Don’t Blend Carrot Water

When making purée for your baby, throw away the water you used to boil your carrots. Although some books say it is safe to blend using the cooking water, doctors and public health nurses recommend using tap water. Carrot water is high in nitrates, which contributes to blue baby syndrome.

BPA’s Shiny Friend

It seems like everything we do is bad for us. Now that we have switched all of our bottles to glass we thought we could take a moment and be proud that toxic chemicals can’t leech into our child’s food. No such luck!

While we no longer have to worry about Bisphenal A from plastic bottles, we aren’t totally protected because whenever we prepare a can of formula concentrate we are dealing with a product that may contain a questionable dose of the chemical.

As mentioned earlier, Bisphenal A (BPA) is added to plastic products to increase their strength. A lesser known use is as a component of the liner within tin cans. In both instances, when the container is heated the BPA leeches into the food contents. For those not in the know, canned food is heated to kill any bacteria that may be present thereby increasing its shelf life.

What I want to know is – did our switch to glass bottles really make a difference? Is my son getting half the dose of this toxic chemical? How worried should I be?

Jarred Baby Food vs. Homemade

I was shopping at Wal-Mart with my sister-in-law the other day and stopped in the jarred baby food section. She looked at the price of the jar and asked what the point was in making your own food if you can conveniently purchase it at such a low price. While the cost is certainly appealing, I worry about my child’s health if I were to feed him such preservative-rich offerings.

Depending on the brand, for $0.47-$0.67 you can buy jars of chemically processed food with a shelf life of 5 to 10 years. Alternatively, you can spend 20 minutes a week making healthy chemical-free baby food. To me it is worth taking the brief time each week to make healthy food for my child food that can be frozen. In a small fridge-top freezer, fresh-made food can last for 3-4 months; in a deep freeze: up to six months.

Society has gotten lazy about their food and eating habits and there have been repercussions: children aren’t tolerating foods as much, allergies are on the rise, and babies are becoming fussier eaters. If you’ve ever tasted baby food you have my sympathies I wanted to try it before my son was due to start eating to explore the taste textures etc. As a trained chef my opinion is jarred baby food in general is totally unpalatable; the colors are off and you can’t even differentiate what the taste is. For fun I had my cousin close her eyes and sample some of the food she was going to feed her son and tell me what it was. She didn’t know what she was eating – how scary is that?

The Good News
For parents who really think they don’t have the time to cook for their child, there is now a great company (Sweet pea baby food) offering pre-measured food that is flash frozen and good for 3-6 months in your freezer. The food is made from organic vegetables and if you tell them the age of your child they can tell you which product they have for that age group. I tried their product at the baby boom show this spring and I can actually differentiate the flavors; it was like a party in my mouth. It was bland compared to what a grown up pallet is used to but to a baby exploring a flavor for the first time it would have been superb.

Concentrated vs Powered Formula

Of all the things that could stir up such heated debate, I would never have guessed infant formula to be among them. Some people are very passionate about what they feed their baby, and very passionate about what others feed their babies too.  For some people spreading the word about breastfeeding is a holy crusade while others are strictly bottle feeders.  We tried both ways but could not continue breast feeding due to health reasons – but our baby fared well in each case.

For those like us who decide to use the bottle, the next question is “What formula do I choose?” In North America, we have such strict legislation regarding the production of infant food we can rest assured all of the formulas are basically equal.

Which is Better – Concentrated Formula or Powdered Formula?
So does it make a difference whether parents choose to use concentrated or powdered formula?  For that matter, are ready-made bottles superior?  The truth is the choice between concentrated, ready-made and powdered formula is mainly convenience and expense – all three are appropriate for infants.

Ready-Made Are Convenient
Ready-Made bottles are just that – measured doses of formula waiting for you to attach a nipple and feed to your child.  Most drug stores carry these in packs of 8 and they aren’t cheap.  For day-to-day use I generally would not recommend these, but if your last bottle breaks while you are on the road there is nothing quite as life-saving as being able to find ready-made bottles.

Concentrate Travel Well
Cans of concentrated formula are more expensive than powder but travel much better.  If the lid comes off a can of powdered formula while in the car, your back seat will never be clean again.  A single can can make 4-6 bottles – in our case right now that will last an entire day.  Many parents groups are able to obtain concentrate cans for free or at low-cost, which can make this option convenient and inexpensive for young parents.

Powder is Economical
Powdered infant formula is sold in large quantities and is (relatively) cheap to buy.  We buy the “economy” size which is huge.  I’ve noticed that when the powdered formula is mixed the milk is white, which appeals to my sensibilities.  The ready-made and concentrates tend to be brown or off-white – this is not unhealthy but I find it less aesthetic.

Choose Based on Lifestyle and Budget
The food you give to your baby in these early months is so critical because it provides much-needed nourishment for their rapidly growing body and brain.  The good news is the food supply is generally protected, and the choice of formula becomes a matter of three questions:

1. Budget: What can I afford?
2. Lifestyle: Where am I most likely to be feeding the baby?
3. Baby’s Reaction: What does the baby like? (All babies are different and some fare better on lower iron formulas, some on soy)

Don’t Give Hallowe’en Candy to Infants

This should be obvious but apparently it’s not – if you are the parent of an infant, do not give sugar icing or candy to your child.  Not only will the sugar make them very sick, but they could choke on the treat.