1st baby solid food: survey on what you gave

[tinkerbelle 0]

@ meiteoh,

tin-kai is the frog. wai-san is some sort of root, not many markets sell the fresh ones, usually it's the dried up version sold as a herbal condiment for the kai-thong (herbal chicken soup). ask any chinese medicine hall. it's white in colour. and when u find out the english name for it, pls let me know. thx yea.

first time i fed kiddo semi-solid, he whacked the whole bowl (similar serving to the small bowl when u ask for extra rice when eating out in restaurants). his cousin, one mth older, when she started on cereals, she whacked one whole bowl (similar size to our regular bowl when we eat rice) and it's not even enuf for her that the mom had to buy a bigger bowl.

tht's why since kiddo has such good appetite, i dont mind to take the extra effort to cook for him.

[meiteoh 0]

That's what I thought when I saw tin kai - can feed to babies meh? :S

[tinkerbelle 0]

it's just like any otr meat kwaa... i suppose shdnt be any prob? yea.. i didnt follow the wait-12-mths before introducing meat. but i only give him a little bit of meat, twice a week.

so far i hvnt read/heard of anything bad abt giving that, until i do, then i will remove it from the menu. i know u read extensively.. so if u come across any info, do let us know yea?

cheers.

[happi 0]

very interesting topic reading about frog legs, it sounds like a good aphrodisiac & also possibly as a side effect, poison? :P

however, all this depends on whether the frog was eating a meloid beetle, mebbe can ask the seller next time what's the frog's diet?

http://shkrobius.blogspot.com/2006/02/why-...-eat-frogs.html

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/sexual...entid=100123456

“Spanish fly” does have a direct physical effect.Spanish fly is made from the meloid or “blister” beetle, a species that contains a small amount of the chemical cantharidin. Humans have a natural allergic reaction to cantharidin, which manifests as irritation of the urinary tract. In men, the irritation can be mistaken for arousal because it causes an erection. But the erection may not subside, leading instead to a dangerous condition (priapism) that can cause clotting in or gangrene of the penis.

Cantharidin is obtained by drying and crushing a meloid beetle into powder. Or, you could dine on a creature that eats meloid beetles, such as certain frogs—which explains why frog legs are a reputed aphrodisiac.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Historic+pri...+legs-a09296480

Gorging on these legs may lead to even more serious problems, Eisner adds. People consuming 200 to 400 grams of Spanish-fly-laden frog thighs in one meal could risk death from cantharidin poisoning, he says.

The work may finally explain what came over those unfortunate French troops, but it leaves several other questions unanswered. Why, for example, aren't frogs repulsed by cantharidin-containing beetles, which secrete /se·crete/ (se-kret´) to elaborate and release a secretion.

Eisner fears that most physicians today might not consider cantharidin toxicity as a cause for the priapism cases they encounter among their patients. Nonetheless, he says the lack of modern reports even hinting at a link between frog leg consumption and priapism suggests the risk is very small.

"I'm not saying, 'Watch out, don't eat frog legs' -- although I'd like to say that, because frogs are endangered all over the world," Eisner says. But the work "leaves little doubt" that the North African cases have now been solved, he maintains.

As for cantharidin's effects on the frogs themselves, little is known. Anatomically, "we didn't notice any change whatsoever" in the beetle-fed frogs, Eisner says. However, he adds, "we didn't watch to see how it might have affected their behavior."

[tinkerbelle 0]

thx for the article happi. i guess, all kinds of food have their "side effects" ie. when i fed beetroot to kiddo, MIL asked the vege seller in the market, he told her that it is used to lower blood pressure etc etc. naturally when she came home, my ear jadi hangat. i told her, chill man.. it's not like he's taking a few beets everyday. i prepared 1/3 of the beet which he only ate half of the prepared portion. heavy intake of sodium is oso bad for health, i told u repeatedly everyday, i dont see u stop eating salt ??? that shd shut her up for the day.

but no.. nxt day she'll go on her "forgot-to-take-pills" mood and tell me that im feeding rubbish to my son (she never seen avocado before). she told me, my 4 kids all took potato, carrot and chicken porridge last time. my reply, u were so poor, u couldnt afford other food then. now that u're rich, why don't u eat potato, carrot and chicken porridge for the nxt 365 days??? that shut her up again.

basically, MY idea when feeding my kid is to have him enjoy a variety of food, experience different taste and texture and of coz, giving him all round balance of nutrients.

the key is balance.

cheers.

[meiteoh 0]

OIC, just that I've not came across frog legs as part of the meat diet for babies. :P

Some of the SG mummies prepare frog leg porridge for babies from 8 mths old - reason being that they heard that frog legs toughens up the body and babies on frog legs also learn to crawl or walk faster. One mummy though mentioned that she saw this TV show/documentary stating that frog legs contain a lot of bacteria and it's better to cook them for long periods like in soups plus it's better to give the broth/stock made from the legs rather than the meat.

Your MIL is...haiiii...ask her la whether the veg seller is a nutritionist. Sometimes, tell you, I don't trust those veggie sellers. =.=

[alyceyong 0]

Hi yvonne118,

Yeah, I'm very excite to intro barley to my baby too.

Hi happi,

Yahor never think of the hard 'line' part. I think the 'line' will not soft even boil it for long time.

The other day, I give my baby try fresh coconut juice and he loves it :P

[yuhchyng 0]

How about Japanese anchovies (white and very small ones) in porridge? I have a blended one, in powder form. My mum will add some into the porridge when it's about done. Any comments for baby (9-12 mths) taking anchovies? So far I have not seen any articles commenting on this but my mum tends to give my bb quite often.

[meiteoh 0]

Just make sure it's not salted...but otherwise, anchovies are okay, I reckoned.

[yuhchyng 0]

Alright.

Mabel, I know you make quite a lot of different puree for Eva. Will the puree gets oxidised after a short while? I know if blend apple it will get oxidised immediately. How about other fruits? How do you make those?

[meiteoh 0]

At the moment, I cook all my fruit purees by steaming coz Eva still cannot take raw fruits (only after 7 mths). Trouble with serving raw fruits is that it must be done asap upon cutting to minimize nutrient loss. It's normal for fruits like apple to oxidize quite quickly - if your baby can take lemon, then you can try putting some lemon juice on the apple. But otherwise, it's unavoidable. Applesauce is still nutritious nonetheless despite its colour. :)

What I do is steam for about seven to ten minutes, retain the water from the steaming and puree together with the diced fruits. That way, I still retain some of the nutrients. After pureeing, I freeze immediately to avoid bacteria contamination. I did this with plum, peach, pumpkin, mango, and papaya. Haven't cooked with apples yet though coz I'm only planning to intro apples much later (scared Eva will get constipated).

[yuhchyng 0]

Thanks Mabel for the info. I tried before to mash fresh grapes and Ben likes it. For apple I just use the small spoon to scrape so that it is soft. He can finish half of a small apple. I have never tried steaming the food or blending fruits. Will try it for pumpkin and see if Ben likes it. By the way, will apple cause constipation? For Ben, it is ok.

My mum bought the cook+blend machine to cook the 10 grains too. But she makes a diluted one, ready in 20 minutes.

[meiteoh 0]

Yes, apple and applesauce can cause constipation so don't feed too much of the stuff, especially with things like rice and bananas.

[csufong 0]

Usually what are the routine to feed baby?

I have started rice cereal with Teresa just now, I only gave her 1 tbs of cereal and mix it with 1oz of breastmilk and BFing her after that. amazingly she can finish the whole cereal, and seem like wants more...

I just wonder when can I feed her fruits purren? can I feed after the rice cereal or wait another feed?

I am planning to start her with 2 times solid now, 1 in afternnod and 1 in evening. I that too uch on her age?

[meiteoh 0]

There is a four day rule for each new food that you introduce to check for allergies and reactions. I used to do this but once she hit six months, I shorten it to every three days and rotate foods regularly.

You don't necessarily have to start with just rice and give rice only for days and days without switching to another food item. After four days of rice (watch out for poo coz once she starts solids, three days is the max she can go without poo-ing), you can give her a fruit puree mixed in with the cereal + ebm. My thoughts is that we adults don't eat rice alone every day and for every meal. We eat it with veg, meat, fish, etc. So it's the same with your baby. Once you cleared a few fruits and veg, you can mix everything and anything up, even combinations that seem gross.

Eva has never had a single food item at every meal since the first week of starting solids as I try to incorporate variety into her menu. This week is sweet potato, so I will give her sweet potato with some oatmeal and barley for lunch. Dinner will be sweet potato with plum puree. Once I gave her broccoli with plum and barley. :P It helps keeps her interested in eating.

In the beginning, I started with just one meal but she was always asking to join us for dinner so I started giving her purees for dinners as well. Quantity wise, I went from 1 tsp of cereal with 1 oz of puree (vice versa for dinner) to 2 tbsp of cereal (max) with 3-4 tsp of puree (and vice-versa for dinner).

[csufong 0]

Is the puree mix with the cereal? or serve separately?

[meiteoh 0]

I always give them to her mixed and never separately.

[Sheep 0]

I sound a bit silly but i can i check with you ladies, when you feed the instant rice cereals like Bellamy you will use your BM to mix the cereals?

But the BM is only lukewarm right? Meaning the cereals will only be lukewarm and its hot enough to mix the cereals?

[meiteoh 0]

I know some people use EBM to mix into the cereals (I don't have excess or the time to express so I just use water).

IMHO, it's okay to give lukewarm cereals to babies. Sometimes, my cereals are semi-chilled because I use purees from the fridge and just dump into the cereal plus some cooled water. On hot days, she loves eating semi-chilled foods. :P

[janicelly 0]

Sheep,

I've mixed EBM with Bellamy's cereal before & it's never hot. Just lukewarm & it mixed quite ok.

[yvonne118 0]

my bb fall sick again.. cough and flu i wonder is that cause by the apple and pear that i fed?

[Sheep 0]

Thanks mei & janicelly.

Im hoping to start little one with solids during CNY break. Cant wait:)

But my FIL kept saying that my baby is too young for solids and i should start with watery porridge. Thank god they dont stay with me. If not sure argue about this.

[happi 0]

nope, apple & pear don't cause any sickness. more likely help to recover faster with the vitamin C. :)

[yvonne118 0]

my babysitter said it is 'liong' cold.. that's what i thought intially too Janice.. aih.. now i stop giving any fruit

[meiteoh 0]

I'd think that it's good to take fruits when you're sick as it's "refreshing" plus contains heaps of Vit C and other minerals/vits. :)