Food for thought... How mommy learns to feed her baby and herself
Two main concerns here. Maybe they are familiar to other mommies!
1) OMG! My baby is turning one in 1.5 months! What do I feed her when my milk is not the center of her diet?!
2) Crap! Mommy is overweight and is not much of a chef (more time and energy constraints than anything else).
Related problems, all in all. See, I have hit up several friends and received advice about feeding Claire. I have received many diet suggestions, but one in particular really struck me- "just mush up what you eat and feed it to her". Um...problem! A light went off when I heard this. I don't eat well an daddy is not any better. Crap! I have to eat better to feed Claire adequately! I have a bad habit of coming home and throwing a Tony's pizza in the oven for dinner. After working all day and trying to fit in time with Claire, meeting Claire's needs, time with husband, and *gasp* a moment for myself- cooking is not a way I want to spend my time! I wish it were, but alas, it is not so.
Now, I am challenged to develop better menus- for me because of Claire.
I have milk saved up and plan to use that until it runs out, which will be 1-2 months after her birthday, if all goes according to plan. I figured I could do Gerber Graduates meals while I learn to plan and initiate dinners. I want to prepare fresh or frozen veggies and fruit for her- for us. I figure I will get it down, right?! I figured out so many other things in Mommyhood and the journey has just begun!
Meanwhile, when it comes to me, I invested in a Wii Fit. I am working out about 30 minutes a night. Tonight, I ran 2.5 miles and went over 1,000 steps in the interim. I am down 30 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, but that is not brag worthy. Until I became pregnant, I had no idea how heavy I had become. I refused to know the number, until my obgyn accidentally blurted it out at an early pregnancy appointment. I think my heart stopped for a moment when the number met the reality. How had I let this happen? I was so heavy that my doctor recommended I not gain ANY weight during pregnancy- an overwhelming notion. That did motivate me and I did watch myself during my pregnancy.
My plan is to set a goal of reaching the size below mine, reaching that and setting the new goal. I could stand to lose 4 sizes, really and truly. Time will tell.
So here are my final thoughts and I do want suggestions:
1) What did you / do you feed a one year old baby?
2) How do you ensure that you are balancing baby food groups and supplying adequate nutrition when baby is weaned?
3) How do you menu plan at your house?
4) What are you doing to get in shape?
5) Really, tell me anything and everything- any thoughts about personal and toddler nutrition. (OMG- did I really just use the word 'toddler' to describe my baby?! Whoa.)
Thanks for any help you can provide!
xoxo,
Lindsay
posted by Lindsay @ 8:43 PM
4 Comments:
I can totally relate! Feeding a toddler is hard and so is eating healthily when you are tired and pressed for time.
I remember feeding Halle whole grain rotini pasta that she could dip into marinara sauce and that is super easy to make. I also used to dice up potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and squash spray them with olive oil and bake them until they were soft. I also occasionally baked fruit like apples. Cut up avocado, banana and cubed cream cheese are easy toddler foods. Is she still eating baby food? I never bought any baby food I just put things through the food processor. Baked butternut squash made really good baby food. You can freeze the leftovers in ice cube trays, each cube holds about an ounce. Of course this was all in the days when I was at home a lot doing school mostly online and not nearly as busy as I am now.
Easy healthy things to eat - #1 is Subway, it doesn't get much easier than that! I'm a big fan of the frozen vegetables that you just throw into the microwave and they steam in the bag. Lately I've been getting the Campbells Select Harvest canned soup that's super low in calories. So low that I eat for a snack - it would never hold me for a whole meal. I eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with whole wheat bread and sugar free jelly. Of course, I also eat a lot of powdered cinnamon donuts...don't do that.
1) What did you / do you feed a one year old baby?
*I agree that the best habit you can get into is to feed them what you eat. You don't wanna be that mom who makes 4 different meals for all the kids. I know it's hard to work all day and then come home and prepare dinner. The CROCKPOT is your friend!! That's the best for coming home from a long day at work. Meal planning also helps SO much. Just write out 1-2 weeks worth of meal with recipes. Then make a complete grocery list from those recipes plus staples for baby like yogurt, applesauce, etc. Then post the list on the refrigerator and you never have to THINK about whats for dinner!
2) How do you ensure that you are balancing baby food groups and supplying adequate nutrition when baby is weaned?
*Eat healthy as a family. Be sure you are offering protein, dairy, fruits and veggies. Colorful food is great, if your plate full of food is all one color you are not getting all the nutrients you need.
3) How do you menu plan at your house?
Oops I already posted this above. I do 2 weeks at a time.
4) What are you doing to get in shape?
Right now nothing! Due to pg of course. But my dr. really recommends 30-45 minutes of intentional exercise every day! On top of that its all about calories.
5) Really, tell me anything and everything- any thoughts about personal and toddler nutrition. (OMG- did I really just use the word 'toddler' to describe my baby?! Whoa.)
Toddlers can be PICKY! Max ate anything and everything as a baby and now he refuses to eat a lot of the time. Just remember they have tiny stomachs and it's a phase. Someday they will eat us out of house and home. So always offer the right choices but choose not to stress if they only eat 1 thing or nothing. It's pretty normal for toddlers. Claire is going to be a toddler! Congrats!
This is the eternal dilemma to me and as they grow older it becomes more difficult. I found that coming home at 5:30 and not having any support at home made eating healthy for me impossible and forced me to get creative in trying to give Madison good nutrition.
Cut up bananas, clementines, grapes, strawberries, blueberries any fruit (frozen is great too) is very easy to prepare and good for both of you. I always had a can of mixed vegetables (no salt added) and would let her eat them straight from the can (drained obviously). Some mothers may cringe at this and I do not care. She did not mind at all and it is not something that has to be cooked. If I had it to do over again I might put them in a pan with a little bit of smart balance butter. For the grain part I would offer whole grain products. Kashi has a good line of everything from cereals to granola bars. Madison would get cereal frequently even at dinner to fulfill the grain needs or a granola bar. A staple was always a block of cheese as well, cheaper than a bag of cubed cheese. Yogurt is wonderful for both of you!
As for exercise being a single parent essentially since Madison was born I never not fit it into my schedule the way I wanted to and I admire you in your quest. I am considering a Wii fit after reading about your experiences with it. Exercise is so important and I don't make a strong enough effort to fit it into my day. It is a goal for me.
I think you are doing great and try not to stress too much over whether or not she gets exactly what is recommended daily. She will survive and be healthy even if she misses things here and there. I think love and nurturing are as important as nutrition for the other aspects of development and I know you give her that.
Remember you are not alone and no one said being a parent would be easy. The next 18 months will bring much change. Take time to sit back and enjoy it every now and then without worrying about anything.
I was just laughing at this post because I worried about the same things. What do you feed a one year old? ANYTHING THEY WANT (except peanut butter) The easiest thing to do is feed them whatever you eat. It has made me start to eat healthier because I don't want my baby to eat crap. I always start off with veggies (fresh or from a can, he prefers the can), then some meat (Asher loves fish and it is super easy to make), then some yogurt and some fruit. I put just one thing at a time in front of him otherwise he would eat all the fruit and cry for more. TIP: I buy canned veggies and fruit, chop it up, and put in small containers so it is easy to grab for his dinner or a quick snack.
Invest in Deceptively Delicious, a cookbook where she mixes veggie/fruit purees in kid friendly recipes. Everything is yummy and easy.
Crockpots are awesome. I don't know who is actually meal planning. I go to Sam's and stock up on frozen chicken, fish, and pasta. If it takes more than 20 minutes I don't get it. After working all day I want to play not cook.
What am I doing to get in shape? I am chasing a crawling/walking toddler. I dream about running but am too exhausted to actually do it. Power to the ladies that have that kind of energy.
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