The copyverse

The only five toys your baby will ever need

2014-08-05T23:50:00.001+03:00

Hey new moms and dads! Before you hit the baby aisle in your nearest toy store, read this.

As a mom of three kids, I know how mesmerizing it can be to see the shelves stocked full with all the brightly colored plastic toys. The blinky lights, the music, the giggle sounds—all sorts of sensory beacons just tempting you to BUY NOW!

But there's no need to get your baby something like this:

I'm only smiling because I want to GTFO of here!

All you need are a few things found in every household. Here are my top five baby toys:

1) Lids
Brightly colored plastic ones, or metal lids that make popping noises when you press them. Babies love to suck on them, or push and bat them around when they're more mobile. Older babies and toddlers will love clanking them around and making lots of loud noises, or watching them roll across the floor when they throw them.

Image credit: http://www.inhabitots.com/5-green-toys-you-can-make-yourself-out-of-ordinary-household-items/jar-lids-make-fun-toys/

2) A ball of yarn
Obviously you don't want your baby to get entangled, but under close supervision, your baby will be happy as a kitten unraveling that ball of yarn you were going to use to crochet a hat.

Bear, 7 months

3) Roll of toilet paper
Similar to the ball of yarn, a roll of toilet paper is super-fun to unravel, with the added bonus of being rip- and shreddable. This toy is extra fun when mom and dad are busy panic cleaning for some soon-to-arrive guests.

Bear, 10 months

4) Basket of socks
You'll finally have something to do with all those unmatched socks in your home. Just keep them around in baskets or bags and baby will spill them everywhere. MUCH MESS, SO FUN! And there's ever the slimmest chance they'll even find a match!

Bear, 10 months

5) Kitchen drawers
These are full of awesome. Where else can you find an all-in-one climbing gym, shape sorter, and stacking cups sets? The pictures explain best.

Bear, 10 months, stacking and sorting—right

Best way to prepare carrots for baby-led weaning (BLW)

2014-07-25T19:33:00.000+03:00

Here's how you can make soft, easy-for-baby-to-manage carrot sticks every time. This method uses a freezer, so you'll want to prepare them at least a day before. I've tried steaming carrots without the freezing step, but I personally found them to be either too crisp or too mushy. The freezing step really does the trick for making carrots so easy to chew and mash, and still maintain their shape. And the best part is, you can prepare large batches, then just take out exactly the amount you need when you need them and thaw.

Here goes:

Wash and peel your carrots. You know what the best veggie peeler is? I kid you not – a cheese slicer. Just run the slicer down the side of your carrots and they're peeled in a flash!
Cut carrots into long, thin sticks like so:
Steam carrots in a stovetop basket steamer for about ten minutes with the lid on, until just tender. I no longer own a microwave because our induction stove is just that fast, but I imagine this is about 3-4 minutes if you're steaming in the microwave.
Place your steamed carrots on a tray lined with parchment paper in a single layer. Allow to cool, then place the tray in the freezer for a few hours. If you skip this step, you'll get a massive wad of frozen carrot sticks all stuck together, so don't skip this!
Once the sticks have been in the freezer for a few hours, you can transfer them into zipper bags or freezer containers.
When they've frozen through, just take out a few sticks whenever you need them. I thaw mine super-fast by placing them in a strainer and running them under some warm water. Or you can also thaw them in the fridge for several hours, or in the microwave on low.

There you have it – super easy, perfect texture, and potentially less waste when you just take a few sticks as needed. Hope your baby loves them as much as mine did! In this picture he's 11 months, but I started offering him carrots prepared like this at six months.

Only a few nibbles left by the time I could snap the pic!

Baby-led weaning with allergies: wheat-, milk-, and egg-free pancakes!

2014-02-26T14:21:00.002+02:00

Baby Bear (my youngest child) has allergies to eggs, milk, and wheat.

Anyone who's been in my shoes will understand what a big PITA it is to manage these allergies. And for those that don't have any idea what this entails – egg, wheat, and milk (alone or in combination) are in practically all prepared foods. They can pop up in the strangest of places. Take beef bouillon cubes – I found wheat in those!

Managing these allergies means 30 minutes of added time for shopping so I can read the label on every package (in a foreign language in my own case). It also means buying expensive wheat-free breads, cereals and pasta (gluten-free ) to give baby to eat in addition to fresh fruits and vege. Wheat-free recipes often require expensive replacement flours. And egg-free recipes? It's best to find something made for vegans than to replace the eggs in regular recipes.

One thing I've really missed giving Bear are pancakes – plain or loaded with veggies or berries. So I set out to make some pancakes that were wheat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. You'll notice these aren't really pancakes (shh...they're actually hash browns). But they are flat and fried in a pan, and are full of vitamins and minerals for a baby with allergies.

OK, onwards, to the recipe!

Wheat-, milk-, and egg-free vegetable pancakes

Makes about four small pancakes

Ingredients:

Large potato*

Small carrot

Small zucchini/courgette

Fine sea salt or a seasoning like Herbamare (optional)

Dairy-free margarine

*A note on potato variety: choose a variety that's good for chipping/fries, that's fairly firm with some floury texture. I used a variety called "Fontane."

Method:

First, coarsely grate the carrot and zucchini so that you have about 2 tbsp of each.

Potato, carrot, and zucchini ready to fry.

Place in a small mixing bowl.
Then coarsely grate the potato (do this last so it doesn't turn brown too quickly). You should have about 2 cups of potato. DO NOT DRAIN! You want the potato starch in the juices to coat everything as you mix.
Put the potato in the mixing bowl with the carrot and zucchini. Toss everything together with your fingers.

(Optional) Add a scant pinch of sea salt or Herbamare. Toss again with your fingers.
Heat a non-stick pan on medium high heat and
add a small knife-tip of the margarine.
Pick up a small amount of the "batter" with your

Potato mix patted into shape.

fingertips (without picking up too much of the liquid from the bottom of the bowl). Allow the juices to drip for few seconds over the mixing bowl, then place your handful of mix in the hot pan.
Use a spatula to press and shape the small mound of mix into a pancake shape.
Place a glass lid over the frying pan and allow to fry and steam under the lid for about 2 minutes, or until the edges of your "cake" look translucent
Take a few test swipes beneath your pancake with the spatula to make sure it isn't sticking, then flip it. It should be browned on the fried side.

"Pancake" after flipping.
Cover again and allow to fry/steam for about 2 more
minutes, or until the other side has some browning.
Add a small knife-tip of margarine to the pan and repeat until the mix is gone.
Allow to cool and either serve to baby whole or cut up into small pieces.

These pancakes are soft and gooey on the inside, slightly crisp on the outside and perfect for 10-month-old Bear to eat with just four little teeth.

Bear likes to rip his pancakes apart. Good times!

You could probably replace the carrot and zucchini with finely chopped spinach as well (just drain it if it's from frozen), but the key is to keep a large proportion of potato so the starch will help keep it all together.

Hope you enjoyed the recipe and be sure to check out my other baby-led weaning recipes!

Baby-led weaning: How to prepare blueberries

2014-02-07T09:29:00.003+02:00

My baby-led weaning posts are, by far, my most viewed posts. I'm so glad to know that I've helped other parents by blogging about our adventures!

Last year in April (2013) I had my third child, and although I had already been through the whole BLW adventure once, I've learned a few more tricks this time around. So today, I'm going to talk you through one of my new discoveries: how to prepare blueberries that are super easy for babies to chew, even without teeth.

I started giving these to "Bear" at around 8 months, but I think they're appropriate earlier so long as baby has the whole pincer grasp-thing down.

My third kiddo, Bear, eating blueberries like a boss.

1) Buy fresh bush-grown blueberries. You want nice plump ones that baby can easily pinch. See the picture above for an example. There's one on Bear's tray by the hippo.

2) Place the blueberries right into the freezer. No need to rinse now (you'll do this later when thawing). When you put them in dry, they should freeze separately and won't clump together.

3) Once the blueberries have frozen through (about a day or so), take a desired amount of berries out and place them in a strainer. I usually do about a handful (my-sized handful, not baby's) for Bear, now 9 months.

4) Rinse under very warm water for about 2 minutes, or until the berry is mostly thawed through and nice and mushy. I can't resist testing a few myself!

5) Serve to baby. I give Bear a few at a time so they don't all end up on the floor – because little bouncy balls!

Preparing them this way helps keeps the berries intact, but they're also super mushy and easy for baby to squish. Bear mashes the berries partly with his fingers as he pinches them, then puts the semi-squished berry in his mouth. Don't be alarmed if the output in baby's diapers the following day is blackish/purplish/greenish, or even if there are undigested pieces of blueberries. That's entirely normal with baby-led weaning.

Hope this helps! Be sure to check out my other posts on baby-led weaning for more helpful tips and stories.

How to leave a toy store without tantrums

2010-11-22T18:38:00.002+02:00

We recently spent three weeks visiting my parents in the United States, thus the long break between posts. My kids were wowed over by the copious amounts of stuff on the shelves inside all the American stores. I must admit, I feel both happy and overwhelmed by the rainbow of choices American consumers have before them while shopping. The store aisles are wide and accessible. The packages, colorful and inviting. I find myself wanting to touch everything, so I can only imagine my kids must feel this same desire times eleventy-billion!

This is not to say that we don't have supermarkets in Finland—we do. But they aren't as big, they aren't quite as accessible and they don't have the myriads of choices that American stores offer. I've grown accustomed to the Finnish variety of supermarket in my seven years here. And my kids have known little else except for the few times we've been to the States.

It took her five years to do so, but while we were there my daughter discovered the trap of consumerism: "I want that!"—that burning desire for every cool thing that American stores have to offer. From Dora's playhouse, to dinosaur slippers, to Lalaloopsy (whatever the heck that is), my daughter wanted everything. And there were tears and tantrums: things I had never witnessed from my daughter before when leaving a store.

This had to stop, like, yesterday, and so from the realms of distant memory, I remembered a tip I had once read on a parenting blog, the name of which I have long forgotten. The advice that sagely parent gave was to avoid the tantrum-inducing "No," but to instead say, "Why don't you add that to your wish list."

"My wish list?" my daughter asked, blinking. "What's that?"

"It's a list we either keep in our head or on paper of all the things we might like to have some day. We don't know if we'll ever get everything on our wish list, but if we tell it or show it to people, maybe they'll grant us one of our wishes on our birthday or at Christmas, or on some other special day."

Inspired, my daughter bubbled at all the things she was going to add to her own wishlist. And within an hour of telling her about this magical wish list, my daughter went from "I want this!" to "Hey mom, do you think I could add this to my wish list?"

I have to say, brilliant advice! It gave me a way I could validate my daughter's feelings, took the pressure off of me about saying no, and still allowed her the hope that she might someday get that thing.

And the best part is, she has forgotten most of the things she would add to her physical wish list, while reserving the most memorable things as her most-desired options.

What about you? What problems have you faced while shopping with your kids and how have you left the store without a tantrum?

A great science book for young children

2010-10-12T23:23:00.011+03:00

My five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son are enchanted by the songs and videos produced by John Boswell, the musician responsible for Symphony of Science. John's music features Auto-Tuned clips of modern scientists, including Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins and Jane Goodall.

Because of these songs and videos, my daughter has been asking challenging questions: "Mommy, what's a cell? What do molecules do? What color is our brain? How are stars made?" I must admit, I don't always know how to answer these challenging questions. So we took a trip to our local library, and found a really great book for early interest in science. I highly recommend The Usborne Internet-Linked First Encyclopedia of Science. It answered all of my daughter's questions and helped us discover more fascinating things about our world and universe. The 64-page book covers topics such as (but not limited to):

Our Universe
Weather
Cells
What happens to food?
Atoms and molecules
Gravity
Light and color
Computers

The topics are very short: about one or two pages in large print. The text is very straightforward and simple, with just the right balance of technical and layperson's terms for young children. And the illustrations and pictures are not only eye-catching, but are genuinely informative and support the accompanying text. There are also several home experiments and activities you can do with your kids, some of them easy enough to do with a very young child (for example, I believe one of the activities was about making a rainbow). Links are included throughout the book for further online reference. Here you can see an example of some of the extra activities they have online for the "Light and color" pages.

I found the book to be a perfect match for my five-year-old's thirst for scientific knowledge, while taking into account her short attention span. I also found reading the book a great way to connect—with her sitting in my lap, both of us enjoying science together.

As we liked this book so much, I'd love to get some more recommendations. What do you think are great science resources for small children?

10 easy potty training tips

2010-09-28T00:20:00.006+03:00

On the potty, reading about Linux

Ready to ditch the diapers? Let's get into the bowels of parenting—that's right, we're potty-talkin' now! Here are 10 easy, no-pressure tips to help you and your child get through potty taining.

1. Try a few different types of potties

Let your child try out a couple different types of potties to see what makes her feel most comfortable. Some kids like to sit on a simple plastic pot, while others like a fancy throne of their own. Some even like to use the big potty just like their parents or siblings, so a folding potty seat is also great to have on hand (and you can also take a folding seat on the road with you).

2. Set the potties out in rooms your child frequents

Think outside the bathroom! Putting potties out in familiar places allows your kid to get comfortable seeing the potty. When you first put them out, you don't even need to encourage your kid to sit on them (unless he wants to, of course). It's enough that the potties are there in sight for several days to weeks so they become part of your child's everyday life. And when he is ready, allow him to sit on the potty in whatever rooms you've kept them in. Until he's comfortable sitting on the potty, don't even worry about moving the potty into the bathroom.

3. Let your kid run naked

Let's face it, most kids love running around without clothes. Take advantage of this love for streaking while you're potty training—let your kid run naked whenever you spend time inside. That way it's quick and easy to guide or carry them to the nearest potty when they announce (usually too late) that they have to pee. I also found that this was a great way to learn approximately when and how often my daughter needed to use the potty, thus, I was able to predict when I might encourage her to sit down and try.

Fair warning: I think it goes without saying that a naked kid is bound to make some messes. Cleanup is quick if you keep a pile of old blankets or towels handy, take your rugs away (for hardwood floors), or you can even consider using absorbent floor pads for housebreaking puppies.

4. Hang out with your child when she's sitting on the potty

Use potty time to connect with your little one—play a game, talk together, read a story, or sing songs—find something that is your special potty-time activity (or activities). This extra one-on-one time with your child will make her want to stay on the potty long enough to make something happen, and will also help you stay calm and patient.

5. Keep potty time short initially, then gradually increase

Most small children have a hard time sitting in one place for more than a few moments (duh). When you begin potty training, set a timer for two minutes while your kid sits on the potty. Do this two or three times per day initially. In these early days there's no need to even mention using the potty—getting comfortable and sitting on the potty is the only important consideration in these early stages. After the timer beeps, say, "Time's up now, but we'll do this again later." As your kid becomes more comfortable with the potty, you can gradually increase the time and frequency of visits.

6. Change your typical diaper changing routine

Instead of laying your child down on the changing mat, change him standing up. If your kid's left a diaper bomb, dump the waste into the toilet and say, "Poop goes in the potty," then let him flush it down. Changing your diaper routine let's your child know that things are going to be different now and will hopefully pave the way for a gentle transition from diapers to potty.

7. Allow your child to make some potty decisions for themselves

The biggest mistake I made potty training my daughter—nagging! I didn't mean to get on her case, but I found myself worrying she'd pee on the floor and her baby brother would come dragging himself through the puddle. These kind of worries led to me asking, sometimes several times per hour, "Do you feel like you have to pee? Let's use the potty now." How annoying, right? Finally, she started stomping her feet and throwing tantrums, "I don't want to go potty!" Lesson learned—back off, mom!

Another mistake I made was to hover around my daughter too closely while she was trying to use the potty. Kids are notorious for going somewhere to hide while doing their business in their diapers. Some kids may continue to want this privacy while potty training. Obviously you don't want your child swimming in the toilet while your back is turned, but if your child requests privacy, you can opt to partially close the door if she's in the bathroom, or simply step aside and pretend to read a book while she goes. Just be nearby and ready to help if she needs it.

Some kids really like to help out, so take advantage of that if your child asks to help you clean up after they're finished on the potty. If you use a pot, help him dump his waste into the toilet and say let him say goodbye to it before he flushes it away. Give him toilet paper and allow him to wipe before or after you wipe him clean. You might say something like, "You can wipe first and then I'll check to see if your bottom is all clean."

8. Don't overdo it on the praise

Too much praise may cause kids to feel pressure to perform to parental expectations. When your child sits on the potty as you instructed, try to focus on the experience you had together. You might say something like, "That was a fun game we played together," or "You sat on the potty for a long time." If they actually use the potty, you can simply say, "Hey, look, you did it!" but try to avoid using a generic value statement like, "Good job." The idea is to praise your child for the specific accomplishmen t. The worry about excessive praise is that while you have the best intentions, your child may begin to work only towards the praise and rewards than actually the learning itself.

A note about sticker charts and other rewards: I've tried sticker charts for behavior tracking or modification and I must admit, I have found this to be a feeble band-aid fix with short-term benefits. After the stickers go away, the entire lesson that was supposedly learned is quickly forgotten, and it's back to the old ways! That said, if you think your kid will do well with a sticker chart or some form of rewards to mark his potty success, by all means, go for it.

9. You don't have to stay homebound

Don't let the fear of accidents prevent you from getting out and about without diapers. When I was potty training my daughter, I shopped at places I knew had easily accessible restrooms, especially family toilets, and visited parks that were very close by (we left the car behind so there were no messes in the car seat, but you can get seat protectors for your car seat too). Consider getting a fold-up potty seat for when you're out running errands and keep a small plastic pot in your trunk for when you're traveling by car.

10. Don't worry, be patient
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), most developmentally ready kids can go from diapers to underwear in about six weeks. Some children may take months or up to a year, and boys may take slightly longer than girls. If everything else remains equal during potty training and your child begins to act out, perhaps you're moving too fast or putting too much pressure on your child. You might consider slowing down or even stopping altogether for some time.

Also, accidents are bound to happen, but your child should never be shamed for an accident, otherwise you risk reversing all the work you've accomplished together. Accidents can actually be used to encourage an older child to use the bathroom before traveling or a trip to a park (if your kid seems developmentally advanced enough to make these sort of connections, that is). For example, if your child is refusing to sit on the potty before going to the park, you might calmly and gently remind them, "Remember how uncomfortable you felt when your snowsuit got all wet?"

Now you're all set—ok, but not really. Of course I didn't cover everything, so below you'll find some links you might find helpful along the way. And if you've been through this before, why not tell us what worked for you?

AAP Toilet Training articles
Potty training advice from the Mayo Clinic
UK NHS on potty training

BLW: Fruits of the Finnish Forests edition (18 months)

2009-08-11T16:14:00.001+03:00

Photo by Eiliv Aceron on Unsplash

I was taking the kids for a walk in the forest this weekend and we found a huge patch of wild blueberry bushes with lots of ripe, juicy berries. As mushrooming and berry-picking are pretty popular outdoor activities here in Finland, we start teaching the kids early on about forest-gathering safety and species identification, and "rules" of foraying in the forest.

Back to the blueberries – 18-month-old Sprout had an absolute blast helping himself to wild blueberries. He and his big sister parked their bums in a small clearing surrounded by blueberry bushes, then went to town picking and eating.

Baby-led weaning: sushi and bologna (14 months)

2009-04-18T15:54:00.000+03:00

Sprout tried his first sushi at 9 months, but I didn't think to take a picture of him eating any sushi until recently.

And the bologna? Well, so much for withholding the salty foods. At least it was organic!

	Tamagoyaki (egg) nigiri sushi
	Oh bologna!

Homemade Spaghettios (or "tinned" pasta): BLW 14 months

2009-04-03T12:58:00.000+03:00

"Kids love the taste, and Mom's love the nutrition!" says the announcer in the old 80s Spaghettios commercials.

Uh-oh, Spaghettios! Nutritious my arse. As a copywriter, I think the most brilliant ad campaign for Spaghettios might be something like: "Spaghettios: because all Moms have skanky sweatpants days."

(This is why they keep me busy working on the cell phones and mobile gadgets, not foods!)

UnFortunately, we don't have the plethora of "lazy day" foods here in Finland that one has in the States. And yet there are times I want a taste of home and will shell out ridiculous amounts of money for an imported box of Kraft Mac and Cheese (yes, I've been desperate enough for a taste of home to spend €2.50 on that same box you can buy in the US for $0.49). Recently, I stumbled across a hoooooge bag (2 kg/almost 5 pounds) of ring-shaped dried pasta in the market. I was inspired – I'll make my OWN spaghettios for those lazy day fun foods! And if possible, I can even make them with less salt.

So I present to you two recipe versions I found online for homemade Spaghettios. One is healthy, the other is not so healthy, but really quick. And also, some pics of 14-month-old Sprout enjoying a bowl for himself. The verdict: lots of clapping and pointing from our little man. Ring pasta is definitely going to be a new BLW staple around here!

Homemade Spaghettios: healthy version from DeliciousWisdom
Homemade Spaghettios: made with canned tomato soup

	It's so easy to eat them by the fistful...
	...but sometimes I scoop them up on my own with a spoon too!
	And then I ask for more..."Dis!" (this)

Then and now: baby-led weaning broccoli

2009-03-27T12:53:00.000+02:00

I thought it would be fun to do a "then and now" entry to show parents just beginning on their journey what BLW looks like into toddlerhood.

	6 months: Steamed broccoli
	13 months: Raw broccoli

Kick it up a notch: raw onion and buffalo wings (13 months)

2009-03-19T12:51:00.000+02:00

Sprout's had his share of spicy foods before this, but I had never thought of offering him raw onion. His reach is becoming ever so longer and he nabbed this one off of the plate of veggies. Swiper Sprout strikes again! The outcome: he nibbled and sucked on it, scrunched up his face when the onion stung his tongue, then sucked and nibbled a while longer before tossing it to the floor.

The second picture I have has him sucking on a buffalo wing. My husband and I had planned on snacking on them ourselves, and I had fixed him something else to eat. But when he saw what I had heaped onto my plate, his little finger pointed and he emphatically pronounced, "Dat!" So I gave him a bit of "dat" on his request.

The trick to offering chicken wings is to give the thicker "drumstick-shaped" upper part of the wing. I felt that the smaller end pieces were a little too risky for my tastes with the small bones and what not. But the larger, upper portion acts like a natural handle. He sucked and gnawed on the buffalo wing until he freed some meat and some skin, but he didn't seem won over by one of my own favorite greasy snacks. I suppose he's too young for salty "bar food" anyway, which is fine by me! That said, he DID enjoy the plain chicken wing I offered him instead.

	Green onion
	Buffalo wings

Happy Birthday BLW-style! Raw carrot and carrot cake (1 year)

2009-02-16T12:48:00.000+02:00

We celebrated Sprout's 1st birthday this weekend, and carrot cake was his first taste of cake. I guess it seemed apropos to serve carrot cake since steamed carrot was amongst his first foods. He loved the cake and asked for another piece by signing for more!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this, but he ate it so neatly. You know how many babies for their first birthday have the "smash cake," which they smash their hands into and gob it all into their hair and faces? Well, Sprout picked up his piece of cake from his plate, ate it daintily, then placed it back down on his plate when he wanted a rest between bites.

Sprout helped me "make" the cake by sitting nicely in his high chair and keeping himself busy munching on a raw, peeled carrot. I used a dairy-free recipe as Sprout and I are now on a milk-free diet (for a suspected milk-protein allergy). You can find the super delicious cake recipe here: Grandma’s Best Carrot Cake. I topped it with a dairy-free version of Buttercream frosting, using vegan margarine and rice milk.

	Sprout helps mommy with the carrot cake, taste-testing raw carrot!
	Sprout's first taste of cake

BLW 11-months: liver pate, corn-on-the cob, and eating from plates

2009-02-07T12:43:00.000+02:00

Liver pate

Now that I know he likes liver (and it's full of iron, incidentally), I am really going to have to buy chicken livers and try this recipe from Aitch: chicken liver pate. The stuff shown here was store bought crap--I know, yucky salt and nitrates and glucose syrup–ewwww. But he loved it spread on toast! So much so that he wanted to share it with me. Do any of your little ones do that as well? At nearly every meal now he tries to offer food back to me. I don't remember my non-BLW daughter doing this.

Dinner served on a PLATE!
Don't worry, mamas–your BLW-kiddo won't be eating straight off of his Kiddopotomus placemat his entire life (or the table, floor, etc). Now at 11 months, Sprout eats nicely off of a plate. Finally, I don't have to worry when I forget to bring his placemat along when eating out. When he starts to get bored he'll start tossing the plate around, but while he's busy eating he leaves it alone.

	Liverwurst on toast
	Sprout shares his toast
	I want to share with you, Mommy
	Carrots, chicken, potatoes from the chicken soup with a side of corn He only started dumping the plate over at the end when he was getting bored!

BLW 10-months review: apple, corn, and pumpkin seed butter

2009-02-06T12:36:00.000+02:00

At 10 months, Sprout had 6 teeth and suddenly went from gumming and mashing to ripping and tearing with his teeth before mashing. That means he's getting better all the time at eating raw foods. Here's some of our experiences in greater detail!

Apple
For the apple, I bit some of the skin off myself to expose the flesh, then allowed him to go to town on it. He sucked on it and scraped at it with his teeth very much like one would scrape the flesh off an artichoke blade. He rarely gets any large chunks off of the apple and eats it very carefully.

Corn on the cob
The corn was pre-boiled organic corn on the cob. Unfortunately for us, we can't get fresh corn for more than a couple weeks here in Finland, so the pre-boiled is the way we have to go. That's ok, I can serve it straight from the fridge cold, pan-roast it, steam-warm it, or microwave it and he likes it every way it's served! He really bites the kernels off of the cob and chews them very well.

Pumpkin seed butter
This is a great spread for toast, bread, and crackers and it's packed with iron, protein, and B vitamins. Sprout seemed to enjoy the batch I made for him that I sweetened with blackstrap molasses (for an extra iron kick), though for myself, I would probably enjoy the taste of honey better. Here's a fabulous recipe for pumpkin seed butter.

	Got my apple! What a messy face he has in these apple pics! The apple was actually his dessert. He was undoubtedly eating spaghetti beforehand.
	Chomp!!
	No stoppin' me!
	Pumpkin-seed butter on toast
	No one touches my spaghetti--not even you, Ma!

Baby-led weaning recipe: Fish cakes, ahoy!

2009-01-05T12:30:00.000+02:00

Here's a wonderful way to jam veggies and fish into an easy-to-self-feed package: fish cakes! I whipped these up with leftovers and some fish from my freezer. They were well-received by 10-month-old Sprout. Even his big sister ate them, but she preferred hers served with ketchup. I didn't have a recipe, but if you can cook a little on instinct, here's my vague instructions. This recipe absolutely MUST be eaten while wearing a pirate hat! And I topped it off with a side of thawed, frozen peas.

Fish cakes (the fuzzy math remix)

A few small potatoes, mashed

a small piece of frozen salmon, thawed

some shredded carrot

splash of milk (or broth/water/milk substitute)

a little potato flour

fresh chopped dill

fresh chopped parsley

a tiny pinch of salt and some pepper for seasoning

Mix ingredients in a bowl. You should have a thick batter, slightly runnier than mashed potatoes would be. Fry the fish cakes in a frying pan with some canola or olive oil until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towel and let cool.

	Fish cakes, ahoy!
	Arrrr!

Pizza, burritos, and blueberries – but not all together! (10 months)

2008-12-30T12:22:00.000+02:00

Pizza Bolognese

His first taste of pizza was stolen off of my plate. He's gotten many first tastes in this manner, to be quite honest! This particular pizza is thin crust and topped with a ground beef topping. He didn't manage the cheese so well so I ended up peeling it off, leaving the iron/vitamin c-rich tomato and meat sauce behind. He sucked off the sauce, then chewed the crust into gooey wads which he left on the table. Reaction: Very much loved!

Black bean burritos

Or more accurately, black bean paste in a tube! Sprout did end up eating some of the tortilla, but mostly he sucked the bean goop from the inside and left the tortilla shell behind. Reaction: Loved!

Dread Pirate Blueberry Beard

This is what happens to frozen, thawed blueberries! They make a terrible mess, but I can't get them fresh right now. At any rate, not something I want to do too often – he loved them, though! Oh, and the mess continues down the diaper. Again, something we won't be eating every day.

Blueberry pancake fun

This is a much neater way to eat those frozen blueberries. I took the pancake recipe I posted awhile back and tossed some blueberries in, and also added quick oats and reduced the amount of flour. Result: Yummy!

Happy BLW Holidays! (10 months)

2008-12-24T12:15:00.000+02:00

Sprout's (10 months) busy hands swiped this gingerbread from my plate as I turned to get my older daughter a glass of milk. Swiper don't swipe! The cookie was wafer thin and dissolved in his mouth as he nibbled little bits of it off. It was love at first bite. I let him eat the entire cookie and then followed up with a refreshing, body-temperature-warm boob full of breastmilk. And then capped it off with a xylitol tablet to ward off any tooth decay.

Mommy let me keep the pilfered cookie 'cuz I'm so cute

Baby-led weaning: Iron (10-11 months)

2008-12-16T00:37:00.001+02:00

Photo by Monika Grabkowska on Unsplash

Sprout is iron deficient and his serum iron was "ok, but not great." So we've been trying to pump up his dietary iron and Vitamin C intake. We've been giving him blackstrap molasses in his porridge, barley porridge, farina porridge (cream of wheat), and I added cut-up dried apricots and prunes to his porridge and even used prune puree (still self-fed though--sheesh, is that ever a MESS!). Also, spinach with egg (yolks have iron), spinach with tomato sauce pasta, lots of broccoli, tomatoes, peas, and spaghetti bolognese. Plus nursing, of course, on demand. Unfortunately, it didn't change much, but at least he didn't get more depleted over the month-long control check.

For the record, after about an entire day's worth of internet research on infant anemia and infant nutrition, I don't believe that BLW is at all the cause of his low iron levels. As a matter of fact, one of my friends who is BLWing recently mentioned her baby's hemoglobin was 12.7 (127), which sounded very good to me.

At any rate, I just wanted to share some links in case someone else is tackling the same issue.

Good basic info, plus nutritional info:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T043100.asp

Related articles on iron supplementation:
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/05/05/iron.supplements.might.harm.infants.who.have.enough
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/84/1/7

Baby-led weaning: Bananas revisited (10 months)

2008-12-10T10:51:00.000+02:00

Sometimes I get a little envious when I see someone else's toothless 6-month-old baby eating banana far better than my 10 month old with teeth! Sprout can eat RAW APPLE of all things better than bananas, and according to BLW-boards I've looked at, apple is one of the worst "chokers." He eats so many foods on his own with no issues, but banana is a continual gagger for him. I've tried all the methods Ive seen so far: peeled half, peeled whole, unpeeled half with the top cut away so as to make a banana handle, chips, long sticks, mushed chunks, etc. He really enjoys the taste of banana if I mash it into some oatmeal for him, it's just that he always ends up chomping off too big of a chunk and then gag-vomiting (gomiting?) on it if I give it to him as finger food.

So I came up with a prep method that seems to work for us. Note that I only started doing this after 3 months of repeated banana-"gomit" sessions. Some of you who are interested in BLW but very wary/scared about choking might find this as a good halfway medium between puree and finger food to start off your BLW-journey. Or, you might just appreciate it if your baby, like Sprout, just doesn't grok banana-eating quite yet.

Sproutin Bansku* or Banana a la Sprout

1) Take one very ripe UNPEELED banana. It shouldn't be all black, but should definitely have some good brown streaks in it.

2) Squeeze the unpeeled banana in your hand about half-way down the length of the banana, mashing it until soft. The peel will probably bust open a bit, but that's ok.

3) Open the banana peel slightly at the top and squeeze the banana out onto the table/tray/placemat for your baby. The object here is that it's not the same type of mashing as you'd get with a fork in a bowl: squeezing the banana inside the peel like this keeps the insides more or less intact while softening the flesh enough to make it easier to eat.
4) Let baby pick up the quasi-intact banana-squeeze and eat by hand.

5) OPTIONAL: Peel the remaining half and give it whole once baby is done with the squished side so he can still practice eating the unsquished banana. I figure someday Sprout will get it if I still let him practice on the unsquished part, since my 3-year-old traditionally weaned daughter has been eating whole bananas since she was over a year.

This has worked really well for us. He happily takes the quasi-intact banana mass into his fist and eats it.

*Bansku is kiddie-speak for banana in Finnish. It sounds cute (pronounced like BAHN-skoo)!

Baby-led weaning: Eating out – Lebanese food (9 months)

2008-11-25T11:55:00.000+02:00

My mom's in town from the States, so we took her to one of our favorite restaurants in downtown Helsinki: Farouge. They serve Lebanese foods there and are known around town for having these huge meza plates with several different types of food on them. My daughter (3 years old and traditionally weaned) didn't want to eat anything there. Sprout (9 months), however, ate spicy lamb pies and lamb meatballs, hummus (chick pea dip), yogurt salad, and baba ganouge (eggplant dip).

There really is such a huge difference!

Baby-led weaning – Eggs (7 months)

2008-11-16T08:53:00.000+02:00

About allergies, a recipe, and our experience

Nov. 16th, 2008 at 8:53 AM

Many infant feeding guidelines still recommend avoiding eggs until a baby is over a year, even if the baby's parents have no history of allergies. But new research suggests that delaying introduction of potential allergens, such as eggs, may not prevent food allergies. As a matter of fact, the Finnish guidelines for infant feeding suggest we exclusively breastfeed for 6 months, and we are advised to give all meats, fish, eggs starting at 6 months. If you're interested in trying eggs with your baby-led weaned baby, here is some research about allergies and eggs that you can ask your healthcare provider about.

Research
1) Effects of Early Nutritional Interventions on the Development of Atopic Disease in Infants and Children: The Role of Maternal Dietary Restriction, Breastfeeding, Timing of Introduction of Complementary Foods, and Hydrolyzed Formulas

"Although solid foods should not be introduced before 4 to 6 months of age, there is no current convincing evidence that delaying their introduction beyond this period has a significant protective effect on the development of atopic disease regardless of whether infants are fed cow milk protein formula or human milk. This includes delaying the introduction of foods that are considered to be highly allergic, such as fish, eggs, and foods containing peanut protein."

*A fascinating article. I highly recommend reading it.

2) Timing of Solid Food Introduction in Relation to Eczema, Asthma, Allergic Rhinitis, and Food and Inhalant Sensitization at the Age of 6 Years: Results From the Prospective Birth Cohort Study LISA

"We tested food allergens, vegetables, fruit, cereal, meat products, dairy products, egg, and fish. A later introduction of meat products, cereal, fruit, and vegetables borderline significantly increased the odds for a sensitization to food allergens (data not shown)."

**Both studies do mention that they have limitations, and further research is needed. Also, both pieces of research do say that while delaying allergenic foods may not prevent allergies, there are other reasons to wait at least 6 months to begin solids (developmental readiness being one of them).

In the news/around the web
Eggs, Fish, Milk, Nuts, and Peanuts for Babies?! by Dr. Greene
For babies delaying solid foods may not prevent allergies but breast feeding might
Delaying Solid Foods May Not Prevent Allergy

Nutrition info for eggs
Dr. Sears on eggs
USDA on egg nutrition

Our egg experience
We started giving Sprout egg at 7 months. We introduced them slowly, following the directions our allergist gave us for reintroducing egg into our daughter's diet (she's still allergic to raw egg, but can eat cooked egg just fine). That method was to place a small speck of egg onto his lips and wait 30 minutes to see if there was a reaction. When no reaction came, we gave him a pea-sized piece to chew, then waited another 30 minutes. After no reaction came we let him eat a small portion of eggs. then we stopped for the day and tried again a couple of days later.

Sprout loves eating scrambled eggs--they are are a great BLW food. They're easy to make and despite all the bad rap they get about cholesterol, egg whites in particular have a lot of protein, while the yolks have iron and lots of minerals.

Here's a great way to add more taste and vitmins/minerals to eggs:

Green eggs (hold the ham)
Spinach scrambled eggs
1 egg
1 tablespoon breastmilk, formula, or milk
1-2 tablespoon of frozen chopped spinach (water squeezed out)
1 teaspoon butter
dash of freshly ground pepper

Beat egg, milk, spinach, and pepper together. Heat a small frying pan over medium to medium-high. Add butter. When melted, pour the egg mixture to the pan and cook as you would for scrambled eggs, making sure the egg is cooked thoroughly through, but still soft and fluffy.

**Necessary disclaimer: I am in no way medically trained! Please talk with your healthcare provider about introducing potentially allergenic foods before giving them to your own child.

Allergies are potentially life-threatening, and as my daughter had very adverse allergies to raw egg (kitchen accident!) and peanut, I know how scary the threat of allergic reactions can be. If you or your child's other biological parent have a history of allergies, you should especially speak with your healthcare provider about feeding them to your baby.

I'd also recommend (based on our family's experience with eggs) keeping your baby away from raw egg products like mayonnaise or cookie dough until they're at least 1, but maybe even 2, as cooking apparently destroys much of the allergenic egg proteins, but they'll be at full strength in raw egg products. Not to mention a possible salmonella risk with raw egg products.

Baby-led weaning: Pancakes! (7 months)

2008-11-13T08:18:00.000+02:00

What kind of pancakes do you make when you have no eggs or milk in the house (or you don't WANT to use those things because of allergies/vegan lifestyle)? Here's a recipe that 7-month-old Sprout really enjoyed:

Pancakes à la baby-led weaners
Ingredients:

* 1 cup organic unbleached flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 to 1 1/4 cup water (you can also use breastmilk, soy/rice/oat milk, or regular milk if you like)
* 1.5 tablespoons canola (or vegetable) oil
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Directions:

1) For best results, sift flour with baking soda/powder and salt (the recipe still works fine if you mix the dry ingredients together and either use a hand mixer to blend in the liquids or by mixing vigorously with a hand whisk).

2) Add sugar.

3) Add vanilla, oil and half the liquid. Whisk together.

4) Gradually add more liquid until you have a thickened pouring consistency--for American-style pancakes you want a thicker batter (probably about a cup of liquid). For European-style pancakes the batter should be thinner (around 1 1/4 cups of liquid).

5) Heat a frying pan or pancake griddle over medium to medium-high heat. Grease the hot pan with oil on a paper towel or cooking spray (I have one of those non-aerosol, refillable oil spray bottles that works beautifully).

6) Pour a small amount of batter into the pan to make a small, palm-sized pancake. This recipe doesn't work well with large American-sized pancakes, but you want a small pancake for your baby's fists anyway, so just think small.

7) Flip pancake when edges look dry, top of the pancake gets bubbly, and the top surface turns from glossy to matte. Allow to cook a few more minutes on other side, until it's golden brown on the bottom.

8) Re-grease the frying pan after every pancake.

9) Serve to baby warm or cold!

Source notes: This recipe has been modified from this link here: http://kylie.wordpress.com/2006/03/26/egg-free-dairy-free-pancakes/

I thought her recipe was too sweet for a baby and also I like my batter on the thinner side, so I used more liquid.

**Want to add extra nutrients to your pancakes? Here's some suggested additions to the raw batter: grated carrot, grated zucchini, grated apple, finely chopped, frozen spinach (squeeze out water before adding to batter). If using a veggie, just omit the vanilla essence.**

Baby-led weaning: Green beans, chicken, and tofu (6-7 months)

2008-11-11T09:12:00.000+02:00

Green beans

Green beans had already gone out of season here in Finland by the time I tried them with Sprout, so I used frozen green beans instead of fresh. A little googling and a lot of reading later, I found that for the case of many vitamins and minerals, you don't actually lose any nutritional value if you choose frozen or canned veggies. That news was refreshing for me. Unlike the US, Finland still has pretty noticeable seasonal selections of fruits and veggies to choose from, so I can't always buy everything fresh.

I took frozen green beans and steamed them until they were soft enough for me to mash them between my tongue and palate, maybe about 10 mins or so. Sprout kind of chewed them and flung them onto the floor the few times I tried them last month. I guess we'll have to try again later!

Chicken

I took chicken breast and steamed it in a frying pan with some water in the bottom. And then I just gave Sprout the whole breast. He sucked and gnawed on it for some time but I'm certain that nothing went down. He had no teeth at the time. At 8 months he sprouted teeth, and only recently I've torn up tender chicken breast into small pieces which he chews on and manages to swallow some of. I think he genuinely enjoys the taste and texture of chicken.

Tofu

I spent 12 years of my life as a vegetarian, so I can appreciate the taste of raw, uncooked, and unflavored tofu. I quite enjoy it. And so have both of my kids. My three-year-old daughter still begs me to buy her tofu sometimes when we're at the market. And she wants to eat it cubed up and raw.

I started both of my kids on tofu before the 8 month recommendation with no problems. Actually, Sprout had his first tofu at the end of his 6th month. I just hadn't taken a picture until his 7th month. For preparation, there wasn't much: I just cut it into coarse chunks, and Sprout crumbled it bits in his own hands, then scooped his self-made mash into his mouth.

Baby led weaning: spinach dahl recipe (7 months)

2008-10-07T10:10:00.000+03:00

Sprout is beginning to eat some of our family foods! It's pretty easy for me to cook with him in mind since I add little or no salt to most of my recipes at home. I just add more salt for myself at the end as I'm the only one who likes it.

Spinach dahl at seven months

He tried his first spicy food at seven months—spinach dahl. As the dahl had some kick to it, I was pretty impressed that he really loved eating it, whereas my daughter, traditionally weaned, doesn't seem to like anything spicy. I didn't notice that he had any gas or digestive issues after eating it, but red lentils are really soft and easy to digest, as opposed to the harder green ones.

My spinach dahl recipe is based on a recipe I found in The Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers, and Children by Bridget Wardley and Judy More. Their recipe is for baby-sized portions and uses different spices than what I used. I tried scaling up their recipe for a family of four, used some prepared curry powder I had on hand, and a little no-salt added veggie bouillon for a flavor boost.

This recipe is just an estimate of the proportions/cooking times I used, so you may have to tweak it slightly to get it right (add more/less water for example). The end result should be a thickened lentil stew.

Good luck and enjoy!

Spinach dahl for baby-led weaners

1 1/4 cup (3 dL) red lentils, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup (1.25 dL) basmati rice
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into long pieces (for baby to eat as finger food)
1-1.5 cubes of no-salt-added veggie bouillon
4-5 cups (about 1 L) water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 teaspoons of curry powder
1/2 lb (200-250 grams) of frozen spinach
1 can tomatoes (drained and chopped)

1) Place the lentils, rice, red pepper, bouillon, oil, water, and curry powder into a nonstick pan and bring to a boil.
2) Cover, reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes or until rice and lentils are tender. If it looks too thick and is starting to burn, add small amounts of water until it's stew-like. If it's too soupy, take the cover off and allow some of the water to evaporate off.
3) Remove a few pieces of the red pepper and allow to cool to serve as finger food for baby.
4) Add spinach and tomatoes and cook a few more minutes until spinach has thawed/cooked into the stew.
5) If you think baby can handle it straight up, serve as is. If baby can't, you can mash the lentils slightly with a fork. I ended up mashing it slightly for my 7 month old.
6) Serve with chili powder on the side so the adults/older children can make it more hot if they like it. You can also mix in some plain yogurt if you want (to baby's and/or yours). I haven't given Sakke yogurt so I didn't try it on him, but I added it to my own portion—it was yummy!
7) Allow to cool slightly and offer it to your baby by loading it onto a spoon for them, but let them put the spoon into their own mouths. Or you can serve it from a bowl/placemat and allow baby to eat by hand. Serve the reserved red pepper sticks so they can eat those by hand too.