I’m going to try to start sharing a little more about Casper in this space. What I’m feeding him, what life has been like, and things like that. Because, really, I’ve been hesitant to mention him too much. For fear that I’ll be deemed a “mommy-blogger”, as if that’s somehow a terrible thing to be. It’s not and I AM a mom and a blogger, and I feel like I should share some of that here. Casper is currently the center of my universe, he sets the rhythm of my days and I am so incredibly thankful that he’s here and he’s mine. I feel silly even writing that because, really, the words just escape me. The road to motherhood was a little rough for me. There were really dark days, a lot of disappointment, crushing fear and doubt. I kept all my feels pretty close–of course Sean had a front row seat to my emotion showdown and a few close friends, too–but, my 28th and 29th years were just a mess of trying to keep my head up while grappling with fertility issues. There were times that I felt totally lost, without purpose, and I really questioned myself. I know that’s a controversial thing to say these days when we are leaning in–that motherhood gave me purpose–but it did and it is honestly what I have always wanted. I may talk about this in more depth sometime–someday when I can gather my thoughts on Casper’s birth and my pregnancy and everything that led up to it without it being a billion words long. But, in short, it was at once more difficult and more easy than a lot of people have it–and, seriously, I feel so lucky.
Whew, that felt heavy and weird. So, let’s get comfortable and get our carb on, baby style.
Casper has been eating solids for a few months now. He’s crawling around the house like a madman, can climb the stairs, pulls himself up and uses our dining chairs as walkers now. Needless to say, he’s a busy boy and is totally working up an appetite. At first food was mostly an exploratory thing, introducing him to something else besides breast milk and just kind of letting him taste and touch. We’ve done a mix of soft foods he can pick up and purees. We only recently began to introduce some dairy into his diet in the forms of yogurt and cheese, but we still aren’t giving him milk yet. Since dairy and eggs can be a problem for a lot of babies, I made these pancakes free of both. At nearly 8 months old he eats a variety of foods now and pancakes are one of his absolute favorites. He loves to feed himself–he always tries to grab the spoon when I feed him purees–and these pancakes are perfect for little hands and don’t make a huge mess. I usually tear these up into small (pea-sized) pieces, but he handles whole pancakes really well lately. I like to freeze these on a sheet pan and pop them into a freezer bag once frozen. A frozen pancake is perfect for soothing sore gums when teething. He gets a little snack, plus a bit of relief from the teething pain.*
*There are a lot of ways to feed your baby, we did a mash-up of baby led weaning ideas and purees. We also consulted our pediatrician about how and when to introduce Casper to solids–definitely do what works for you and whatever your pediatrician recommends.
[recipe]
Baby Banana Pancakes
Adapted from Buona Papa
Makes about 30 mini pancakes.
I have made these with just ground oat flour–it makes for a crumblier, denser pancake, but he seems to like them that way just fine. I make the oat flour by grinding regular rolled oats in a food processor until fairly fine. Using just oat flour makes these gluten free. I prefer to make them with a mixture of both oats and wheat flour.
1/2 cup finely ground oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup mashed banana (or other fruit puree like apple or pear)
coconut oil for the pan
In a mixing bowl whisk together the oat flour, wheat flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Fold in the coconut milk and mashed banana until just combined. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat lightly with coconut oil. Drop tablespoons of batter onto the pan, cooking until bubbles begin to form around the edges of each pancake, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes and flip. Cook on the other side an additional minute or so until each pancake is golden. Remove from the skillet and let the pancakes cool off a bit before feeding your baby. Place the extra pancakes on a baking sheet lined with parchment and freeze for a few hours, until solid, then place in a plastic freezer bag and freeze. I like to use all of the frozen pancakes within a month. [/recipe]
Such a great baby food item! My son Felix is about Casper’s age and would love these.
p.s. I have a 3 year old boy named Kasper too. We spell it the Scandinavian way. 🙂
I love that! I didn’t even realize there was an alternate spelling until recently.
First of all, I love the way you styled that first pic, with the stacks of pancakes and little cake flags?! So cute. Second, thank you for sharing your experiences with Casper and being a new mom! I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to juggle motherhood, a blog, and everything else. And I appreciate that you’re keeping it real and honest, that it’s not all sunshine and rainbows all the time. We defs need more of that.
So good to meet you over the weekend! Let’s do it again soon.
Thank you! It was a little nerve wracking to press publish on this one.
Cindy, I just love this. Thanks for sharing some of your thoughts with us. I’m so excited to read more about your journey to motherhood and your life with dear Casper! Also these pancakes sound like something I want to eat for breakfast too 🙂
Thanks, Amy! I wish we could sit and chat about it. I definitely miss our brunch dates!
Girlllll you know how I feel about “keeping it real” so I love this!! “Motherhood gave me purpose” that’s some real talk right there.. I could preach a sermon on this.. Thank you for sharing and yes please more baby Casper talk.. I’m gonna try these pancakes for Charlie as we still do better with hand held food and use the fork to stab people.. Never a dull moment..
Hugz babes!!
Oh, god…I can’t even imagine Casper with a fork. He grabbed the spoon from me and jammed it into his throat recently, so I’m obviously terrified. Thank you, always!! XO
Do your thing, Cindy! Those of us who love you will read your words whether they’re deep, funny, etc. Casper is the cutest!
Thank you Nicole!! <3
I absolutely adore this post; I can echo so much of what you said about motherhood, and how confusing/wonderful/exhausting/fulfilling it is. It’s so beautifully complicated. Anywho, I hope you feel like sharing more of you on this blog from here on out! I’m a fan. 🙂
Also, I am totes making these bebe cakes for my little one tomorrow morning! She’s going to love them.
I hope she loves them! She is SO stinkin’ cute. And thanks for the kind words, Stephanie, I appreciate it.
I totally get it. There is always a struggle between keeping a bright and happy and tra-la-la face on and letting go and showing that more vulnerable side. Also, I think there is a negative connotation with “mommy bloggers” that makes us afraid to really dive into that part of our lives. But really, we are moms, our kids are a part of our lives, if you can’t handle it, then that sucks, but we can’t change who we are.
I remember when my daughter first started eating solids. It was so much fun introducing her to new foods and seeing her expressions as she tasted each one. She would have loved these pancakes. (I’m sure she’d love them even now at almost 4!) Casper is such a cutie!
It’s so true! Opening up is so hard, but it feels weird to conceal a whole MAJOR part of my life. Thanks, Amanda!!
I might be biased, because I think he’s adorable, but I totally welcome and love hearing about your little man Casper. I don’t want to preach or anything, but I like reading this blog because it’s your voice and your life and your food. And this adorbz little guy is part of that now. Bring it on!
THANK YOU so much, Sarah! I truly appreciate this.
Ooooo I love the oats and coconut in these. I cannot wait to try these for my little guy. I think he will go crazy for them. He seriously eats a banana a day and pancakes every other day. I will have to switch up between these and my normal spinach ones. Ok, so being a mom is awesome. It is friggen hard. However, even on my hardest day, I just remind myself how many people would trade places with me and my screaming toddler. You are lucky to have one sweet and cute baby boy. BTW get ready for when he gets older and thinks he can jam that whole pancake in his mouth at once.
I love the idea of spinach ones! I’m gonna have to try that out.
Being a mom is crazy, exhausting, hard, and so amazing.
aww, i love seeing a bit of casper! he is absolutely adorable. i can just imagine him nomming on these lil banana pancakes!
Thanks, Steph!! He LOVES to eat 😀
Thank you so much for sharing these!
My 7 month old is really interested in eating more food & I’ve been looking for things beyond purees that I can give her.
Plus, frozen pancake teether! Genius!
Thanks! I hope she loves them!
I have been waiting to see him on the blog. Wonderful addition. It’s your blog, be you!!!
Girl…I know how you feel about writing more meaningful posts on the blog. I can’t imagine how challenging it is to do all your blogging work and taking care of your little critter (especially when he decides to shake the tripod :P). I say keep the Casper updates coming (partly because I’m just incredibly nosy about how he’s doing) but also because he’s such a joyful part of your life–why leave him out of this space?
I should whip up a batch of these pancakes for my baby nephew one day!
Thanks, Lisa!! I really appreciate it. I bet your nephew would love these!!
CINDY. Cindy, Cindy, Cindy. Look at you all brave and sh*t. Really, thank you for this. I struggle a lot about blogging about the kids (KIDS!) so I get that. I support you, as a reader and a fan. Lady, I love your blog work and your heavy honesty here. Casper is a cute as ever and I just love when you share about life stuff. Keep on being amazing, mama. Love! PS. I can not wait to make these for our Lady Baby in a few swift months.
I have an 11 mo and cant wait to make these for her! Question: when u say “unsweetened coconut milk” do u mean the kind in the refridgerated cartons like almond milk or do u mean canned coconut milk which is much thicker? I have no idea about coconut milk. 🙂
I believe I used the refrigerated type! You could also swap dairy milk or nut milk!
Thank u!!!