What type of milk is your baby drinking?

What is the best milk for Skyler? This question has always been my number one concern, and up till today, I would still look up more information to ensure my decision of Almond Milk from time to time. Come to find out that there are many moms out there like me that have the same question... not sure about you, the Malaysian moms? I am thinking you probably don't have to worry too much since most babies and toddlers in Malaysia are drinking formula of either soy or cow milk? Am I right?  I said this because dairy milk selection in Malaysia is very limited, I did not see much variety of dairy milk being sold in Malaysia, I was not able to find any fresh dairy Almond milk in Malaysia for Skyler during my last trip, the closest almond milk that I could ever found is from "Cold Storage" in Mid Valley, and it taste awful. So, even you have the same concern as me, you probably not going to have much choice but to go back... just to soy or cow milk, unless you know any store in Malaysia that sell variety of fresh dairy milk, if you do, pleaseeeeee let me know.

Ok, what a long opening. So, there are many different types of milk out there that parents use to feed their kids, oh my! you'll be surprised to see this:

Cow milk
Raw Milk
Soy milk
Almond milk
Coconut milk
Rice milk
Goat milk
Hemp milk
and more

Each of the above milk has its own pros and cons, you should considered each milk nutrition with its pros and cons, then go with the one that best match your baby needs. For me, personally.. I will not go with cow milk, there are just too many articles out there that against cow milk, just Google it, below are just some examples.

http://www.waoy.org/9.html
http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/linda_folden_palmer.html

Soy milk is another common substitution of cow milk, we all drink soy milk since we were little, but I am a little skeptical with its substance that can cause problem on hormone and thyroid function:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/224425-the-pros-cons-of-soy-milk-for-children/
http://www.healthychild.com/soy-alert

Well, it will be too much if I post the pros and cons of each milk, you might fall to sleep... below is a little information about almond milk. From my own experience: Skyler always has nose congestion, feel like he just born with it... I saw immediate improvement on his symptom about two weeks after I switched him from cow milk to almond milk:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/almond-milk-nutrition-facts.html

There are probably over 10 millions opinions out there from different experts, everybody is saying different thing, it makes my brain hurts sometimes after too much reading. :) In short, you need to find one milk that best matches your baby needs, generally speaking... the 4 most common milks are cow, soy, almond and goat milk. conclusion that I have from all these reading are as below:

Goat milk over cow milk
Almond milk over soy milk

So, what types of milk is your baby drinking?

Baked Butternut Squash

Baked butternut Squash, it could be a side dish or it could be added into any dish, for example: butternut squash congee, butternut squash pancake, butternut squash oatmeal or butternut squash mac n cheese. Just be creative, it blends well into almost anything! 

Again, it is one of the most nutritious vegetables that kid must eat, High in Vitamins and Calcium plus it is  smooth and delicious! It is also one of the wonderful baby first solid food, it can be given to baby as young as 4 to 6 months old, I puree a lot of this for Skyler when he was a few months old. 

Nutrition Facts for 1 cup cooked-baked, butternut cubes) 
Univ. of IL - Watch Your Garden

Calories - 79.95
Protein - 1.82 grams
Carbohydrate - 17.94 grams
Dietary Fiber - 5.74 grams
Calcium - 28.7 mg
Iron - 0.67 mg
Potassium - 895.85 mg
Folate - 57.40 mcg
Vitamin A - 1144 IU

Here is how butternut squash looks like for those of you that don't cook :)

a light tan color, elongated pear or bell-shaped. 

I prefer to bake it and froze it up to one month in a small plastic cube, freeze it in small portion so that I can use it in any portion that I like.. one cube , two cube or maybe 3 at a time. Oh, don't forget to date it too.

The best way to cook butternut squash for baby food recipes is to bake or roast the squash. You retain the most nutrients while bringing out the most flavor. Roasting or baking winter squash is also easier because you won't spend forever and a day tying to peel and cube the squash for steaming or boiling. So, if you don't have an oven at home, you probably have to go with steaming it, just need an extra steps of cutting it into smaller cube and peel off the skin.

Cooking instruction:

Wash the butternut squash

Cut into smaller pieces

Scoop out the seeds from the round end of the cut butternut squash ,
I keep this one for too long, already growing bean :)

Lay butternut squash "face" or meat-side down in a baking
dish with about 1-2 inched of water.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes or until shell/skin looks
puckery and turns a darker tan.

Scoop the "meat" out with a spoon

Mash it

Below is picture of butternut squash oatmeal for breakfast, while cooking oatmeal, just throw one cube of the frozen butternut squash.

Look at the fiber

Or, you can add the mash butternut Squash into congee, add a lot of flavor to it, a touch of sweetness. 

I cooked this when Skyler is a few months old, chopped everything into
very small pieces, so the mashed butternut squash is definitely the right
ingredient at that time, just blend into the congee

Moving up to higher level class again?

Got a notice from Skyler daycare yesterday about how much progress Skyler made and they will move him up to next older class... what?? again? They just moved him within two months and he is ready to go to next bigger class again? I don't care if Skyler can fly now... but I think it is way tooooo fast to move him up in new classes like that, He got scrapes and bleed every other day when he first got into this current class, things getting better now after meeting with the principal, so Skyler is just now got use to the current class, but they are moving him again...

To me, there are only two possibilities, first, school accepted too many new students and pushing kids that are not ready to go to the older class. Second, Skyler is actually making progress and ready to go, school just push kids to make progress like a superman. The current class Skyler in is for age 18 to 24 months. He is only 20 months now, 4 months can make big different t

Yes, I have to give compliment to the school that within this last months into the new class, Skyler being trained well as far as eating by himself with spoon and drinking straight from a cup, he is really independent now and he refused spoon feeding from me. Anyway, I need to have another talk with the school again, I will have to find out how big are the kids and what is the class different in this new class. I guess this Asian mom just cannot keep up with the American system.

Lunch time at school. view from CCTV from my cracked ipad.

Branded Baby Girls Swimwear

Paul Frank Baby Girls Crop Top 2 Piece Swimwear

• 92% polyester / 8% spanax
• 2 piece swim
• Machine washable. Imported.

Paul Frank Baby Girls Crop Top 2PC Swimwear

Size: 3T

Style #: PFGCT2PC-001 (3T)

Price: RM 49 ONLY

Baby Girls Flower 1 Piece Swimwear

• 84% nylon / 16% spanax
• 1 piece swim
• Machine washable. Imported.

Size: 3T

Style #: BGF1P-001 (3T)

Price: RM 39 ONLY

Cater's Boy Two Piece Set

Toddler Boy's Polo and Shorts Set- Navy Blue

Knit Polo with Carter's logo on the left. The coordinating plaid shorts have an easy-to-pull-on elastic waist, it is soft and sturdy, these cargo shorts will be his favorites as the weather warms!

- Includes polo shirt and shorts

- Taped neck seam for comfort

- Hemmed short sleeves

- Straight bottom hem

- Shorts with elastic back waist and front snap closure

- Imported

- Machine washable

Size: 3T

Style #: TBPSS-001 (NBlue) 3T

Price: RM 69 only

 

Branded Baby Girl and Boy Bodysuits

Calvin Klein Baby Girl Bodysuits- Pink
Envelope sleeves begin a cozy cotton bodysuit crafted with snaps between the legs so diaper checks and changes can be quick and easy.
- Set of 5
- 100% Cotton; machine wash. 
- By Calvin Klein; imported.

Size: 3/6M
Style #: CKBGB-001 (Pink) SOLD !!
Price: RM 79 ONLY

Kenneth Cole Reaction Baby Boy bodysuit- Grey

Envelope Sleeves. Adorable detailing updates a cozy cotton bodysuit styled with snaps between the legs so diaper checks and changes can be quick and easy.
- 100% Cotton; machine wash. 
- By Kenneth Cole; imported. 
Size: 3-6 months
Style #: KCRBB-001 (Grey) SOLD !!
Price: RM 29 ONLY

Ralph Lauren Short-Sleeved Plaid Blake

Short-Sleeved Plaid Blake- Green Multi 

An iconic plaid gives a timeless look to the short-sleeved Blake shirt in soft brushed twill.

• Tailored in the comfortable, classic-fitting Blake silhouette.
• Button-down collar, applied button placket. Sewn cuffs, shirttail hem.
• Split back yoke with box pleat for a smooth silhouette.
• Embroidered pony accents the chest.
• 100% cotton. Machine washable. Imported.

Size: 3/3T

Style #: SSPB-001 (GreenM) 3/3T  SOLD !!

Price: RM 89 ONLY