Beech Nut Review and Giveaway- June 16, 2014
I had another mother ask me if I make my own baby food. I’d really love to say I’m the kind of mother who lovingly purees organic vegetables for my baby, but I’m not. I buy the jars. My hat is off to all of you mamas out there smashing sweet potatoes and blending peas. I just feel like there are a lot of good options in the stores, so I don’t bother.
Our pediatrician made a big deal about giving Henry only breast milk until he was 6 months-old. I feel like she made a bigger deal about that now than she did when Charlotte was a baby. I gave Charlotte rice cereal at about 5 months or so because someone told me it would help her sleep when she had like, that one night that she wouldn’t sleep well. Ha! If I only knew what I was in for with my second child and sleeping. I didn’t mind waiting until Henry was 6 months to introduce solids to keep his diapers filled with innocent breast milk poop for a little longer.
When Beech Nut reached out to me last month about sampling some of their new line of baby food, I was all like, “Yea! Perfect timing!”
Our pediatrician made a list of baby foods in the order she prefers you introduce them to your baby. This is her list:
- Rice cereal
- Yellow vegetables like squash (I can’t really think of other yellow vegetables suitable for baby foods, but whatever.)
- Green vegetables like peas and green beans
- Orange vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes
- Meats
- Fruits
Obviously this would all be pureed food. Our doctor suggested introducing them slowly over multiple weeks. Now that Henry is 7 months, he’s at #5 on the list and had some pureed meat. She said she likes to introduce fruit last so they don’t get used to the sweetness and then not eat their veggies. Makes sense. Plus, some kids have allergies to fruits.
Beech Nut’s thing is that their food is not baby food, but “real food for babies.” Full disclosure, I tried it. It was pretty tasty. They sent Henry a sample of four of their new flavors of their Real Food For Babies, just carrots, just spinach, zucchini & peas, beets, pear & pomegranate and just honeycrisp apple. I have to hide the jar of apples from his big sister the applesauce fiend. Again, I have not introduced fruits, yet. He has only had the fruit in the beets blend. He loved all the other flavors he received. He doesn’t like his food to be runny. Other brands have been a little soupy for his liking. Not these. They have a nice texture. Here’s something cool about Beech Nut. They don’t cook most of their new line and if they do, they gently cook it with indirect heat. Many of the Real Food For Babies flavors are created from a puree of raw vegetables and fruits.
I want to know a few things. Did your doctor give you different advice or tell you the same thing? How did you introduce solids to your little one? Do you mix breast milk or formula with your baby’s food? I sometimes do that if he’s not taking it well. How old was your baby when you started baby food? How old for finger foods?
Who wants some free samples of Beech Nut’s new line of baby food?! They come in beautiful boxes suitable for adding to a baby gift for a new mama or mom-to-be. If you just want your baby to try some great food, try to win! I’ll pick two winners on Friday. There are only four quick things you have to do. Super easy! Easier than making your own baby food, that’s for sure. Good luck!
Disclaimer: Beech Nut sent me samples and is offering free samples for my readers. My opinions are free and honest.
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Started solids at 4 months because my son had acid reflux. Started finger foods at 7 months.
Ooh, yuck! Acid Reflux! I hear solids can help. Thanks for entering! Good luck!
Stella had her first solids (rice cereal with breast milk) right at 5 months only because my husband was deploying for seven months and I wanted him to see and give her her first solid food (since he’d be missing a lot of milestones). I can’t remember when I started giving her finger foods but I vaguely remember giving her puffs around 8-9 months. I guess I’ll figure that out all over again soon enough!
That’s a perfect reason to start some solids early! Congrats on Baby #2! So exciting! I feel like 8 or 9 months was about when Charlotte started finger foods too. Good luck! Thanks for entering!
Our ped just told us the same thing about waiting til 6 months to start food. I made food for my second baby and plan to do it again this time. I spent about an hour once a week making food for the week.
An hour is not bad. Did you cook the veggies before you pureed them?
I baked the sweet potatoes and acorn squash. I boiled frozen sweet peas for a few minutes to soften them up, but not long enough that they lost any color. I think I pureed all the fruits raw. I made big batches and froze them in ice cube trays, then popped the cubes out into a big ziploc bag. He ate a cube or two at a time.
Ice cube trays! Smart!
I got different advice between my kids who are only 21 months apart.
Really?! Like, to start different foods at different times? I feel like in the 3 years between my kids, there was this huge push to wait on solids.
Yes. I mixed breast milk or formula with the rice cereal for my babies’ first solids. I think they were about 5 or 6 months old.
Yep! That seems to be the typical age. Thanks for entering! Good luck!
How necessary is it to start with cereal versus going right to veges? Thanks for the timely post Amy-starting solids in a month.
I think the rice cereal is the mildest, most easily digestible thing for them. The consistency is most similar to breast milk or formula.
We started rice cereal mixed with breastmilk at about 5 months – also due to reflux. Pediatrician didn’t recommend a detailed order like yours did, only recommended doing single foods – no blends at first. Started finger foods at about 9 months.
Oh! Waiting on blends! I hadn’t thought of that. I feel like she may have said that with Charlotte. I have already started blending stuff with Henry. He seems to be taking it okay.
My third just hit 6 months yesterday, and we’re ready to try solids as soon as I get to the store! We waited until at least 6 months for all three since they were preemies, and were all a bit behind developmentally (“adjusted age” is closer to 4 1/2 or 5 months). We start with rice cereal made with breast milk or formula, then veggies, then fruit, then meat.
Oh, yeah! I hear it’s totally different with preemies. Good luck with starting solids with your littlest one! Maybe you’ll win and get some yummy stuff for him/her. Good luck! Thanks!
I started baby foods at 5-6 months but should have started sooner as he was so skinny
Aw! Skinny babies! I know about those. My first was little too. Did he plump up when you started solids?
My doctor recommended to give baby food at 5 month because my son had reflux!
Did the solids help with the reflux? I hear it does. Thanks for entering! Good luck!
We skipped cereal for both kids. Our oldest started simple purees at about five months, but we didn’t give the baby anything till six months (we also noticed a bigger push to wait on solids that we didn’t get the first time around). The baby started with avocado and then banana mashed up, the only time I made my own baby food!
I tried some avocado with Henry. He wasn’t a huge fan. I want him to eat it, though because they say it’s so good for babies. I’ve heard of others skipping cereal too.
We skipped cereal and used the baby led weaning approach. I gave her chunks of stuff to mess around with. We started with sweet potatoes and bananas. Avocado was another big hit. We also would give her bites of stuff we are eating. I did some jars of stuff I wasn’t going to be buying/out of season/didn’t want to make it. And that was it. Pureed meats gross me out.
Ugh. Yeah pureed meats are gross. I like them better blended with veggies or rice in the jars. When we start finger foods, i want to do avocados and bananas firsts.
We did veggies first then fruits!
Good call! Thanks for entering!
I started with breast milk for the 6 mos then formula
Thanks! Good luck!
My son (who is 27) was a month old when his doctor told me to mix rice cereal with my breast milk because milk alone wasn’t enough for him.
I would love to win this pack for my grandson who is 11 months old.
A month old? Really? I bet you would get different advice these days. My mom says she got similar advice. Thanks for entering! Good luck!
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I started feeding solid foods when they were around 9 months. Until then, I mixed baby food into rice or cereal.
I think I’ll do finger foods starting at 9 months as well. I feel like that’s when I did it with my daughter.
We’re planning to start solid foods around 6 months, but still primarily breastfeed for a while after that.
Yep! Breast milk is still how they get most of their nutrition until age 1, according to my doctor.
My daughter was 7 months when it came to baby food and introduced them little by little to her sticking to certain foods and fruits. My son though was always hungry and had a hard time sleeping so I mixed some breast milk with rice cereal when he was 5 months old. He slept so much better.
My sister is starting the rice cereal thing with my 4 mo old nephew too, for the same reason. Thanks for entering! Good luck!
My daughter is starting solids and has severe acid reflux. She is 6 months old today. We sure hope this helps.