My Breast to Bib summary:
Kate from Modern Alternative Mama has come out with a fantastic new ebook directed toward the youngest members of the family…and their mamas. It is an ideal compliment to the other whole foods books in her “In the Kitchen” series. In the well-researched Breast to Bib–Modern Alternative Mama’s Guide to Nourishing your Growing Family, Kate covers your little one’s nutritional needs for the first two or three years of life in a non-judgmental, conversational manner.
She includes information about the benefits of breastfeeding. Her research on longterm nursing (two years and longer) makes us closet nursers no longer feel like freaks for extended or tandem nursing. On the other hand, she is highly encouraging to those who cannot supply enough milk, offering homemade formula recipes and supplementation options.
Kate simplifies the topic of feeding solids to babies, eliminating the complex age-based (as opposed to readiness-based) feeding regimen often “fed” to parents. And, listen people, it makes sense!
Kate also discusses how to deal with baby and toddler food allergies, from recognizing them to healing those nasty buggers. While I live with this issue daily, I generally stay away from this complex topic on The Simple Homemaker. It is anything but simple, and I hesitate to draw my readers into something that complicates life. Nevertheless, not recognizing and dealing with food sensitivities early on may contribute to long-term intestinal and immune damage, far more difficult to heal in later years than in infancy and toddlerhood. Ignorance in this case is not bliss. Sigh.
Finally, Kate offers recipes and food choices for babies, toddlers, and older children. This includes recipes that can be used for full meals and snacks, as well as ideas for convenient portable foods to replace the highly-processed but oh-so-delightfully convenient Gerber and General Mills snacks parents often turn to.
My thoughts on who would benefit from this book:
If your child has eczema, colic, excessive gassiness, frequent rashes, irritability, hyperactivity, allergies, or any other sign of digestive issues, you would benefit from this book.
If you or your child’s caretakers think Cheerios, “toddler puffs,” and rice cereal are great first foods for baby or toddler, read this.
If your baby’s grandparents don’t understand why you won’t let your “food sensitive” child eat a graham cracker or “teething biscuit,” get them this book. (I am in no way saying your perfectly healthy older child can’t have a graham cracker…or, er, a teething biscuit, but there are children out there (I have three) who react to certain foods and cannot have them for a time…or ever. Yup, not simple–believe me, I know, but ignoring it does not make it a non-issue.)
If you do not have support for extended breastfeeding or tandem nursing, are being pressured to wean, and are made to feel badly for not following conventional feeding “wisdom,” you’ll find the encouragement and support you need—both scientific and anecdotal–in this book.
If your child is abnormally picky about foods, preferring only carbs and sweets, this book could be a good launching point for you to address some health issues to get your little one on the right path.
If you are pregnant and want to know how to proceed with nursing, supplements, solids, and eventual weaning, this is a great resource which I wish I had 16 years ago. Even if you aren’t prepared to follow her recommendations in full or don’t agree with everything, you can’t help but take away a lot of valuable information that you can apply immediately.
My giveaway and coupon code:
I am giving away one copy of this excellent book to one reader. Enter here:
Continue reading “Breast to Bib Giveaway: How to Feed Babies and Toddlers”