babyblues,
at 7mths, min amount of milk needed is 500ml. if you bf when you go home that should come up to about 500ml already, so don't worry too much. if you are concerned that her milk intake is too low, you have several options. first one (i use this method alot myself) is to try adding milk into her food. that's why for me i add in her FM into her Heinz rice cereal (2oz for lunch and 2oz for dinner). you can also feed your baby substitutes, eg youghurt or cheese. there was once when my daughter refused to drink her 3pm milk, so what i did was feed her half a packet of yoghurt. when your daugher gets older and can eat more adult-style foods, you can always cook things like baked pasta (using milk & cheese as the sauce) or even poached fish and veges (also using milk and cheese as the sauce). i heard from some other mummies they are delicious!
once she turns 7mths, you can substitute one of the avocado cubes with a cube of fish or chicken (she needs the protein). also try to have a leafy green vege in her meal, so either brocolli or spinach is best. if you add in spinach or brocolli then you can leave out the carrot or avocado. try not to feed carrots everyday, as it has a tendency to make your baby turn "orange". don't laugh, it's true!! from what i've read, try to have 1 vege/fruit rich in vit A, and at least 1 rich in vit C in her daily meals.
bbrooster,
yes it's ok to deforst in microwave, but it's better to defrost forzen food in the fridge. what i do is the day before, i will take out the vege cubes from the freezer and transfer to an airtight tupperware, then put it in the fridge. so next day it is already defrosted, and when it's time for her meal, i will just need to heat up in moicrowave for around 45secs only. just be sure when you heat up in microwave you stir thoroughly to make sure the heat is evenly distributed, and always test the heat first before you feed your baby.
i actually cook quite a large batch! each time i cook can fill up 3 ice trays, which is 36 cubes! and this lasts for about 18 days! i read that frozen cooked and pureed veges can be kept for up to 3mths! frozen cooked and pureed meat up to 1 mth. fyi, the forzen fish i only cook about 2 week's worth only.
snowman,
3 days is the MAX you can keep opened jar baby foods. anything that is not consumed after 3 days MUST be thrown away. if your baby can't finish the jar foods, there really isn't much you can do about it...that's why i find jar foods are very wasteful and very EX! of worse comes to worst then maybe you gotta finish it yourself lor! haha! but i doubt you will like baby food right?
you know, i know it seems very stressful and such a hassle to start babies on solids, and the thought of cooking, pureeing and freezing foods is very daunting. but take it from me, once you get the hang of it it's very very easy. i find it so convenient (it takes me less than 15mins each time to prepare, puree and freeze them) and it's soooo much cheaper than jar foods, and not to mention sooooo much healthier!! there is also very little wastage.
mummies,
one thing i need to mention is once you start feeding your babies protein (eg fish, chicken, beef, pork, lamb, etc) at mealtimes, you must not feed milk at that meal, as milk will slow down the iron absorption by 50%. you need to feed your baby either water (around 2-3tbsp) or diluted fruit juice (buy those meant for babies).
