Ick. I could never get my daughter to eat it. I tried it once (I never give her anything I won’t eat - I always tried it first) even mixed with breastmilk, it was just gross. LOL. She likes her food with flavor. 
That’s funny…my mother actually told me NOT to taste the baby food. She said that at one time, this led to salt & sugar being added to it by the manufacturers, because adults aren’t used to food tasting like plain food…they think it’s too bland.
Personally, I just decided to read the labels. If there’s nothing but carrots in there, then it’s pretty much going to taste like mushed up carrots. From there, I let the baby decide if s/he likes it or not.
See, there’s this myth going around that babies have to have plain food. Quite the contrary! I think that actually results in more picky eaters, personally. HEck, think about babies in other cultures, such as Mexico and India. They’re not exactly known for bland food, and they feed their children the same stuff they eat.
We’ve always fixed my daughter’s food with spices and flavor… veggies get seasoned salt, things are cooking with butter and meat (okay, it’s not the healthiest stuff around, but it tastes good!) as a result, there’s very little she won’t eat, even at not-quite-2.
In fact, I’d say that baby food needs more flavor than less… their taste buds aren’t as developed as ours, so they need more to taste the good stuff!
She never even like the jarred stuff. I always made hers (doesn’t take as long as you’d think) and she loved it. And we were never afraid of unusual food. She loves salsa now, as long as its not TOO hot!
Maybe we shouldn’t go down this road. I’m what you would call a “mature mom.” I’m 40 years old and I’ve read a lot about feeding kids and what is appropriate at each age. I think in some areas here, we are bound to disagree. I don’t know you, and I think I’ve pissed you off enough for one day.
That’s not how WIC worked when my children were little. With WIC, you get a number of coupons that cover certain products no matter the cost. In TN, at least, the products tend to be the cheaper ones, but it is not like food stamps (which is what it sounds like you experience) where you get a specified amount of money to spend on the items you need.
WIC eligibility, for those who don’t know, is based on nutritional needs, not financial. Anyone, no matter how much money they make, can be eligible for WIC. In my case, I suffer from chronic pernicious anemia, so I qualified for WIC without question. Both of my children seem to have the same (low, but never critically low iron) issue, and so as babies also qualified.
My beef with WIC was that it covered gallons and gallons of milk, but since I have a whey allergy and can’t drink the stuff, and we simply didn’t use that much it was a waste – I would have liked to have been able to get fresh veggies instead of the milk. But, whatever. It’s a great program, and I am sorry that some people take issue with it simply because they aren’t eligible. Please pit welfare and food stamps instead, where someone can get money to spend on steak while you scrimp and save for 60/40 burger.
Please do not think that I have an issue with it because I’m not eligible. That couldn’t be farther from my feelings on the matter. If I was eligible, then I would REALLY think there was something wrong with the system (even if I was eligible for health reasons, I wouldn’t use it, because my income doesn’t necessitate it).
The thing about people buying steak with food stamps is that it’s just oftentimes not smart economizing. As you say, people who don’t qualify for WIC or foodstamps often have to pinch pennies to buy the groceries they need, and therefore have to forego steak & other expensive items. People on these programs are not the only ones who don’t get to indulge every whim.
LOL. Disagree about what, that babies like different things? Some kids do fine on bland jarred foods. I just stick to my policy of never feeding her something I wouldn’t eat. The pickiness thing is just a personal opinion… and not at all based in any kind of real data. Just observations.
Trust me, I’m not easily pissed off… well, get condescending with me, and that’s a guaranteed trigger. I don’t get angry about differences in feeding attitudes. Only when persistent misinformation is passed around about things I’m intimately involved in or familiar with… like breastfeeding (one of the most misunderstood means of feeding children ever, ironically enough) or receiving federal assistance. I don’t vilify a mom for choosing to formula feed over breastfeeding, although if she does it for selfish reasons (I want to be able to fix a bottle so I can go partying all night) I might be a little privately judgmental. But I don’t tell her so to her face. Heck, if I attacked formula feeders every time I saw one, I wouldn’t have friends… none of my friends breastfed for more than six weeks, or not at all, and in every case it was because they didn’t want to be responsible for all the feedings. Am I a better mother than they? Heck no. Just different.
You can always learn new things, and information changes so much, so quickly. With medical research and technological advance, things just aren’t the same. Now, I’m not sure what your age has to do with anything, really. My grandmother is 80, and I wouldn’t trust her for advice on feeding my kids. Now, for soothing a colicky baby? Shoot yeah. But things have changed. What was acceptable in her time isn’t any longer. Some of the worst advice I’ve gotten is from the older generation, presumably wiser. (Put them on their tummy to sleep at night, they’ll sleep so much better!)
Let’s just say that you aren’t the only one who doesn’t like to be condescended to.
Boy, you people are easily offended around here.
I wasn’t being condescending. Generally speaking when I am? I’m blatant as hell about it. I usually even throw in a few “dears” and “sweethearts” for good measure. Mind telling me what was condescending? I wasn’t saying your mother was saying that babies have to have bland food, nor was I saying you were. I was saying that there is a myth that babies have to have bland foods.
Yes, I can get condescending. I do. Usually when someone’s doing it to me first. Your initial post was offensive, but not condescending. Catt-whatever’s post seemed condescending… I’m willing to concede that it might not have been, because I am hair triggered on this subject (but the please make it temporary bit was too much even for me.).
But I was being conversational here, not condescending. Tone doesn’t convey well on the internet. I’d love to know what you thought was condescending, and I’ll happily clarify. You shouldn’t worry about offending or upsetting me… I promise, once this post peters out, I’ll probably forget this place ever existed, and you’ll never see me again. Well, not here, anyway.
To clarify… “here” meaning that post. Not necessarily other posts.
You know Red, I really don’t want to chase you off of the SDMB. Please, don’t go on my account. Folks around here are generally pretty nice. BUT…not in the Pit. This is the place where we rant & rave and don’t have to be nice to people. If you don’t like it, try some of the other forums…you’ll probably like it a lot.
But I have to say that this:
Kind of cracks me up, considering who went all ballistic on who first.
Well, I was just speaking in general. Even on WIC, I had to scrimp and save and pinch the hell out of my pennies to get the other things not covered, so I feel ya in that respect.
Believe me, I wish that I and my kids never were eligible for the program – as much as it helped (and it did), the health issues with chronic pernicious anemia far outweigh the benefits of receiving conveniently packaged formula.
No, it’s not a matter of you running me off. Quite the contrary. I just simply have no interest in being here. I don’t care to pay to participate in a message board… poor, remember.
I’m not asking you to be nice. I didn’t come here to be nice, after all. I can be, but on some subjects, I’m not interested in doing so. I’m not about to be nice to people who are being judgmental and ignorant.
And I’m certainly not pot calling kettle… I know damn well that I came in guns a-blazin. I’m not easily offended. Just irritated as hell, and sick to death of stereotypes and judgments. I’m just amused that now you’re backing off and “not wanting to offend” in a place that is intended for just that purpose. Put your money where your mouth is. I can certainly handle it.
My pediatrician recommended it. One of your cites says a small portion of kids have a problem with it. From your DrGreene cite:
Most of the cites don’t have a problem with it before 4 months. I’m sure there are some kids who have a problem with this, but since his doctor suggested it and it works for many people, I’m inclined to think this isn’t such a bad idea for parents to explore.
I agree. My kid was a fan of Pintos and Cheese at a very young age. And just about anything else! He’s never been a picky eater and he’s a helluva cook today!
it’s never wise to put it in a bottle without a doctor’s recommendation
And doctors are never wrong. Ever. Doctors just don’t give bad/out of date advice.
My first pediatrician recommended vitamin supplements for my exclusively breastfed infant. She never received them. Doesn’t mean that they aren’t fine for some people. Her second pediatrician is adamantly against them. Which is right? Which should non-medical people recommend? How about that people ask their pediatricians to see if it’s right for their child?
Oh for fuck’s sake get over yourself. You enter a forum in which you never posted before and DO become condescending pretty damn quickly. Now if anyone reads my paltry amount of posts, they’ll quickly see this is the FIRST time I’ve ever gotten snarky with someone.
When I said the thing about making it temporary AGAIN it comes from MY experiences. I take care of people and see people in neighborhoods every day that made poor choices. Well to be fair, some had choices snatched from them but that’s not a large percentage. I HATE seeing people tethered to the system because the system sucks. If people can get off, then I applaud them wholeheartedly. I support a better system that helps people get off instead of limited resources that keep you hooked on.
I hate telling my patients that “no, your medicaid won’t cover this, I’m sorry”. That sucks. So Ms. RedHead Whatever, if you took my words offensively and all that, well that’s your shit, not mine. I want better for people and you’re getting all huffy about it.
I think Sarahfeena’s already won this engagement, and not by a little. (Style and content weighted equally; style alone would have been no contest.)
I’m proud of you. Really am. Want a medal? Or a cookie for being nice and caring? Ain’t gonna happen.
And as I read, I did happen to say that I do get condescending, did I not?
You want really condescending and judgmental? Fine.
You’re an entitled asshat with nothing better to do than look down your nose at people “less fortunate” and who " need your help" and that “you only want better for.” Take your sympathy and stick it. Telling people what happened in your experience is nice and all, but means a whole lot of jack shit. Your do-nothing “welfare queen” of a mother was an idiot, I got that. Her problems aren’t mine, and do not apply. Offering advice when you have no knowledge of the situation is ridiculous, pointless, and presumptuous.
If you’d read the post you had even been replying to, you’d have read the part about having “incomed out”, which means that we made too much money for the program. Which would imply that we are, in fact, working on improving the situation.
Of course, that would imply some sort of reading comprehension, something that some people around here seem to completely lack. At least one person got what I was going for, or perhaps if you hadn’t understood my on-the-fly creation of a term that doesn’t exist, you could have asked what I meant.
You, dear, are the worst sort of condescending. The sort that “understands” what we’re going through. You don’t. Because it is very easy to say “you should try and make your situation better” from the outside, because you have no fucking clue what it takes to do so. It’s easy to “support a better system” when you have absolutely no advice on how such a thing might be implemented or where the money to administer it would come from. Everyone supports a better system, but no one is willing to actually do anything about it. Much easier to bitch about people buying steaks with foodstamps. Then, at least, you get to be self-righteous about what YOU would do… since of course, YOU would never be in that situation at all.
Oh, so you “win” by ignoring posts, refusing to answer direct questions, and being cryptic?
Gotcha. But in all fairness… I don’t have any knowledge of the culture of this board. Just wanted to twitch the nose of a few entitlement bitches.