The Woolly Mom

My garden laughs at me. Really. The vegetables and weeds all get together and come up with ways to shock, frighten, and flummox me all the time. Recently, they invented this new weed out of thin air that grows about 6″ a day, reaches a height of 5 ft., spreads through the yard really fast, and has spikes from root to tip that make my skin break out in a rash.

And then there’s the case of the tamaters (see, I’m learning to speak farmish!). I bought just normal beefsteak tomato plants. I fertilized once, put tomato cages over the plants, and kept the mean spiky weeds out of the raised bed. And look. They’re monsters! It’s aliiiive! It’s aliiiiiiiiiive!

All of my ‘maters grew together, sharing one brain (and I postulate, also coming to life at night). I don’t think I’ll eat them seeing as I’m pretty sure something has burrowed into them and is now living inside (I can feel the pulse of its heartbeat when I hold the tomatoes. Eek.) So I’ll just leave these on my deck as a little tomato surprise for the squirrels. If they’re not too frightened.

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3.3

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)

Farmer Katie reporting here on how proud I am of serving my baby’s lunch. Not only is she getting

a healthy assortment of carrot pieces and noodles shaped like Elmo’s head which I cathartically get to chop up, but she also gets fresh veg from my garden!

Outside I have a tiny little veg garden made up of two raised boxes, one with strawberry plants, and one with a few tomato, pepper, and zucchini plants. And so far, this season has been abysmal. My strawberries never got very large, and then were pilfered by rodent paws two weeks into the growing season. The zucchini are growing very slowly, and one of them has turned day-glow orange. And the pepper plants died. The full-size tomatoes are all knotty and lumpy. BUT, my cherry tomatoes are PERFECT. They’re round and red and ripe and beautiful. And there are a ton of them. So Farmer Katie got to happily dice up a cherry tomato for Lil’s lunch. I feel so domestic today!

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2.5

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

Yikes, salmonella’s back! And this time it’s all over our tomatoes. The FDA’s still investigating exactly where the salmonella tomatoes are coming from, and in the meantime, any of us thinking about putting a piece of raw tomato in baby’s mouth need to slam on the brakes. Although most adults recover just fine from salmonella contamination, babies are at much higher risk for harm. Naturally after hearing all this on the news the alarms have been going off big-time in my head, wondering if my baby girl’s at risk. And preparing to purge my kitchen of every last vestige of vegetable I can hunt down with flashlight and baseball bat.

So, I did some homework to find out everything a mom needs to know right now about tomato safety (never thought I’d be typing that sentence!). Here’s what I came up with:

1. The tomatoes to avoid include: red tomatoes, red plum tomatoes, and red Roma tomatoes
2. Here are a few types of tomatoes not associated with the outbreak, and therefore according to the FDA, are still safe to eat: cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes with the vine still attached, and homegrown tomatoes
3. Cooked tomatoes are not affected. So don’t sweat over the ketchup (hey, that sounds gross anyway), jarred pasta sauce, or the jarred baby foods.
4. Grow, grow, grow! Homegrown tomatoes are still perfectly safe (as long as you handle/wash them safely). So get out in the garden. And while you’re at it, you can use it as a lesson for your little one about gardening and nature.
5. Always wash ALL your produce - tomatoes or not, homegrown or store-bought, organic or not (you hear me Martha Stewart moms??). Run your veg under cold water and scrub them with your hands.
6. Wash your hands! In case I really need to remind you, even if you’re good and wash your hands after every diaper change and trip to the bathroom, you still need to wash your hands before handling any produce.

If you have any tips on keeping produce healthy and clean for your little ones, please share with us in the comments section. Meanwhile, I’m off to water my tomato plants out back. And give them a Silkwood-like cleaning.

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2.5