The Woolly Mom

You know what the most dynamic and exciting thing about turning one is? Whole milk. Yeah, big fun. We’re transitioning Lily right now from formula to whole milk. Bye-bye bottles! Mwahaha! Hope you have fun - in bottle HELL! Mwahahaha!

But what next? I had a job this weekend to get her new feeding schedule set up, and let me tell you, it’s no walk in the picnic or piece of park! Of all the books and websites I’ve researched NONE of them agree on how much to feed a toddler in a day - 2 tbsp. of cereal? 2 cups? 2 gallons? a hectare?  They were all over the map. So I had to buckle down, put my hair up in a bun, lower the glasses on my nose, and look very, very serious. And after experiencing some serious Mario Galaxy burn-out (EXxxcellent game, by the way), I finally managed to stuff all of my toddler nutrition data into one big feeding schedule.

If you need a sample one year-old menu, I suggest taking a look. Remember that I’m no nutritional expert. This is the culmination of hours of research from many expert feeding books, nutritional websites, and government childcare websites.

FEEDING SCHEDULE - 1 YEAR OLD
BREAKFAST (7am)	SNACK  (9am)	LUNCH  (12pm)	SNACK  (2pm)	DINNER  (5:30pm)
1 serving cereal (made with whole milk)*	1 serving yogurt	2 servings grains	2 servings your choice	1 serving protein
1 serving fruit	(optional: fruit or crackers)	(ex.-1/2 slice toast + pasta)	2 oz. juice water	1 serving grains
1/2 cup whole milk	2 oz. juice water	1 serving veg		(ex.-rice or potato)
		1 cup whole milk		1 serving veg
*may substitute serving of waffle or french toast if cereal is served as snack later same day)				1 serving fruit (dessert)
				1 cup whole milk
FOOD OPTIONS - please choose foods from this list of foods. All quantities here = 1 serving
GRAINS	DAIRY	FRUIT & VEG	PROTEIN
1/4 cup baby cereal	1 oz. cheese (1 slice prewrapped cheese)	1/4 cup cooked veg	1 oz. lean meat/fish
1/2 slice whole grain toast	1/2 cup yogurt	1/4 cup fruit	1egg                                       (no more than 3 eggs/week)
1/4 cup pasta (whole grain)	1/4 cup rice pudding		1/4 cup cooked beans
1/4 cup potatoes	1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup brown rice
5 whole wheat crackers / 7 saltines
1/2 small whole grain muffin				1 oz. = 2 tsbp.
1/2 small whole grain waffle				1 oz. = 6 tsp.
1/2 slice french toast				2 oz. = 1/4 cup
1/4 pita + hummus				4 oz. = 1/2 cup
1/2 slice banana bread (w/cream chs)				8 oz. = 1 cup
1/2 cup Cheerios				4 tbsp. = 1/4 cup

Need a sample menu for a baby under 1 year?

Now if only I could buckle down a figure out a way to keep Lily from soaking herself in whole milk 3-4 times a day. All of the bag of gold I used to spend on each can of formula now’s going into laundry detergent!

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3.9 (2 people)

WHAT am I going to make for lunch? WHAT, what, what? Every day I ask the pantry. Not once has it answered. Stupid lazy pantry. Not creating healthy enriching meals for my baby-toddler hungry screaming machine.

Thankfully I have a friend who is a lot more kind and helpful than my pantry, and her name is Michelle. She recently shared this wonderful recipe for Salmon Mac-n-Cheese that is nutritious, filling, inexpensive, and easy to throw together. Exactly what I need! So here’s the recipe.

 

(to enlarge recipe for viewing or printing, click on the image, a-course!)

And I should note that Michelle’s beautiful daughter Ashley has kindly sampled this recipe for us repeatedly and gives it a big thumbs up as being creamy and delicious. So there you have it, the Ashley Seal of Approval! That’s enough for me to run out and buy the first can of salmon I’ve ever bought in my life. Motherhood does funny things to you.

Do you have any toddler-happy recipes to share with us? I’m always in need of more toddler meal ideas!

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3.4

I’ve been expanding Lily’s diet a lot lately since she’s about to turn one, and I’ve started looking into different types of fish that she might be able to eat safely (provided her doc has no allergy concerns). As we all know, fish contains so many healthy nutrients and is low in fat, that I really want to get her accustomed to the yummy taste early on.

But as with when I was pregnant (god, was that already one whole year ago?), I had to start combing the web for a reliable list of mercury levels in seafood. Thought I’d share what I found with you. So here you go, all you parents and pregnant mamas-to-be. This is the list of the fishes with the lowest detected levels of mercury:

Anchovies
Butterfish
Catfish
Clam
Crab (Domestic)
Crawfish/Crayfish
Croaker (Atlantic)
Flounder*
Haddock (Atlantic)*
Hake
Herring
Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
Mullet
Oyster
Perch (Ocean)
Plaice
Pollock
Salmon (Canned)**
Salmon (Fresh)**
Sardine
Scallop*
Shad (American)
Shrimp*
Sole (Pacific)
Squid (Calamari)
Tilapia
Trout (Freshwater)
Whitefish
Whiting

There’s more to the list at this website, where they list “moderate mercury” fish that can be eaten here and there, and “high” or “highest” mercury fish that you will want to avoid.

Personally, I recommend the Tilapia. I couldn’t eat enough of it while I was pregnant with Lily. Especially with a few shrimp and a good creole sauce. And dinner rolls. And chocolate cake. Yum!

(The image above comes from an adorable shop that sells play food made out of felt - click the image to head over and check it out. I might have to place an order myself!)

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3.9 (3 people)

One of the biggest challenges and frustrations I’ve had with learning this whole mommy thing is getting the knack of feeding schedules [Katie realizes she probably hasn't used the word "knack" in about fourteen years or so, shrugs, and vows to use it more]. When are we supposed to add jarred veg? How much? And what’s with all the pasta? What about formula? How much does she need? I’ve poured over books, websites trying to sell me something, and emails to all my mommy friends. And about every month or two I have to revise it all and pull my hair out. Literally. In clumps. Sitting on my computer desk. Gross. Hope the cats don’t eat those.

Are you as confused as I am when it comes to feeding your baby?

Well, you’re in luck. Since I had to research an update for Lily’s new 11 month-old menu today, I figured I’d go ahead and post what her menu’s been like ever since we introduced solids at 6 months.

Lily’s Feeding Schedule - 6 MONTHS
			1 oz. = 2 tsbp.
Time	Food		1 oz. = 6 tsp.
6:30am (morning wake-up)	8 oz. formula		2 oz. = 1/4 cup
9:30am (after 1st nap)	Serving of jarred fruit (2 tbsp.)		4 oz. = 1/2 cup
	2 tbsp. baby cereal		4 tbsp. = 1/4 cup
11:30am (before 2nd nap)	4 oz. formula
1:30-2:30pm	4 oz. formula
4:30pm (dinner)	Serving of jarred veg or entrée (3-4 oz.)
	2 tbsp. baby cereal
	4 oz. formula
7:00pm (with bedtime routine)	8 oz. formula
Totals:	Formula - 30 oz.;
	Cereal - 2 oz./4 tbsp.;
	Fruit & Veg- 4 oz./8 tbsp.

 

Lily’s Feeding Schedule - 9-10 MONTHS
Time	Food
6:30am (morning wake-up)	6-8 oz. formula
8:30am (before 1st nap)	Serving of jarred fruit (2 oz.)
	Serving of plain/baby yogurt (2 oz.)
11:00am (post-nap)	6 oz. formula
12:30-1:00pm (lunch)	Serving of jarred veg (2 oz.)
	Serving of jarred/cut-up pasta (2 oz.)
	1/2 slice crustless whole grain toast (optional depedning on hunger)
2:00pm (pre-nap)	4-6 oz. formula
4:30-5:00pm (dinner)	Serving of jarred/diced meat (4 tbsp.)
	Serving of jarred/diced veg (4 tbsp.)
	Serving of fruit for dessert (2-4 tbsp.)
7:00pm (with bedtime routine)	8 oz. formula
Totals:	Formula - 26 oz.
*PM snack of Cheerios is served at about 4pm

In between each of these schedules, I just altered formula levels. In months 7-8 I added 4 more oz. of formula throughout the day. And then in month 10 I decreased the amount of formula again, bringing her down to 24 oz., and making the lunchtime toast mandatory.

Now that we’re in month 11, I’ve started mixing things up even more to treat her menu like a real meal plan. For breakfast I’ll sometimes substitute french toast or scrambled eggs for the yogurt. I often try to share some of my lunch, and most of my dinner with her. Which (bonus!) makes the jarred foods a lot more obsolete. This baby feeding thing is getting cheaper by the month!

Another big change is that I’m really trying to get her to eat with her fingers - damn the mess! - instead of spoon feeding her so much. The big girl also has to hold her own bottle…and some day sippy cup…if she ever stops crying at the sight of it. I can see her now, 30 years old and on a date at a restaurant. Someone nearby whips out a sippy cup for their baby, and even then she’ll start crying.

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2.5