Showing posts with label 6-8 months. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 6-8 months. Show all posts
April 8, 2012
Is It Healthy for Your Baby to Eat Cat Food?
This is an important question here. Is it healthy for your baby to eat cat food... or more importantly is it unsafe??
Miss A insists on gobbling down as much cat food as she can get her paws on. I often catch her with bits of soggy pieces of cat food all over her chin. When I pick her up and set her all the way across the room, away from the cat food, she immediately army crawls back as fast as possible. She desperately tries to snatch another piece of cat food before I pick her up and move her back across the room again. Once I do, the race back to the cat food happens again and again... and again.
You are probably wondering why I don't just block off the area around the cat food. Well... I've done that. It's like my cats and baby have teamed up though. She still manages to get some cat food. I don't know if my cats are playing with their food and bat the pieces into Miss A's reach or if they personally paw-deliver pieces to her! It's the most disgusting thing in the world but yet Amelia makes a game of seeing how much she can shove into her mouth without me noticing. When she gets quiet, I instantly know she is up to trouble and probably sitting in the corner shoving pieces of cat food in her mouth. Gross.
Babies!
We feed our cats (and baby?) Purina Cat Chow, the indoor formula. Here are the ingredients listed in this delicious concoction.
Let's take a closer look at a few of these ingredients. I am no scientist so you will have to bare with me.
Poultry By-Product Meal: This is chicken that is rejected for human consumption. This means the chicken is dead or old and dying. It includes bones, offal, undeveloped eggs, and feathers.
Corn Gluten Meal: By product of corn used as an inexpensive protein source used mainly in animal feed.
Animal Fat: Animal fat can't be too bad for your baby seeming how breastmilk is at least 50% animal fat. The animal fat in cat food is likely to be chicken or turkey fat. It's essential for giving the cat energy. Also it enhances taste!
Animal Liver Flavor: Harmless flavor that Amelia especially loves.
Soybean Hulls: Another by product meal from the soybean meal industry. This is added to help reduce hairballs.
Several Vitamins: Babies don't really need vitamin supplements if they are eating their fruits and vegetables, along with formula/breastmilk. But the body will just flush out the excess vitamins anyways. So I say it's harmless.
I honestly should have stopped researching at the poultry by product meal ingredient. I feel sick to my stomach and I'm not even the one eating the cat food! The purpose of cat food is to provide CATS with a healthy meal especially formulated for their body's nutrition needs. Cats are different from humans. (In case you forgot... like I do occasionally.) So of course Miss A should NOT be eating cat food!
However, Popular Science wrote an article that answers my initial question.
No it is not healthy to eat cat food... on a regular basis. It does not provide the essentials nutrients needed for the human body.
It may be consumed safely though. So you know, I am not trying to rationalize why it is okay to let Miss A eat cat food. I will constantly be making sure she eats as few pieces of cat food as possible! I hear my mom used to eat dog food as a baby. This kind of behavior must run in the family. Haha! :P
To make up for her cat food eating behavior, I try to include a healthy diet by making some of my own homemade baby food. Tonight it was Peas & Lima Beans. I bought one bag of frozen peas and one bag of frozen lima beans. I cooked them and pureed them in the blender with some water. I mix in some baby cereal too when I feed it to her. Sound gross? Miss A had it for dinner tonight and loved it...
Maybe you'd prefer cat chow?
Miss A insists on gobbling down as much cat food as she can get her paws on. I often catch her with bits of soggy pieces of cat food all over her chin. When I pick her up and set her all the way across the room, away from the cat food, she immediately army crawls back as fast as possible. She desperately tries to snatch another piece of cat food before I pick her up and move her back across the room again. Once I do, the race back to the cat food happens again and again... and again.
You are probably wondering why I don't just block off the area around the cat food. Well... I've done that. It's like my cats and baby have teamed up though. She still manages to get some cat food. I don't know if my cats are playing with their food and bat the pieces into Miss A's reach or if they personally paw-deliver pieces to her! It's the most disgusting thing in the world but yet Amelia makes a game of seeing how much she can shove into her mouth without me noticing. When she gets quiet, I instantly know she is up to trouble and probably sitting in the corner shoving pieces of cat food in her mouth. Gross.
Babies!
We feed our cats (and baby?) Purina Cat Chow, the indoor formula. Here are the ingredients listed in this delicious concoction.
Ingredients:
Corn meal, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, soy flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), powdered cellulose, animal liver flavor, soybean hulls, malt extract, calcium carbonate, phosphoric acid, salt, choline chloride, potassium chloride, taurine, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, parsley flakes, niacin, added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2), copper sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite. I-4500 Let's take a closer look at a few of these ingredients. I am no scientist so you will have to bare with me.
Poultry By-Product Meal: This is chicken that is rejected for human consumption. This means the chicken is dead or old and dying. It includes bones, offal, undeveloped eggs, and feathers.
Corn Gluten Meal: By product of corn used as an inexpensive protein source used mainly in animal feed.
Animal Fat: Animal fat can't be too bad for your baby seeming how breastmilk is at least 50% animal fat. The animal fat in cat food is likely to be chicken or turkey fat. It's essential for giving the cat energy. Also it enhances taste!
Animal Liver Flavor: Harmless flavor that Amelia especially loves.
Soybean Hulls: Another by product meal from the soybean meal industry. This is added to help reduce hairballs.
Several Vitamins: Babies don't really need vitamin supplements if they are eating their fruits and vegetables, along with formula/breastmilk. But the body will just flush out the excess vitamins anyways. So I say it's harmless.
I honestly should have stopped researching at the poultry by product meal ingredient. I feel sick to my stomach and I'm not even the one eating the cat food! The purpose of cat food is to provide CATS with a healthy meal especially formulated for their body's nutrition needs. Cats are different from humans. (In case you forgot... like I do occasionally.) So of course Miss A should NOT be eating cat food!
However, Popular Science wrote an article that answers my initial question.
No it is not healthy to eat cat food... on a regular basis. It does not provide the essentials nutrients needed for the human body.
It may be consumed safely though. So you know, I am not trying to rationalize why it is okay to let Miss A eat cat food. I will constantly be making sure she eats as few pieces of cat food as possible! I hear my mom used to eat dog food as a baby. This kind of behavior must run in the family. Haha! :P
---------------------
To make up for her cat food eating behavior, I try to include a healthy diet by making some of my own homemade baby food. Tonight it was Peas & Lima Beans. I bought one bag of frozen peas and one bag of frozen lima beans. I cooked them and pureed them in the blender with some water. I mix in some baby cereal too when I feed it to her. Sound gross? Miss A had it for dinner tonight and loved it...
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| I use Munchkin Fresh Food Freezer Cups to store leftovers in the freezer. |
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| NASTY. That is soggy cat food on her face... |
April 7, 2012
Let the Bedtime & Naptime Tantrums Begin!
I know when my baby is tired. Not only does she start to get crabby and rub her eyes profusely, but she refuses to be satisfied by ANYTHING. No toys, kitties, lullabies, or pacifiers will ease her into comfort. She is just overtired. Plain and simple.
As soon as I walk into Miss A's room with her in my arms, the tears instantly begin to flow. She knows she's about to be placed in her crib. The baby cage. Her jail cell. If I sing her the ABCs or Itsy Bitsy Spider, then she will hold off and cry the moment she is set into her crib. That's a start. If I have a warm bottle, she will cry [THE SADDEST CRY EVER] but only for 20 seconds or so until she realizes she wants her bottle more. That is when I tuck the covers around her, turn on her music, smother her in kisses, and quietly escape. If there is no bottle, I place her pacifier in her hands and fearfully run out of the room! The pacifier will not soothe her so if I can get her to hold onto it, there is a 50/50 chance she will put it in her own mouth after I leave. Depending on how tired she gets, she will only cry for a few seconds or maybe a couple minutes. Then she will doze right off before her mobile can even stop playing music. That's on a lucky day though.
All I can say is...
Miss A. Let the battles begin!
As soon as I walk into Miss A's room with her in my arms, the tears instantly begin to flow. She knows she's about to be placed in her crib. The baby cage. Her jail cell. If I sing her the ABCs or Itsy Bitsy Spider, then she will hold off and cry the moment she is set into her crib. That's a start. If I have a warm bottle, she will cry [THE SADDEST CRY EVER] but only for 20 seconds or so until she realizes she wants her bottle more. That is when I tuck the covers around her, turn on her music, smother her in kisses, and quietly escape. If there is no bottle, I place her pacifier in her hands and fearfully run out of the room! The pacifier will not soothe her so if I can get her to hold onto it, there is a 50/50 chance she will put it in her own mouth after I leave. Depending on how tired she gets, she will only cry for a few seconds or maybe a couple minutes. Then she will doze right off before her mobile can even stop playing music. That's on a lucky day though.
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| She has the advantage unfortunately... Look at that cute face! Simply Irresistible. |
Miss A. Let the battles begin!
April 6, 2012
Peaceful Dining Experience With Your Baby
Do you take your baby with you to eat out at a restaurant?
Before deciding whether or not to bring your baby, ask yourself these questions.
How old is my baby?
If she is a newborn, chances are she will sleep throughout the entire meal. At this stage you are golden (for the most part) so go for it! If she wakes up you can simply nurse her or give her a bottle.
If she is older than five months...
Do you want to chance having a screaming baby in a sit down restaurant while everyone turns their heads towards you?
Do you want fruit puffs/cheerios flying across the table?
Do you want your plate pulled onto the floor?
Do you want her to throw all her toys, pacifier, bottle, sippy cup, and spoons on the floor?
If you answered yes to these questions, go for it! You are fearless parents!
If you answered no, don't worry! You can still eat out with your baby. You just have to time out nap time and feedings right. If you mess up... well you never really know how your baby will act out in the restaurant, so it's not your fault but be prepared for the worst.
Here are 10 Tips to Create a Peaceful Dining Experience With Your Baby!
And once you've had several peaceful dining experiences at the restaurant, you're more willing to chance it because it can be quite fun for your baby. Miss A always looks up and all around, checking out the new scenery. She also heavily GAWKS at everyone eating around us but I haven't ran into anyone who didn't smile back at her. The waitresses always seem to love seeing Amelia too. So it can be FUN, I promise. Just work on the timing of naps and be sure to follow my tips above. For motivation, look at my happy baby in my last post. We ate out in Saugatuck a couple days ago with her. She was even tired and overdue for a nap but did fine!
Happy Dining with Baby!
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| Dining with Miss A at Olive Garden |
How old is my baby?
If she is a newborn, chances are she will sleep throughout the entire meal. At this stage you are golden (for the most part) so go for it! If she wakes up you can simply nurse her or give her a bottle.
If she is older than five months...
Do you want to chance having a screaming baby in a sit down restaurant while everyone turns their heads towards you?
Do you want fruit puffs/cheerios flying across the table?
Do you want your plate pulled onto the floor?
Do you want her to throw all her toys, pacifier, bottle, sippy cup, and spoons on the floor?
If you answered yes to these questions, go for it! You are fearless parents!
If you answered no, don't worry! You can still eat out with your baby. You just have to time out nap time and feedings right. If you mess up... well you never really know how your baby will act out in the restaurant, so it's not your fault but be prepared for the worst.
Here are 10 Tips to Create a Peaceful Dining Experience With Your Baby!
- Go to the restaurant as soon as your baby wakes up from a nap. Change her diaper and go.
- While you place your orders, feed your baby at the restaurant. I bring her fruits and veggies and spoon feed her her entire meal.
- Bring snacks to place on the table in front of the high chair.
- Bring her sippy cup filled with water.
- If possible, order foods that your baby can taste too. This keeps my baby occupied for sure. (mashed potatoes, squished peas or other soft veggies, applesauce, etc.)
- Bring toys! (plastic keys, books, dolls, anything and everything!)
- Bring pacifier. You can always dip the baby's pacifier into different sauces if they are old enough! And it works great as a baby silencer some of the time.
- Definitely have a spare diaper... I'm sure I didn't need to tell you that one! Keep some diapers in your glove box for emergencies!
- Include your baby in your family dinner by talking and even playing with her.
- Relax! Look around the restaurant, chances are there are several other babies at tables. Some will be crying. Some will be happily eating. Just know that it is okay for your baby to make noise in public! However, if a temper tantrum is coming on and there is nothing you can do... it may be best to grab your doggy bags and head home.
- Bonus: If your baby cries, take turns holding her in your lap. That buys time for us.
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| More Dining... with a Bread Monster! |
Happy Dining with Baby!
Family Day Trip to Saugatuck, Michigan
Can you bring an 8 month old baby on a day long bike trip?
We debated for a few weeks on whether or not we wanted to bring Miss A with us to Saugatuck. We were planning to go biking around the downtown area and look through all the cute boutiques there. At first, we immediately tried to get a babysitter thinking it would be more enjoyable without worrying if Miss A was going to fuss and cry throughout the trip. But when our babysitters backed out, we decided it could be a fun family trip... or at least a good experience for Miss A, whether or not she enjoyed it. So we packed up our things... [bikes, bike trailer, stroller, Miss A's baby food & formula, bottle, diapers, wipes, extra sweatshirts, socks, blankets, dozens of baby toys, pacifiers, and everything else...] And off we went.
While I drive I have a cute little face peeking up at me. It is absolutely irresistible. It makes me want to stop, park my car and just chill in the car...
We didn't even drive for two minutes and Miss A passed out. Nap time! The timing could not have been more perfect. She would be well rested by the time we got to Saugatuck. [about an hour away with including our coffee stop] First stop was Panera Bread! It is the closest thing to a Belgium or French bakery that I have found. I ran in and grabbed us some coffee and bagels AND un Pain Au Chocolat. :) Delicious.
To answer my first question, YES! You can bring 8 month old babies on day trips. We had the best of luck with timing. The nap times in the car were essential and key to making it all work out happily. This trip couldn't have been better! :)
We debated for a few weeks on whether or not we wanted to bring Miss A with us to Saugatuck. We were planning to go biking around the downtown area and look through all the cute boutiques there. At first, we immediately tried to get a babysitter thinking it would be more enjoyable without worrying if Miss A was going to fuss and cry throughout the trip. But when our babysitters backed out, we decided it could be a fun family trip... or at least a good experience for Miss A, whether or not she enjoyed it. So we packed up our things... [bikes, bike trailer, stroller, Miss A's baby food & formula, bottle, diapers, wipes, extra sweatshirts, socks, blankets, dozens of baby toys, pacifiers, and everything else...] And off we went.
While I drive I have a cute little face peeking up at me. It is absolutely irresistible. It makes me want to stop, park my car and just chill in the car...
We didn't even drive for two minutes and Miss A passed out. Nap time! The timing could not have been more perfect. She would be well rested by the time we got to Saugatuck. [about an hour away with including our coffee stop] First stop was Panera Bread! It is the closest thing to a Belgium or French bakery that I have found. I ran in and grabbed us some coffee and bagels AND un Pain Au Chocolat. :) Delicious.
As soon as we parked, I fed Miss A some sweet potatoes and peaches.
We sat in the grass while daddy readied our bikes.
Miss A was riding in luxury. She had a windbreaker [clear plastic over the screen], two fuzzy, warm blankets, and a big bag of toys at her side!
I was really excited to stop at this park! Miss A had so many new things to experience.
FIRST TIME ON A SWING! SHE LOVED IT!!
Cute pictures of Miss A & daddy by this cool little worm statue!
FIRST TIME ON THE SLIDE TOO!
After some biking, we switched to walking around town so we could easily browse through shops. It was the perfect time for snack time! [For Miss A anyways!]
I love Saugatuck! It's very pretty... can't wait to return in summer. The scenery will be breathtaking! This picture below is by far my favorite! Miss A was having fun looking and smelling the flowers.
We stopped at the Butler Restaurant, which is one of the oldest buildings there that has been continuously in use.
Afterwards, we had one more stop. Allé Rue. Earlier I had seen a french boutique that I desperately needed to look through! I am in love with everything French... so it was necessary.
Miss A did so good for so long! And then the frown came...
Then the tears... :(
Then it was NAP TIME. So back to the car we went for a tour of the Lake Michigan Coastline.
Oval Beach
Lots of Dunes
We drove along this road that followed the shoreline... These are some examples of the houses we passed. Crazy. And not fair that they get to wake up to this beautiful view every morning!
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