Baby Food Makin' Adventures

This week I finally decided to jump into the fun exciting world of Baby Food Makin'!  (Funny what the terms "fun" and "exciting" apply to these days...)  So, I packed Lillian in the car and headed down to our local Co-op/organic grocery store, Bloomingfoods.  I forgot to make a list before going, and of course, as soon as we get there I spent what seemed like forever standing in front of the fresh veggies in all their vibrant green and orange glory trying to decide what in the world would be tasty pureed.  All of the sudden all of the ideas I had in my mind were lost, and the big blank canvas took over my brain.  (I'm blaming lack of breakfast and lunch on this one, but "mommy brain" has officially taken residence in our household lately.)

So what does a new mom do in this predicament?  Wonder over to the baby food aisle!  Ah, the inspirations are all coming back to flood the blank canvas up there. Squash? check. Carrots? check. Bananas? maybe. Peas? oh yeah!  I spin the cart around now armed with a plan and a sleeping baby (seriously, couldn't she wait to nap at home?!).  Head back to the fresh moisture kissed delicious organic vegetables and snatch up what seems like a great variety for my Lil' Bitty to enjoy. 

Is it just me, or does making your own baby food feel so empowering?

(Don't judge my paper bag. I also forgot our reusables...)

Yummy Nutrient Filled Goodness

Armed with recipes and instructions from http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/, a sleeping baby, and my trusty Beaba Babycook, I start rinsing, peeling, and chopping away!  You can't go wrong with carrots in my opinion, so that's where this adventure started. And can I just say, using the Beaba Baby cook is so darn easy it almost feels like cheating.

chop chop chop

Word of advice here - DON'T MAKE YOUR OWN PEAS FROM PODS.  All of those peas, plus doing this with every pod...

only equaled this pathetic amount of peas

That's not even enough for the blades to puree!  Major disappointment with the peas that night.  So take my advice and buy them already out of their pods and frozen.  Lesson learned the hard way.  On to the rest...

The Beaba working it's magic on zucchini

The clean up was easy peasy

(From left to right: carrots, zucchini, avocado, and summer squash)

Most of the finished product fit in this tray, but some of the avocado (and all of the peas) went right to the fridge for filling Lillian's belly for the next three days. I didn't get around to the eggplant because all of the rinsing, peeling, chopping, steaming, pureeing was done after 11pm, but it will get pureed this evening and placed in an ice cube tray for later enjoyment :).

                                                                    

Lillian has really been enjoying the avocado this week.  We had quite a bit that I didn't freeze and some of it got mixed up with some mashed bananas.  Avocado + mashed bananas = holy mashed up goodness!  It's delicious and to prove it I give you this....

Mom that is so good!

nom nom nom

And how embarrassing is this? Yes, I'm ashamed to say those are cut off.  I think it's time for new jammahs.

I would love to hear of other recipes or suggestions, so if you have some baby food makin' knowledge to share, please leave me a comment!(But no making fun of those pjs, we're going to buy more today :-P)

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Toes in the Sand

Lillian's first beach experience

"Don't block my sun!"

"I think there's sand in my diaper"

(That *might* be boxed wine next to my leg...)

Toes in the sand

Good times.

Don't Worry, Be Happy Now

I'm still here! Don't worry, I didn't jump off a cliff or drink the kool-aid.



We've been so busy since my last update with doctor appointments, PT, OT, ST, traveling, in-laws, and my new obsession with JoAnn fabrics...



We finally got some good news about the genetic test results. It seems that even though Lillian has the rarest of the rare types of PWS (only 1 in over 3,000,000 babies will be born with her genetic imprinting defect) our genetic counselor, the lab that processed the results, and one of the top geneticists for PWS in the country all believe there is a very low chance for recurrence.



*phew*



There's always the offer of prenatal testing for the next pregnancy, but Phil and I both agreed we aren't really interested in that. If we end up with another baby with Lillian's condition, that baby will bring us just as much joy as she does and they will live a happy life just like she will.



Speaking of living a happy life... We flew to Florida to meet Lillian's new endocrinologist and LOVE her. She filled us with so much hope and positive energy about Lillian's future. She made it very clear that Lillian will have plenty of opportunities in her future to do big things. She will go to school, she can go to college if she chooses, she can ride horses, play soccer, and have sleep overs. For the most part, she will live a pretty typical life. There will always be some things here and there that will be a bit of a challenge, but it all seems so much more manageable. (Did I mention said doctor and I had the same bright neon pink toe nail polish on? She's spunky AND smart.)



She was impressed with Lillian's strength and said she could tell we have a great PT, which we do :). We talked about Lillian's feeding issues (she's still tube fed because she doesn't want anything to do with bottles... but boy does she love her veggies!). There's a wonderful dietitian that will be taking over Lillian's diet once she returns to work after her maternity leave. Luckily she is working with the doctor by email to get us started on the right path to making Lillian a skinny kid... which is not an easy task with a child that has PWS. It's a crazy balance of trying to feed her the minimum amount of calories without taking away her energy or brain growth. Thank God they are professionals.




And here's Lillian modeling the first dress I've attempted sewing her. If you click on the pictures you can see the fabric up close (and my hot pink toe, lol):