3/30/11 – Adventures in Baby Food – Mango’s

Well, last night went much better than I expected. Amelia did wake up somewhat early, but Olivia slept through it. Unfortunately, Olivia then woke up a while after we got Amelia back down, and she woke Amelia up, so we had to get both of them back down. And, we did. It ended up working out well. Of course, I still didn’t get much sleep because now I had to worry about her being in a different room! You just can’t win. I forgot the adjustment period that came along with that move. I think we’ll try to stick with this, and see how it goes. Hopefully we’ve finally found something that will work!

Work was busy as ever. Christian started off the morning at the ear doctor, getting a post-surgery check up. They said his ear is healing perfectly, there’s no infection and that from what they can tell and it definitely shouldn’t come back. They want him back in a couple of weeks for another injection, so hopefully it continues healing well. He ended up working a little late to make up some time, and then his mom was cooking some food for him to bring home, so I had plenty of time to get some stuff done around the house. I did a couple loads of laundry, washed dishes, make bottles, made some baby food (peaches and mango’s) and did a little cleaning up. Everyone else finally arrived home, we cooked some dinner and watched American Idol. Nothing too exciting.

Tonight was my first batch of Mango’s. Of course, like a lot of other stuff, Mango’s are not in season right now, so I used a frozen bag. Mangos are another fruit that is loaded with Vitamin A and one that contains a higher level of carotenoids than almost any other fruit. These carotenoids are said to reduce the risk of cancer as well as heart disease. Carotenoids are also thought to be successful in warding off the common cold. Mango’s are low in fat, low in calories but very high in fiber. You will also find lots of Vitamins C and B in Mangoes as well as iron, potassium and protein. Mango’s are tropical fruits and their age for introduction is varied - while they may make a great first food, they are probably not good as THE first food. Mango’s may be allergenic as many tropical fruits tend to be. However, they are not known to commonly cause life threatening allergic reactions however. The type of allergic reaction a Mango may cause is topical or dermatological. The allergen itself resides in the skin/peel of the mango and not within the actual fruit itself. Eating the mango “meat” or pulp will not cause the rash to get into the throat or tummy per se but if the oleoresin from the peel/skin has touched the Mango “meat”, a rash may erupt around the mouth. Some sources say that a Mango allergy may in fact cause a rash around the bottom as the mango is digested and passed through. That being said, there are many pediatricians who say that tropical fruits should be held off until 8 months old and up.

Homemade mango’s are definitely NOT the most cost effective, but you still have some savings, and nonetheless, it’s still healthier, so it’s still a win. The bag was pretty small, so it didn’t make a ton.

Cost Savings:
- 1 Bag of Frozen Mango’s = $2.96 – Makes Roughly 6 Jars
- 6 Jars of Gerber Stage 2 Mango’s = $3.57
- Cost Savings of $.60