

Would you consider trying one new thing a week? That way you are introducing new foods but (hopefully) not getting too stressed about it.
For example, one week you could buy lentils at the supermarket (they are cheap too!) and then you could make lentil soup to start with. If you don't make it too salty then your ds could have some of that too. I put bits of bread and cheese into the soup and ds eats it with his hands. Then, if he seems to like the taste of lentils, you could add lentils if you are making any kind of stew/casserole type thing.
Then you could have a look at the beans the next time. If you look past the baked beans, there are loads of other types available tinned. You could add them to eg cheesy pasta to bulk it up a bit, give them as a snack, especially as your ds can pick things up to feed himself (my ds would eat beans till they came out of his ears if I gave him a chance!) You could also make them into bean paste or dip. I soak and cook my own beans but the tinned ones are much easier if you are just trying to get a feel for things.
Do you see what I'm saying? Just do a little at time and don't be scared to try new things!
here's a little bit about some different grains

Thank you very much for your tips & recipes - i'll give them a go. In actual fact he has been having butternut squash risotto and loved it - so i guess thats a good grain.

I'll try and be a bit more adventurous - i dont want him ending up like me!

Nip, there's a good book called Finger Foods for Babies and Toddlers by Jennie Maizels which may give you some inspiration!

Nip, making DS more healthy and different meals gave me and DH the insentive to start eating a bit more healthily.

I have found that once we got into it, we were all eating the same things.

You sound like you and your baby know what you're doing to me, my kids had organised me into 3 meals a day by that age too.
If you're not a confident cook, try a Nigel Slater recipe book, he talks lots of sense and doesn't use too many ingredients per dish. This would probably suit you.

Thanks Buckets - i think i may get that book - the more info the better!