There were days when I was so afraid to look you in the eyes
To bond with you
I was scared
That you won’t come home with us
And then there were days when I had high hopes
When I had no doubt that you would pull through
The days when I dreamed of spending quality time with you
No nurses
No Doctors
No lines
No tubes
No needles
No pain
Just me
Me and you
In the comfort of our home.
Previously posted: A poem for Legend …pt 1
The first time I ate baby food, I was 19, in second year of college and trying to lose weight. I figured that the low calories in baby food would help control my waistline. I still remember walking into a convenient store one evening and loading my grocery cart with varieties of baby food.
Then I got home and opened the first plastic container of banana baby food. After two spoonfuls, I examined the square shaped container in my hand to make sure it had a picture of a banana on it. It did. But the food didn’t taste right.
I returned the rest of the food to the store, took my money and went straight to the grocery store for some fresh food.
What was that I ate? I asked myself over and over again the subsequent days after this ordeal. It sure wasn’t banana in that container. Is this what my babies will eat when I give birth to them? Is that what baby food tastes like?
What really is baby food?
Wikipedia defines Baby food as “any soft, easily consumed food, other than breastmilk or infant formula, that is made specifically for babies, roughly between the ages of four to six months and two years.”
For people in the developed world, baby food is not a new concept. For me, and probably other adults that were born and raised in developing countries, baby food is a foreign concept. The only baby food I came across while growing up is formula and cerelac(maize cereal). Thats what I knew as baby food until I came to America. I grew up in a small semi-urban city, so, it is possible that traditional baby food is sold in bigger and urban cities.I never saw one and I never looked for one.
A lot of people I came across while growing up did not feed their child formula and cerelac on a regular basis. Most of them transitioned from breast milk to pap(custard derived from fresh corn), then to regular food. Permit me to say that only the rich bought formula and cerelac for their babies. Maybe some middle class families as well.
Trying to make a selection amongst a gazillion of baby food in the grocery store or online is not something parents worried about while I was growing up.
To be continued…..
She: “It’s not your fault.”
He: “I did it. It’s me, it’s all me.”
She: “Stop blaming yourself.”
He: “I can’t sleep.”
She: “Just close your eyes and say a prayer, a simple honest prayer.”
He: “To who?”
She: “To whomever you believe in.”
He: “I see him. He is back. Can’t you see?”
She: “Tell him to take a hike.”
I was talking to my mom the other day about baby food and how it was not a “thing” when we were growing up. I never saw baby food until I came to America. To be honest, I never went looking.
But what really is baby food? That’s a topic for another post.
For now, I’ve started feeding my 6month old sweet potatoes and he seems to like it. Looks like this one has come to stay.
To make this yummy and nutritious baby food, you need just two ingredients:
Sweet potatoes and olive oil
What to do:
-Wash potatoes well and slice lengthwise into two.
-Brush with olive oil.
-Bake at 375 degrees for 45 mins.
-Scoop out flesh and blend. Add a little water if needed to move blades.
I was able to make 3 8oz jars of baby food with three medium sized potatoes. An alternative to baking is to steam the potatoes and then blend but I have a preference for baked potatoes.
Stay tuned for more baby food recipes.
My 21 pound 5 month old loves to eat and Zucchini is no 4 on our list of INTRO TO SOLIDS. So far, we have tried cooked 100% whole grain rolled oats, puréed carrots and avocado. Next is green beans, followed by asparagus. My goal is to do at least 10 veggies before introducing fruits.
Pureed food is supplementary for him as he is still on mostly breast milk.
To make this baby food, you need:
1 medium Zucchini
3-4 tbsp water
A little Salt for soaking(optional)
What to do:
1. Wash and soak zucchini in salt water for about 2 mins(Soaking veggies that will be eaten without peeling in salt water is something I learned from my mom as a child. It’s a good way to wash away any germs. In this case, the zucchini will not be peeled and I need to make sure its completely cleaned. You just need a little salt and it’s completely optional. Wash again after soaking.)
2. Steam zucchini or cook on medium low heat with water for 6-8mins.
3. Blend with hand blender or food processor.
Serve warm.
The plan looked so perfect on paper. In reality, it is unattainable, at least for now. In parenting, there is not enough time in the day to get things done. Twenty four hours is cheating. It is not as long as you think it is. Twenty four hours, that’s all you get in a day. For the past three days, I’ve been watering the garden in my head and doing laundry in my brain. I’ve been chasing sleep, running on E, holding my pee and poop, listening to cries of two babies, trying to figure out parenting as tears of frustration and joy drip down my sleepy eyes. I chose motherhood, full time motherhood and this is the beginning of the rest of my life.
Image credit: greenlivingideas.com
