not a post for those with weak stomachs

I spent much of my evening peeling, cutting, and boiling. Why? To feed our 8-month-old son. I tell myself it's worth it because of all the money we're saving, but I will say that it's quite time-consuming.

Here's what I do. I buy tons of fresh produce, peel it all, cut it into chunks, boil it, and stick it in my Cuisinart food processor I got for 7 buckaroos at a yard sale. It is seriously huge; I always underestimate how much can fit in there. Then, I spoon the pureed produce into ice cube trays, cover them with cling wrap, and freeze them. Here is a shot of the bananas I made last week.

After they freeze, I put them into large ziplocs, labeled with permanent marker, and shove them back into the freezer. The baby food isn't like ice cubes; they don't stick together at all. When mealtime comes, I heat what I need for 30 seconds in the microwave, stir it, then put it back in for like 20 more seconds.

How much does he eat?

Breakfast: 3 cubes of fruit, 4 Tbsp. rice cereal

Lunch: 3 cubes of fruit, 3 cubes of veggies

Dinner: 3 cubes of veggies, 3 cubes of fruit, 3 Tbsp. rice cereal

Pictured here: avocados, peas, green beans, broccoli, sweet potatoes, spaghetti squash, eggplant, bananas, pears, apples, butternut squash, carrots, zucchini, corn, and strawberries. Very colorful, no? Appetizing? Maybe not.

Sadly, he won't eat the green beans, peas, broccoli, corn, carrots, or strawberries right now, I think because of the texture (he always pukes when we try to feed him these items).

You already know about Silas' puking problem from this post. And you may even remember similar stories like this one from when he was teeny tiny. I think it's safe to say that Silas has unusual issues with his...digestive system? Gag reflex? Honestly, I'm not sure what causes all the projectile vomit.

He puked regularly from about 6 weeks to 9 weeks...a ticking time bomb, you never knew when he was going to blow. I thought he was totally over it, until one day when he was eating pears and the familiar red face and severe gagging began. And sure enough, out came the familiar projectile vomit, only this time in pretty colors. We thought there was a correlation between his puking and textures, so we cut out many of the foods I was processing for him...just can't get it smooth like Gerber. But he still throws up pretty consistently, about once every 3 days or so.

Here's a very lovely shot of Silas' bananas, cereal, and whatever else he was eating...hmm, looks kinda green...avocado perhaps? Zucchini?

To give you some context, that shot is of his high chair tray. And the vomit is covering the entire tray. As you can see, we're not talking about a little dribble. I'm always proud when I can get him to puke completely on the tray (as pictured here) and not have to change his clothes.

All the doctors and nurses I've talked to don't seem concerned at all, but I really wish they could witness it happen and then tell me it's "normal." They said not to worry; lots of babies have issues with texture, and it's not something we need to push until Silas is 9 months.

Of course, I just can't quite leave it alone...I started re-introducing strawberries yesterday, and we're having success so far. (No puke, only a few gags.) And we tried giving him a couple of Cheerios last week...I thought maybe a completely different texture would be okay. The first one seemed to go down fine, but then the second one caused extreme gagging (Nathan was about ready to do the Heimlich) followed by...you guessed it...major barf.

Any tips on food processing and freezing? Anybody else's kids struggle with random puking and/or texture issues? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. :)