Dillon has started on rice at about 14 months old, where he showed dislikes towards porridge. He would normally have rice with soups and the soup ingredients (like potatoes, carrots, chicken or pork meat, old cucumber etc), sometimes also with scrambled eggs, fried fish etc.

We would prepare soup on alternate days and on days that we don’t have soup, he will have his rice with steam eggs, steam fish/meat/chicken, potatoes with meat in gravy etc.

Click here for the soups recipes.

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This is my 1st antenatal visit to HUKM as I only registered myself at 30th week (previous antenatal check up were all done at a private clinic). My appointment is scheduled at 11.00am and I reached there about 11.10am, finished the whole check up process around 12.45pm, which is consider quick this time.

I’m 34 weeks & 4 days pregnant as of today, everything is fine with me & baby. My weight is now 65kg (put on 2kg since 30th week) and baby weighs 2.3kg. During ultrasound, the doctor confirmed that I’m having a baby girl and I myself can also see the “private part” very clearly on the screen this time.

I’ll have to return to HUKM on 11th June for MGTT test because my mum recently just found out that she has diabetes. So to be on the safe side, doctor has recommended me to undergo the test to check the glucose level in my blood.

My following antenatal check in HUKM is scheduled at 38th week so I’ll need to go for check up at 36th week at the private clinic if I wish to.

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Method 1

1. Buy the clean anchovies (without head & dirt), wash & drain well.
2. Evenly spread out on a plate & put in the microwave.
3. Set on “High Temperature” for about 2 minutes, then check if the anchovies has turned golden brown; if not then baked for another 2 minutes. (adjust the timing accordingly)
4. The anchovies is “done” when it turn golden brown & crispy.

Method 2 (If you do not have a microwave at home)

1. Wash & drain the anchovies.
2. Heat up the anchovies in non-stick pan, keep stirring so that the heat is evenly spread.
3. Continue until the anchovies turn golden brown & crispy.

*You may add a little bit of oil for frying if you want to.
*I personally never try Method 2 and I think using the microwave is the fastest & easiest method.

Final Step: Blend the crispy anchovies until it becomes powder form, keep in airtight container & it can last for weeks. Just ensure the spoon is dry & clean when scooping out the anchovies powder for cooking. It’s ok to either store at room temperature or in the fridge.

It can be used for soup when preparing noodles for baby, or even add into the porridge for greater taste.

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When Dillon was around 10 months plus, he started to show dislike to pureed food & cereals; he wanted something more chewy and thus I’ve introduced the following food to him.

Meesua Soup
1. Break the meesua into shorter lengths.
2. Put minced chicken meat or pork or fish paste into adequate amount of water.
3. Add in meesua, & chopped spinach or bo choy, even tofu cubes.
4. Add in anchovies powder, stir well & it’s ready to served.

*Other variants include Pan Mee, Soy Mee, KuayTeow, Loh Shi Fun, which need to be cut into smaller pieces for babies who can’t chew well yet.
*You may replace the meat/fish paste with eggs, for babies below age 1, use only egg white.
*For older babies, you may flavour the soup with a pinch of salt, or a bit of soy sauce instead of anchovies powder.
*You can also prepare the anchovies stock beforehand if you don’t have anchovies powder.

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As an alternative to baby rice cereal, I also feed oatmeal to Dillon.
The oat I used is Quaker’s Rolled Oats, it’s better to start baby on Rolled Oats than instant or quick cooked oatmeal, find out why here.

Oatmeal with Milk
1. Cook 2-3 table spoon of rolled oats in adequate amount of water for about 15 minutes, keep stirring so that it won’t stick to the pot.
2. Add in 2 scoops (or more) of formula milk powder & turn off heat immediately.
3. Blend or puree the mixture until a smooth consistency is achieved.

Oatmeal with Bananas
Same as above. Just add in slices of banana before the formula milk powder. Blend or puree the mixture & serve warm.

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Fruits Combos
- mix these combos into plain Yogurt or Cereal or just mix ‘em and serve!
- same method as how we prepare the applesauce, except that bananas need no cooking at all.

Apples and Carrots
Pears and Bananas
Peaches and Bananas
Applesauce & Banana
Apples and Plums
Apples and Pears
Pears, Peaches and Apples
Pears, Plums and Apples

*Let baby first try out & taste on each single fruit puree before introducing fruits combo to them.

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Mango Yogurt
1. Peel & puree the mango until the proper consistency is achieved.
2. Scoop out half cup (one cup is 150g) of plain yogurt with a clean spoon, put into baby’s serving bowl.
3. Mix in adequate amount of mango puree & it’s ready to serve.

*May substitute with Apples & Pears, Apples & Plum, Papaya, Kiwi; but Dillon’s favourite are still Mango & Kiwi yogurt.
*Keep the balance half cup of yogurt back in fridge, ideally to be consumed within the next day.
*Buy the cup yogurt that comes with plastic cap for easier storage.

*Do not warm the yogurt for serving, if you are concern about baby taking cold yogurt, scoop out the yogurt & mix with fruit puree before you start feeding a meal to baby, cover & leave it at room temperature. By the time baby finishes the meal (about half hour), the yogurt is just nice to be served.

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I introduced yogurt to Dillon when he was around 8 months old. It may be introduced as early as 7 months old but the typical age recommendation is 8 months old, depending on your baby’s pediatrician and your baby’s propensity to allergies. Read the Yogurt Tips article if you have doubt.

Yogurt is a great way for baby to get calcium and the “bacteria” in yogurt that is so good for our digestive systems. Yogurt is also a great way for baby to get the fat that is so highly needed during baby’s first year.

Dillon has been fine since I fed him yogurt, just that after taking yogurt, he tends to have more bowel movement (not stomach discomfort) on that day, which is perfectly normal. Having said that, it might help baby who experience constipation problem too.

However, I think it should be fed moderately to baby, normally I would only feed yogurt twice a week at most to Dillon.

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The following recipes are using whole eggs hence are suitable for babies above a year old.

Scrambled Egg
1. In a microwaveable container, whisk an egg with 1 tbsp (15 ml) formula milk or water.
2. Cover with plastic wrap leaving a small steam vent.
3. Microwave on HIGH (100% power) for 45 to 60 seconds, stirring twice during cooking. Let stand, covered, for 1 minute.
4. If desired, add grated cheese, chopped vegetables (tomatoes would be a good choice) or meat before cooking.

*You may also use a non-stick frying pan to prepare the dish, with a little bit of butter or oil.

French Toast
1. In a shallow bowl, beat 2 eggs with 1/2 cup (125 ml) of formula milk.
2. Dip 4 slices of bread, one at a time, into egg mixture.
3. Melt 1 tbsp butter over medium heat. Place dipped bread in and shallow-fry until golden, turn and cook other side.
4. To serve, cut into small pieces, makes good finger food for the babies.

*You may substitute formula milk with plain white sugar for older babies if desired.

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Egg yolk is a nutrient-rich food that can be added to baby’s diet at the same time as meat and other meat alternatives. Egg white however, should be added when baby is 12 months & above, because egg white has a higher tendency of causing allergy to baby below a year old. Ensure that your baby enjoys eggs that are well-cooked as the immune system continues to develop at this stage of life. Read more about the allergy here.

Add cooked egg yolk to baby’s diet gradually. Hard cook the egg yolk, then mash and mix with a little breast milk or infant formula. If baby doesn’t like this texture, mix the raw yolk with a little breast milk or infant formula and cook in the microwave.Do not add salt, sugar, butter or margarine to the egg yolk. Let your baby enjoy the natural flavours of single foods. When baby has accepted the cooked egg yolk, try stirring it into other foods baby likes, such as cereal, pureed meat or vegetables or try sprinkling hard-cooked egg yolk over mashed potatoes.

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Pasta with Tomato sauce
1. Cook pasta (spaghetti or fettuccine etc) according to package directions & drain well.
2. Melt butter, stir-fry minced meat (chicken, pork or beef), chopped or sliced button mushroom (fresh or canned).
3. Add in tomato paste & chopped fresh tomatoes.
4. Add in cheese at last & stir thoroughly.
5. Pour on the pasta or toss the pasts in the sauce & serve.

*Break the pasta into shorter lengths before cooking (easier) so that you don’t have to worry if baby or young toddler can’t chew or digest well.
*Stir-fry chopped garlic with the sauce for more fragrant if your baby/toddler can take it.
*For a simpler version (lazy version, hehe), just use the bottled/canned paste sauce.

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Mac-n-Cheese with Macaroni
1. Cook macaroni according to package directions & drain well.
2. Melt cheeses (Cheddars and other stronger cheeses may be used according to baby’s age/taste preferences) and stir thoroughly while cooking.
3. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of formula milk when cheeses are melted and stir thoroughly
4. As baby gets older and eats more table foods, you can also add meats and veggies as well – these additional chunkier foods will enable easier pick-up for tiny fingers

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Pasta Rings
1. Cook ditalini (small round rings of pasta, easy to pick up for 10 months and older) pasta according to package directions
2. Drain pasta well
3. Place pasta in a bowl and toss with butter and grated cheeses, cubed cooked veggies, cubed cooked meats or whatever your imagination & baby’s age/taste desires.
4. Serve in bowl or on baby tray.

*Can always substitute with any other shaped pasta.

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