Only sweet pouches for infant?

[Anonymous]

DD is 11 month old and not very much into finger foods, so I mainly feed her mashed food or purées. She is not too keen of the stuff I make (savory without salt) but she loves pouches and yogurts. If your baby’s diet mainly consists of pouches, do you do a mix of sweet ones and savory ones, or do you only buy the sweet/fruity ones? (I’ve tried a few savory ones but DD did not like them and neither did I...). TIA

[Anonymous]

They’re all sweet. I try to give her fruit ones in the am and veggie ones in the evening.

[Anonymous]

I only do sweet with veggies mixed in. I wouldn't worry about yogurt (if it's full-fat, no fruit); I consider that protein and not sweet. But I wouldn't feed a baby a nonstop lineup of applesauce, for instance.

I make my own (it's so much easier than I can explain, this isn't a sanctimommy thing) and find that I can put like 4 lbs of spinach and one mango to make a dozen pouches. She eats them and I feel good about the balance of nutrients/fructose.

[Anonymous]

Make your own if you can. I made purées and froze in ice cube trays. So a meal would be one cube of zucchini, one of pear mixed. Pear is really sweet. I also did peach etc. try some purées red pepper (take the skin off after blanchin) it’s really sweet. I don’t buy any pouches where apple sauce or pear sauce is first ingredient. That’s a waste of money. And you can use some flavorings just go easy on the salt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make your own if you can. I made purées and froze in ice cube trays. So a meal would be one cube of zucchini, one of pear mixed. Pear is really sweet. I also did peach etc. try some purées red pepper (take the skin off after blanchin) it’s really sweet. I don’t buy any pouches where apple sauce or pear sauce is first ingredient. That’s a waste of money. And you can use some flavorings just go easy on the salt.

Me again. With an instant pot it’s pretty easy to make a big batch of something and freeze. And I’ve tasted everything I’ve given my baby and I would eat it myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I only do sweet with veggies mixed in. I wouldn't worry about yogurt (if it's full-fat, no fruit); I consider that protein and not sweet. But I wouldn't feed a baby a nonstop lineup of applesauce, for instance.

I make my own (it's so much easier than I can explain, this isn't a sanctimommy thing) and find that I can put like 4 lbs of spinach and one mango to make a dozen pouches. She eats them and I feel good about the balance of nutrients/fructose.

Me again - if your kid is better with smooth foods also try hummus. DD went nuts for it, even though I just gave her her first taste so she'd leave me alone to eat in peace!

[Anonymous]

I would maybe ask your pediatrician about this. I'm not an expert, but I'm wondering if your expectations are off for how much your child is supposed to be eating. I'm wondering if they're actually not that hungry but of course will eat smooth, sweet purees and yogurt if you offer because they're tasty. Maybe they're eating plenty of finger foods for their age but it seems like a tiny amount to you so you think your baby isn't into them?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone, I don’t have a group of mom friends so I wanted to make sure DD’s diet is within the normal range in terms of what’s being offered. She hasn’t been weighed for the last 5 months but a friend of mine recently remarked on how thin she is, and she eats much more when offered pouches only (which I’ve done a couple of times as a test) than when it’s a combo of home made stuff and pouches, or just homemade food. Also, I will try hummus - thanks for the suggestion!

[Anonymous]

I think it's a mistake not to include salt.

[Anonymous]

I buy pouches too, and read the label. I stick with pouches that have 8 g of sugar or less. Be careful... there are pouches with 14 grams sugar each!

[Anonymous]

Walmart of all places has pouches that are all vegetable, but with enough sweet vegetables that they're not the super savory bland ones. My DC liked the butter nut squash, carrot/zucchini/broccoli, and green bean medley (green beans, red peppers, sweet potato).

I agree though that it's easy to make your own food if you have the freezer space. Steam a big batch of whatever veggie or fruit, puree with a stick blender, then freeze in ice cube trays and transfer cubes to freezer bags. That way when you serve you can mix and match. I'd spend maybe an hour once a month cooking and pureeing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's a mistake not to include salt.

At every telehealth appointment, I do ask whether I can add salt and gerbil a stern “no.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I buy pouches too, and read the label. I stick with pouches that have 8 g of sugar or less. Be careful... there are pouches with 14 grams sugar each!

Ugh - thanks for pointing this out, I had never looked that close. Yes, 10-12g in each.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone, I don’t have a group of mom friends so I wanted to make sure DD’s diet is within the normal range in terms of what’s being offered. She hasn’t been weighed for the last 5 months but a friend of mine recently remarked on how thin she is, and she eats much more when offered pouches only (which I’ve done a couple of times as a test) than when it’s a combo of home made stuff and pouches, or just homemade food. Also, I will try hummus - thanks for the suggestion!

You should get her weighed. Why hasn't she been to a doctor in that long?

[Anonymous]

At least take her in for a weight check. At this age a drop in percentiles is something to pay attention to.

And I'm also concerned you don't have mom friends.