Freezing Baby Food In Ice Cube Trays - First Attempt

My zealous attempts at making homemade baby food for Sya has landed me to experiment the "Freezing Baby Food In Ice Cube Trays" technique. I wanted to place them in the medium size zip lock bag for easy storage but TESCOs ran out of them.

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We bought some cheap ice cube trays from tesco but when I bent them, it made a cracking sound that made me jump. Not good. Must hunt for better ice cube trays.



I dream of this :



I was a bit sceptical about storing them coz I've not found a proper one with lid, so I placed them in airtight containers. Huge fan of them and they are made in Korea. They also have mini containers within the containers and Parksons had them at 50% sale when I bought them so lucky me.





As bacteria forms quickly I had to quickly transfer them onto the airtight containers. Now I must stress how important it is on the dos and donts of homemade baby food cleanliness.



Check here for more info -
Baby Food Tips and Hints - Do's
http://homecooking.about.com/od/specificfood/a/babyfooddos.htm
Baby Food Tips and Hints - Dont's
http://homecooking.about.com/od/specificfood/a/babyfooddonts.htm

But all in all, this was a good atempt for a first timer.

Making Homemade Baby Food - Part One

*this is especially for my friends out there who wanted to know more on how I make homemade baby food

I love Thong Sui and am not cantonese nor am I chinese.

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Though I look very much chinese. I suspect its because my anchestors came from Cirebon where the great Admiral Cheng Ho travelled and some who followed settled there and a lot of people from Cirebon DO look chinese and some of our food do have that influence.

But thats another blog posting....

Anyway...again I love Thong Sui. I usually pass on local malay desert with coconut milk like pengat.

In Cantonese, Thong Sui means sugar water or dessert. However rock sugar is used instead of granulated sugar. This is because granulated sugar tend to give wind in the stomach, but rock sugar doesn’t. My mom diligently boiled barley with rock sugar when I was young when it was heaty. She also uses rock sugar for her famous pumpkin or banana pengat gula (something like Thong Sui)

In recent years I'm really blessed to have chinese friends that I mastered some art in the making of Tong Shui. Those days it was hard to find halal tong shui shop. There was this tea lady who was a master in the art of tong shui and taught me a trick or two. I got envious of the fragrant smell coming out of the rice cooker turn double boiler and told her I wanna make some on my own, using my own 'Halal' rice cooker. I love fuji apple, sweet potato or papaya Thong Sui.

But thats another blog posting....coz I'm supposed to write about my experience on making homemade baby food for my girls.

I used to steam my fruits and veges for Aliya when she started solids. But ever since learning to make Thong Sui on my own, I decided that when I have A'aesyah, I would do the same but this time I would cook them in a double boiler. I decided to do that for the same reason why people double boil Thong Sui Ingredients - because they are delicate and you dont want to water them down and lose all those natural goodness.

I bought some china wear for double boiling infront of McDonalds a few months back to use but I am still envious of the double boiler my mother has at my parents home (real clay pot you know)



Commercial baby food is expensive (RM2.95 per small jar) - I only use them for travelling purposes. Its a tideous job but I firmly believe mom's cooking is the best (air tangan ibu kata orang melayu)

The new rice cooker DH bought is deep so its perfect for double boiling.

After reading that "if you DO choose to leave the skin on, however, you should buy organic apples in order to avoid the pesticide residues that accumulate in the skin of non-organic produce", I decided to peel them unless I bought organic ones (which can blow a huge hole in your pocket). I also wash the apples with a special liquid from Pureen as well but I notice that sometimes having the skin on makes the baby food a bit bitter and my girls dont eat as much as if they know. So though my mom always say the natural goodness resides in the skin most of all, I still peel them for those reasons.


Why should i peel fruits and vegetables for my baby?
Read here

Sya (A'aesyah) has been on solid for nearly a month now. My brother and myself have a history of food allergies, Sya is lactose intolerant (she is on soy based milk) so we use the 4 day rule to introduce new food so she's had apples, pears, japanese sweet potato and carrot. This week I am trying local sweet potato (the orange type) and bananas (pisang montel).


Why the 4 day wait rule? Read more here

4 day wait rule
Avoid Baby Digestive Problems and Pinpoint Problem Foods

So this is part one of my journey so far with homecook baby food. I will write some more of my experience in later postings. Do drop a question if you have any or share your thoughts on my subject if you wish.

For malaysian mommies who are thinking of making homecook baby food (though we usually are but making an alternative to the nasi bubur that has been forced on us by our elders) - kudos! I tip my hat off as respect as I know how much hard work it takes but I purely believe you are making an EXTREMELY EXCELENT choice for your kids.

Because I cant breastfeed I'm a BAD mom?

Sya seen here barely a month old....

I admit in the begining I thought that because I cant breastfeed I had a defect. I thought I could cure it second time around with Sya, but unfortunately no.

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They always say breast milk is best which bothers me. Its plastered in big huge letters on babymags, at the maternity clinic and everything and anything that has to do with mothering. When I cant breastfeed, I felt that I was a failure and that I couldn't provide for Liya. It bothered me a lot, especially everytime she gets sick, I'm blamed for not giving her breastmilk.

I thought that ok, when Sya comes along, I'm be fully prepared - second chance la katakan. Bought the whole lot : nursing boppy pillow (DH calls bantal U Mobile), breast pumps etc I didn't even buy more than 2 bottles sebab confident sangat, kali ni I wont go wrong.

ERK! wrong. Nature just didn't work for me AGAIN. I would cry and get really depressed, but it wasn't going to change anything.

It was worst because everyone kept asking "susu badan ke?". It was like being able to breastfeed means you get to wear the "perfect mom sash" with the Tiara - u know like the ratu-ratu wear.

I remember how I wanted to hit myself in the face when the doktor kerajaan made a harsh remark on me not being able to do so. No wonder some moms go meroyan.

Then when you read all the baby books, baby mag and baby website - all pro breastfeeding, they always say its an excuse NOT to breastfeed. Lagilah rasa putus harapan. Not to forget relatives giving tips, apa boleh buat, senyum sumbing dan angguk.

And the looks you get. They dont understand that you have exhaust all options. I have very short nipples (ok this is a parenting blog and that wasnt suppose to sound euw) The second time I tried it, the stupid nurse at the nursery pinch my nipples so hard I wanted to die. It was so traumatic, I dreaded going to the NICU. My parents bought nipple extensions but noooo....short nipples + very very little milk = hungry baby = exhausted dont want anything else but milk NOW.

But I did express a little bit of milk and fed Sya using a small spoon. It wasnt much. I do envy moms who have it mencurah-curah. I even cried and said sorry.

So I told myself, why dwell on what your body will or will not do. Breastfeeding should be a choice not something that determines whether you're a good mom or not.

I know that when I formula feed my daugthers, I snuggle and kiss them and I know thats bonding.

Like one website says, I quote
"And for the moms who try and can’t, guilt is not going to make the situation any easier to handle. The failure to breast-feed successfully can cause guilt on its own for these women. They do not need the added pressure of turning on the TV and being told that they are, in effect, killing their babies. For some women, breast-feeding is a very personal issue. The reasons that they choose to or not to breast-feed can be very diverse, not to mention personal. These women should not be made to feel guilty about their decision. The government should provide education to women, and then support them in whatever decision they make for their family." Breastfeeding VS Formula-feeding: Is Guilt the Answer?


I could not agree more!