milling mondays: homemade baby rice cereal

It is common to feed babies rice cereal when they first start eating solid foods and it is SUPER easy to make yourself.

We decided to give it a try with E after trying sweet potatoes for a couple of days. We figured that maybe giving her something more bland with her formula mixed in would be less of a change for her pallet and a gentle way for her to learn how to eat. And she liked it much better than the sweet potatoes. Instead of crinkling up her face and closing her mouth, she would reach for the spoon and open her mouth. So we decided to go this route for a couple of days and then return to veggies. Since then she has loved every veggie we have fed her:)

Homemade Rice Cereal

Ingredients

1/4 cup organic short grained brown rice

1 cup water

Directions

Bring the water to a boil.

Grind the brown rice into a powder. I of course used my WonderMill which worked great!

Add the rice powder to the boiling water while stirring. Let it simmer for 10 minutes continually whisking to make sure it doesn't clump.

Mix in breast milk or prepared formula to the desired consistency.

sweet potato puree

For a while Esther has been very interested in eating - she keeps reaching for food or drinks that Michael and I are having. Since I felt like it was too early to share my coffee or Thai curry with her;) we decided to let her try to eat some solids (with doctors approval). I think Esther had high hopes for the experience. As I lifted up the spoon to give her her first bite I looked away to say something to Michael and before I knew it she had wrapped her mouth around the spoon and taken a bite. BUT I think it ended in disappointment for her. She was so eager and then ... then her face started frowning and she wasn't as eager for the following bites. She didn't complain, but her facial expressions revealed her true feelings. Ha! I guess food wasn't all it was cracked up to be in her mind and maybe sweet potatoes just didn't taste good to her in general so we will try another veggie or fruit in the near future.

In the end I think Esther's parents had more fun with it than Esther herself:) We started the day by going to the farmers market to pick up some sweet potatoes to bring home to puree.

farmers market

mor and daddy - why are you posing me with a sweet potato???

Sweet Potato Puree

Ingredients:
Sweet Potatoes, peeled
Water

Directions
After peeling the sweet potatoes cut the potatoes up into small chunks.
Add the chucks to boiling water and let it boil until tender, about 15 minutes.

Then add the boiled potatoes to your blender and add some boiled potato water (or other liquid) and blend until you get the right consistency.

The pureed sweet potatoes can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days or you can freeze it as well.

This is SUPER easy to make and has no preservatives. Both characteristics that are important to me when feeding my baby. 

I think it tasted just fine and even a little sweet, but for now Esther isn't the biggest fan. I guess once we start mixing food together we will try the sweet potatoes again with a fruit or something.

even if esther wasn't the biggest fan of sweet potatoes she was super excited about her new bib:)

did someone say easter bunny?

joy

I absolutely love being a mor (aka mom)! I always wanted to be a mother, but you never know what the experience is truly like until you are doing it. And I love it! Esther is such a joy to be around. She loves to smile. I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago, but I see this smiling face all day long:) She is obviously a baby and has needs that a baby has and my body aches and I am sleep deprived ... but when I look into her eyes and see her smile (or even when she cries  ... does any one else find baby cries adorable?) it is all so worth it! I have a Type A personality for the most part and I have been surprised how it hasn't really bothered me that my house isn't picked up and that there are millions of  things on my to do list ... I mean I would love to get those things done, but if it is between getting those things done and spending time with sweet little Esther (even if she is fussy) - I choose Esther every time. I am so thankful for this little girl. I feel so privileged to be able to be her mor. I know that I may be in the honeymoon phase and some days are harder than others ... but I truly believe that I am doing what I feel called to do. I just love our little family and I am so thankful for the sacrifice of so many that has allowed this incredible blessing of God. God has been so faithful and it has filled my heart with so much joy!