Review: Baby Love: Healthy, Easy, Delicious Meals for Your Baby and Toddler

It’s a lot of fun when your breastfeeding baby starts eating solids. Every meal is an adventure, there’s less pressure on you to nurse all the time, and usually, baby eats anything you give him or her at this stage. What a perfect opportunity to give your child a taste of the most nutritious foods on earth!

If you’ve been breastfeeding exclusively until this point (when your baby is around six months of age), feeding with solids is but an extension of giving your baby the best nutrition. Naturally, you’ll want to give fruits, vegetables and grains that are filled with nutrients and fiber.

If you’ve been formula-feeding, now’s the time to get baby used to different food tastes (formula tastes like cardboard, you gotta admit, whereas the taste of breastmilk varies depending on what Mama ate). This sets the stage to less fussy eating and gives baby a taste for whole foods rather than processed ones.

The best way to do this is to prepare your baby’s meals, instead of buying baby food in jars. Now those things are mighty convenient when you’re traveling, but otherwise, home-made is best.

Baby Love: Healthy, Delicious Meals for Your Baby and Toddler by Norah O’Donell and Chef Geoff Tracy is the book to help you figure out what to feed baby, how to prepare it, and how to freeze it. (It’s best to make big batches of baby food and then freeze them in ice cube trays for convenience.)

Here are my thoughts on the book:
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Home Remedies for Diaper Rash

Diaper rash can make a baby miserable. And when your baby is miserable, so are you! Many diaper rash remedies are available on the market, but many of them quite expensive. In addition, some of them are ineffective, harsh, or may have long-term side effects.

You can find home remedies for diaper rash. Try these:

1. Air Time

Lack of circulation is a major contributor to diaper rash. After the morning diaper change, wash baby’s bottom with lukewarm water and pat dry with a very soft towel. Then, let baby be diaper-free for as long as possible. For young infants who can’t move around, lay them on an absorbent towel or hospital-style “chuck” (absorbent pads with plastic backing).

If baby is mobile, let him run around outside if weather permits. If weather does not permit, try some diaper-free time on a tile floor (watching carefully for falls!). Or you can give your mobile baby short, frequent air-out times throughout the day, always right after changing.

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Self-Feeding: An Important Stage In Your Toddler’s Development

When children are born they are completely dependent upon their parents to supply all of their needs. As they grow they slowly become more independent. Self-feeding is an important stage of your toddler’s development.

By learning to self-feed, your toddler is learning to care for themselves. They have developed perception in being able to pick up a piece of cereal, they are able to put food into their mouth, and they’re beginning to learn to hold implements such as spoons. These are all important milestones because it proves your child is developing properly and will be able to learn to care for themselves as they continue to grow.

It is important to realize not all babies develop at the same rate. Some babies will be eager to do things for themselves while others will be content to let others to things for them. How do you determine whether your child is ready for self-feeding or not?

The following are some signs that your baby is ready to begin self-feeding:

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