To think that weaning with baby food from jars is fine?

[joannita]

It's specially developed for babies right? So how come everyone is dead against it? I don't think 50p a jar is that expensive either. Baby led weaning ain't going to work for my twins. They choke alarmingly as soon as they bite a piece off anything. Pureeing stuff is a pain. So I'm doing jars.

[joannita]

Yes I asked and I knew I would get a variety of replies and that people on mn would tell it to me straight whereas friends don't want to offend. So I'm not offended by posts from people who disagree with me. I've also learnt some stuff I didn't know. I have to log off now. Following this thread has been quite addictive but I'm being antisocial towards babies and mil which is kind of counter-productive! Thank you for your opinions!

[StealthOfficialCrispTester]

I'm not being smug but I genuinely don't understand why people choose to give their babies no fresh food (unless they're astronauts). My DCs have a dreadful diet but do have regular fresh food. It seems to be the people who wean on jars that end up giving their children organic only fresh everything when they're a bit older though, IMO.

[StealthOfficialCrispTester]

Phylis, do you really think your baby is going to get ill from eatng food prepared in your own kitchen, by you or your OH?

[StealthOfficialCrispTester]

Genuine question - does the five a day thing not apply to bbies? It's generally accepted that a good diet contains lots if fresh fruit and vegetables, and is low on processed food. Yet for babies, the opposite seems to e accepted.

[50shadesofbrown]

My Dsis only fed her DD jars, she is now 2 & really fussy, only eats processed crap, cheese, & occasional bit of fruit. She fell below her growth line & is like a little bird. I gave my DD fruit puree from jars until the 'fork mash' stage, then started making it myself, now she eats everything we give her & has much more varied diet than her cousin. It's mostly a cost issue for me as my DD eats lots so jars would cost us a fortune. I am lucky though as we have a larder fridge & freezer, I couldn't do tiny batches every day.

[FacebookWanker]

I didn't use jars because they reminded me of school dinners. DD never really took to the texture of purée and didn't have the coordination for BLW in the beginning so it was a bit of a battle to get her to eat anything until she was around 9 months old...

[smokeybacon]

When my twins were weaned, their brothers were 2 and 6. They were all given the same food. It was easy.

Purée would have been a complete faff for me as would have been having to spoon feed two babies each and every meal time.

But what worked for us, ain't everyone's bag. Do what keeps you sane.

[Fakebook]

Phylis, that is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read on here! You won't harm your baby by feeding them food made in your kitchen. I assume you wash all your fruit and vegetables and wash all your kitchen work tops and utensils everyday with detergent or anti bac sprays? If you don't, then you have something to worry about.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

I wouldn't use jars personally. I think they r vile and can't be good for you even the nutrients have to be added back in. But that's me. I'm very careful about what I feed my children I prefer to know what they r eating. After all when they are in uni leaving off pizza and beer they are going to need all the help they can get to stay healthy. Fresh home cooked healthy food is the best gift you can give them.

But it's up to the parent. My views r just that. My views and its not Up to me to tell anyone how to feed their children. Do what u see fit op :)

[JenaiMorris]

The ingredients in Baby Organix, Hipp and Cow & Gate didn't seem at all bad back in 2001. I assume they've not got any worse. Some of them didn't taste that awful either.

Still a bit miserable to never eat anything fresh though so I wouldn't only give jars. It doesn't take long to scramble an egg and butter a little bread, or mash a banana.

[Chandon]

I tasted some baby jars and thought they tasted vile, the fruit ones tasted o.k. Though.

So I used fruit jars but did the savoury ones myself.

Problem was, the refused the jars whenever I tried them (on trips) after having fed them home made stuff...rod for my own back!

Jars are fine, but home made food is just nicer, same as with adult fod really.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

My sister used to spend one morning a week, boiling, mashing and pureeing things and would then freeze them all in ice cube trays.

Ready made baby food, with little effort.

Mine just got a bowl of what we were eating plonked in front of them [lazy]

My children are far less fussy than hers. Hers looked appalled when I tried to feed them a plum. (anecdotal, I know but she has four kids and they're all fussy eaters)

[DoYonisHangLow]

I think do whatever you want OP, it's hardly a crime and no one will tell the difference between your baby and one raised on organically grown, hand picked, boiled with spring water purées.

Having said that, I am a bit bemused as to simply why you thinknots so much effort to steam a head of broccoli and purée it with a stick bender. I know you're busy with twins and feel you have no time. But genuinely, in the time it's taken you to write the posts on here, notwithstanding reading the replies, you could have made up a whole batch of stuff. Honestly.

I may be talking out of my bottom here but am I right in imagining that if MIL does a lot of cooking that you're not that confident in the kitchen? In which case I can see how it must seem like a mammoth task. But I'd suggest you tried it, just a couple of times, if it takes too long, fine, you've tried. But it'd take you 30 seconds to peel a carrot, another 30 seconds to chop it, pop it in a pan to steam with a splash of boiling water and unsalted butter if you like, leave it on the hob while you play/ feed the babies their breakfast/ have a coffee or whatever, then whizz it for 10 seconds at the end. Done. Or peel and chop and apple, tiny splash of water, into a bowl with a lid on, microwave for 1 min, mash. This will take less time than your baby porridge!

As I said, do whatever you find best, I blw only because I found if easier for me, if i'd found purées easier you can bet I'd have done them as I like whatever requires the least effort on my part ;) The only thing I would suggest though is to drop the other baby stuff like a hot potato eg the baby porridge... So full of sugar! Get the plain porridge oat sachets, one sachet will be a great amount between 2 babies. otherwise I really do think you're setting yourself up for a bit of a problem in the future as they'll be so used to sugary tastes.

[DoYonisHangLow]

Gosh I had a lot to say on that matter

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

I think the main worry is that jars of the same thing all taste the same. Babies don't get used to natural variation in color and texture. But that can be avoided by using fresh stuff along side. Steamed veg make great finger foods and everyone cooks veg for their tea.

[AitchTwoOhOneTwo]

Just to clarify re the term BLW, quite a few people have said it's just finger food or normal food or whatever. It isn't, really... at least it's more like giving them only finger food. Obv a spot of mash here and there isn't the biggest deal, but BLW is expressly about letting the babies self-feed from six months and the parents keeping their noses out for the most part.
I mean, do it or don't do it, whatever makes you happy, mix whatever you like, but there's no point dissing the terminology if you're simultaneously demonstrating that you don't understand it.

[SirBoobAlot]

Phylis, are you going to move your DC onto ready meals when they're too old for jars? And it was only last year one brand was recalled, and the year before another... One of them had glass in it.

My kitchen might not be pristine at all times, but I can be sure as hell that the worst 'extra' DS's food has ever had in it is probably the odd hair that has fallen off one of our heads when preparing.

Jars taste gross, and they stain bowls / spoons. If they have that affect on plastic, think about what they do to insides. Bleugh. Like I said, I used them on and off, but I won't next time.

[JenaiMorris]

Homemade carrot soup, tomato based sauces and anything with turmeric stains plastic. It's not really an indication of something being nasty.

I don't think they're brilliant all day, every day but they can be useful.

[PoppyAmex]

DH and I feel that doing BLW was one of the best parenting decisions we made so far, but horses for courses.

Tell you what pisses me off; these jars are already full of water (main ingredient in most cases), fall below the appropriate nutritional values and are expensive and on top of that those fuckers from Cow & Gate and Heinz still feel the need to add bulking agents to increase their profit margin. So essentially the babies are eating traces of real food. Fuckers!

[StealthOfficialCrispTester]

No one has answered my question about 5 a day, would really like to know whether it applies to babies in the same way. People do differnt things but no one else seems bothered that babes fed only jars never get fresh food.

[Jan49]

I used lots of jars with my ds but mainly for the main meal of the day alongside fresh foods. As we're vegetarian we gave him the vegetarian jars only.

[JenaiMorris]

Dunno, Stealth. I imagine you'd want to be careful of filling them up on vegetables, leaving them too full for milk and energy rich foods.

[Eskino]

Cat food comes in handy pouches, much easier to prepare, though its more expensive than jars of baby food.

[DoYonisHangLow]

Stealth as I understand it, (though take with a pinch of salt as it's repeated from my not great in other aspects HV) no. They need protein, fat etc and its only web they cut way down on their milk to a couple of bottles/ large daytime bfs a day that they start needing a varied mix of fruit and veg, one portion being their palm size.