Cooking for babies

I can cook. I'm not a great cook but I can cook a little bit more than just instant noodles and scrambled eggs.

However when the time came when my first born baby was ready for solids, I was stumped. I realised that I had no idea what or how to cook for a baby! And I had no idea how much to feed them and how often babies should be eating. I was totally lost.

To me cooking for adults is something simple, that I take for granted because I know how to cook for most of my life. My mum died when I was at the tender age of 10 and even from then, I could cook some dishes for the family dinner. My aunt and older sisters taught me. I took home science at school which taught us how to cook and bake and which I found enjoyable.

My husband said to me "You can cook can't you so how come you don't know how to cook for our baby?" Lol! Cooking for a baby was something entirely new to me and a different ball game altogether. Cooking for babies required a lot more knowledge, planning and careful thought put into it then cooking for adults!

The texture of the baby food has to be just right. The choice of food has to be right, avoiding foods that could cause allergies (no food containing eggs, honey or peanuts for very young babies). You also have to make sure you introduce more and more foods gradually to the baby. I knew I didn't want my baby to eat food from a jar. So I had to make my own. I had to do a lot of reading and experiment a lot before I finally got it right. Eventually, I made mostly porridge. My baby food recipes are here.

Its incredible how a baby so small requires so much attention and care right down to planning a complete and nutritious meal for them. At one time, it seemed to me that the baby ate all the time and all my days went by in a blur of continuous feedings. I searched for sample menus for a baby just starting solids to give me a rough idea. I recommend doing that (to new mothers) as a guide to help you plan your own baby menus.

Here are some sample baby meals or menu links:

Baby Menu Sample from wholesomebabyfood.com
Feeding your baby: 7-9 months (A Sample Menu Plan)

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