Baby feeding - what to give?

When weaning D he happily ate anything I put on a spoon. I tried to make sure he always had at least one "finger food" per meal but because I started weaning just after 4 months he didn't really have the motor skills to do "baby-led" in any shape or form so we mainly did purées at the beginning.

However Iz had a very different mindset... She did *not* want to be fed at all for the first few months, preferring to do it all herself, and so I suddenly had to think a lot harder about mealtimes! In some ways it was easy as I usually just gave her a portion of whatever D was having (so by 5 months she was eating spaghetti bolognese and full roast chicken lunches!) but other days I felt like I was giving her the same foods over and over.

At 5 months she was happy to use a spoon... now she much prefers her fingers!

Mmmm chicken curry!

So here is a list of all the finger foods Iz has eaten so far (she's currently 10 months old). It's definitely not exhaustive as I'm sure there are a fair few things I've forgotten but it's a rough guide and will hopefully be helpful to anyone struggling to think of appropriate finger foods for their little one :)

She doesn't always eat the right thing... :)

All of these foods are ones Iz feeds herself - and has done from the start of weaning (around 5 months). She does have other food too (eg today she had some mushed up Moussaka) but she feeds herself at least 2/3 of each meal - even breakfast if I'm feeling brave about the Ready Brek tidy up! Lol

Self-feeding - messy but fun!

Fruit

Grated Apple

Strawberries

Banana strips

Mango

Watermelon

Pears

Tomatoes

Blueberries

Raspberries

Orange slices

Veg

Avocado

Broccoli

Carrots

Courgette

Cucumber

Peas

Peppers

Green beans

Sweetcorn 

Sometimes she eats, sometimes she plays ;)

Carbs

Toast with marmite/peanut butter

Pitta strips with humous dip

Jacket potato

Sweet potato chips

Rice balls

Rice cakes

Breadsticks

Spaghetti

Pasta shapes

Couscous

Pesto wraps

Rice in curry or tomato sauce

Mini shredded wheat

Painted toast we made for Valentines Day (aged 6 months)

Homemade pizza

Protein

Scrambled egg

Eggy bread
Baked beans
Peanut butter

Chicken strips

Beef strips

Flaked fish

Meatballs

Mince (in bolognese sauce)

Loves spaghetti!

Eggy bread - very easy way to give babies egg

Dairy

Yoghurt

Frozen yoghurt cubes

Grated cheddar 

Mozzarella slices

Babybels 

Frozen yoghurt pot = baby-appropriate ice-cream!

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Overall I'm really happy with how Iz's weaning has gone. She's pretty happy eating anything which definitely makes my life easier! Here she is at 10 months tucking into a plate of homemade fish fingers, peas, pasta, meatballs and grated cheese :)

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How did you wean your babies? Any tips or other foods that I could try giving to Iz?

Disclaimer: Iz followed an accelerated weaning regime (similar to D) on the advice of a consultant allergy specialist so what she ate may not suit you or your baby. Take professional advice if you have any concerns. 

Toddler cooking (7)

I haven't done one of these posts for waaaay too long... D and I have been cooking together but I just haven't got round to blogging about it. If you want to see any of my older toddler cooking posts just click on the "cooking" label at the bottom of this post. Anyway - here are some of the things he's helped make in the last few months:

Vegetable bake cake

Easy to make and super healthy - I just grated the vegetables and then D did the rest :) just mix flour, eggs and cheese with grated carrots, courgettes and a mashed sweet potato. Pack into a baking tray and cook for 20ish minutes until cooked through. Slice up whilst still warm and enjoy. Perfect finger food for little ones just weaning, or  a great healthy snack for toddlers.

Chicken quesadillas

I love the simplicity of these, and how D can choose what goes in them. He first made them aged 19 months (see here) and he still enjoys making them. Now he just has to make twice as many so there are enough for Iz too!

Mini pizza

These are similar to the quesadillas and something that D has also been making since he was 17 months old (see here). We've experimented with lots of different bases. Iz likes a muffin cut in half, D prefers puff pastry or wraps. Again it is so easy - D can prepare them himself (once I've got the ingredients out), you can have endless variety and all I need to do is put them in the oven.

Apple and cheese muffins

These are *so* delicious and so simple. Just grate some cheese and an apple (after peeling) and lightly toast half a muffin. Sprinkle a handful of apple onto the toasted muffin, top with cheese and grill until the cheese is melted. Iz loves these, D is not so sure. But that's ok as then there are more leftovers for me... Mmmmm

Fruit cake

These were super easy to make. We used a packet sponge mix, made it up as instructed on the back and then added in a diced apple, mashed banana and a handful of raspberries and blueberries. After I diced the apple and sliced the banana D did all the rest himself. Super delicious warm and even better with a spoonful of yoghurt on the side :)

 

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Have you done any cooking with your toddler recently? What have you made?

Battle of the babies: top 10

Nature vs nurture? Here's a follow up to my original "A tale of two babies" post - how are they comparing now and who comes out on top?

Weaning

Omnomnomnom

Initially I thought this was going to be a Doofy win as he was a champ and within 3 weeks of starting weaning at 4+ months already had a more varied diet than us! Iz was definitely slower accepting the spoon but has always been happy to feed herself, and with SO much gusto, that I think this has to be a draw. 
Verdict: draw

Breastfeeding

Right from labour ward Iz was always going to win this one! Although winning this one means she does lose at another later category...

Verdict: Iz win by clear margin!

Teething

Oh how I long for the days of D teething again. A little bit of dentinox, very occasionally some nurofen, and he was as happy as Larry. Iz on the other hand... not so easily placated or satisfied!!

Verdict: Doofy win

Sleeping

Sssshhhh sleeping!

I don't even know where to start with this one! You can read about D's sleeplessness here, here and here. I've been too sleep-deprived to blog about Iz's! Lol. At the moment she's going through a "let's wake up for the day at 4am" phase. Not sure if I prefer it to her "let's feed for 2 hours solid at 2am" stage or her "let's wake up every 30 minutes throughout the night" stage... Hmmm I wonder what will be next?!

Verdict: draw - they're both as bad as each other but in different ways!

Healthiness

This is a tricky one. Iz definitely has way more coughs/colds/temperatures than D did (poor younger sibling!!) but D had already had 2 hospital stays by 9 months.

Verdict: undetermined

Nursery settling

Nursery settling was hard with D. It was the first time for both of us and he hated it initially. Now he absolutely loves going though :) Iz on the other hand seemed to take to it like a duck to water. Few tears during the first 2 sessions and just happy giggles since.

Verdict: Iz win

Transition to formula

Tied in with the breastfeeding above - I think Iz's love of boob hindered her here as she was very reluctant to swap nice cosy snugly breastfeeds for a plastic tommee tippee cup! We're getting there slowly (it's only taken 3 months!).

Verdict: Doofy win

Crawling

D took his time building up to crawling. A few days of planking followed by bottom in the air followed by attempts at commando crawling etc etc until eventually a "proper" crawl occurred. Iz just woke up one day, did a plank and then crawled in the afternoon. Not sure if it was to keep up with D or to escape from him tbh!

Verdict: Iz win

Car journeys

Don't be fooled - D did not do this often...

Living in London we don't do loads of car journeys but everyone says babies get lulled to sleep in the car so we thought it was a great plan to book a driving holiday from Vegas to LA when D was 5 months old... Fast forward to lunchtime on the first driving day - after nonstop screaming from Vegas to the Hoover Dam (and beyond!) we realised D was *not* a car fan! He's now ok as we've hooked up a DVD player in the back but Iz has always been ok, ever since a baby. Phew.

Verdict: Iz win

Mummy love

Yes I know it's a complete stereotype but for my two it's definitely true. D is a real mummy's boy (and gives the best cuddles!) whilst Iz is a proper Daddy's girl (her arms flap so fast when he walks in the room she looks like she might take off!!).

Verdict: Doofy win

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So there it is. Some they win, some they lose. Overall (luckily) their positive sides outweigh any not-quite-so-perfect parts ;)

What about your kids? If you have more than one how would they fare in a "Battle of the babies"?

Some new Munchkin products... (review)

We were recently sent a couple of things to review by Munchkin - we already have lots of their toys (and previously reviewed their Undersea Explorer and Caterpillar spillers stacking cups) but we were very excited to be given a sneak peek and trial of some of their new ranges :)

Squirtin’ Farmyard friends

(8 animals per pack, RRP £9.99)

What's not to love about bath squirters? They are an essential part of bathtime for us and what I like about these ones are that they are *not* ocean/nautically themed... Is it just me or can you only buy squirters that are fish/octopuses/ducks/frogs etc?

So excited and they weren't even in the bath yet!

Well now you can have farm animals instead - much more fun practising all their noises with your toddler (have you ever tried explaining what noise an octopus makes?!) and for a bit of variety all the actual squirters are in different places (sounds obvious as all the animals have their mouths in different places…). Cue endless entertainment when you squirt your toddler unexpectedly because he's expecting the water to come from somewhere else!

Bathtime fun :)

Both D and Iz love these animals and at least 2 or 3 come in the bath every night. Aside from the regular squirting use, they have also been used as teethers (by Iz), during target practice and in “jelly on a plate” games (will make sense to any parents who’ve taken their babies to swim classes!)…

Wibble wobble... jelly on a plate...

 

Squirting the octopus' mouth

I'm also looking forward to using them in water/ice small world play and putting them in our paddling pool in the summer – so much fun to be had! :)

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The Miracle 360^o Sippy Cup

(RRP £4.99, capacity 10oz/approx 300ml)

This cup is genius and I love the concept! You sip from the edge like a regular cup but it is 100% leak and spill proof (which we have rigorously tested!!). The absence of a spout means it is better for growing teeth and the design means you can drink from anywhere around the rim.

 

We’ve tried lots of other brands“no spill” cups before but either they do spill or they have complicated multi-part valve systems with small pieces that you have to take apart to clean, which at best are fiddly or at worst get lost rendering the cup useless… This cup however has just two large parts to the lid – one clips on top of the other and they both then screw onto the body of the cup. Easy peasy to both assemble and clean :)

D demonstrating how to use it

Unfortunately at the moment I think this cup is right in between D and Iz’s age. D could happily use it (and actually asked to have his water in it today) but at 26 months he is already capable of drinking from an open cup and I think he did use a slightly different drinking action with this cup to a normal cup. The cup is marketed for 12 months up but I tried it with Iz to see what happened anyway. She made quite a good go of it but overall the cup is a bit too big for her and she struggled with there being no handles (note – Munchkin also do a sippy cup in this range with handles which is designed for 6 months and up – I think Iz would be much better with that cup). I will definitely get this cup back out for her in a few months though.

 

Iz hasn't quite got the hang of it yet...

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Deluxe Snack & Drink Pod

(RRP £12.99)

We’ve always got by without a snack holder before (and only had the occasional incident of rice cakes tumbling onto the pavement…) but now D is a bit older and I am usually juggling Iz at the same time, I thought somewhere that he could store his snacks and drink within easy reach surely had to be a winner?

 And we found this one great. You can quickly and securely attach it to any bar or pole (usually the side of the buggy) and the design is very clever – once on it is pretty impossible for your toddler to take off as the release button just turns and turns without anything happening (tip for grown-ups – you have to push in and twist at the same time). Initially I was worried that it wouldn’t fit well on our buggy because of the slanty handles (we have a bugaboo bee) but it was fine.

(it was Red Nose Day when I took this photo...)

You can choose to either have it facing into the buggy or facing out (which would make your buggy slightly wider). We nearly always use it facing in, although this does mean there is slightly less room for D to get in/out of the buggy. But then it only takes a couple of seconds to take the pod on and off so it’s not a big deal.

D loved being able to help himself to his drink when we were on the move and he’s always excited to see what snacks are hiding in the snack pot. I like that the snack pot is not inbuilt so you can remove it for easy cleaning and filling with snacks, and also use the section of the holder for other things (so far it has held D’s gloves, his nursery report card, some plastic animals and Iz’s hat…).

I don’t trust Iz to help herself responsibly yet so when she’s riding in the buggy I just move the pod higher up and then I stay in control of her snacks ;)

Iz's rice cakes are safely out of her reach ;)

And most importantly? This frees up the Velcro bottle pouch we have attached to the handlebars for my drink ;) woohoo!

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We were kindly sent all these products to road test for the purpose of reviewing but above is what we honestly thought. The squirty animals and snack pod are in pretty much daily use and I'm going to bring out the cup again once Iz is a little bit older :)

What Iz loved - February 2015

Only a week late, this is a record for me I think :)

Here is what Iz loved this month...

1. Swinging, casually

2. Wearing dresses (even if she doesn't look that happy in that pic! Lol)

3. Sitting

4. Getting messy (and painting with yoghurt)

5. First holiday at Center Parcs (and first grown up swimming costume!)

6. Playing with ribbons

7. The ball pit

8. Discovering spaghetti

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If you want to do your own "What baby/toddler loved" then link up with Rachel @dinkythinks - you can see her latest post here :)

What Iz loved - January 2015

Ok so I am officially rubbish at doing this post in a timely manner... *but* I love doing these monthly summaries so will continue doing them albeit rather late!

Here is what Iz loved this month...

1. Fairylight fun

2. Mealtimes

3. Door bouncing

4. Meeting her new monkey friend 

5. Swinging (with a little help)

6. Drinking - soooo much water. No idea why!

7. Being a tiger

8. Joining in crafting with D

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If you want to do your own "What baby/toddler loved" then link up with Rachel @dinkythinks - you can see her latest post here :)

Top 10 weaning & feeding essentials

So as the time starts to wean baby number 2 I'm reminded of a post I was going to write when Doof was weaning but never got round to... So here it is, second time lucky (and doubly as true I guess as these are still my top 10 second time around!)

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Vital baby bowls with sucker

Once your baby learns that the bowl moves and how fun it is to watch things fly off the highchair you're in big trouble. So we loved these bowls that clip onto a sucky base (that actually stuck to the highchair tray unlike some other makes we tried!).

Before we had the sucky bit...

Yay - no mess once the sucker is in place :)

Temperature spoons

I don't heat food very often (aka never when D was weaning) but obviously do if making ready brek or a half-uncooked dish. These tommee tippee temperature sensitive spoons are great - orange when the temperature is ok and quickly turning yellow when the food is too hot.

So simple but visually so effective

Square morrisons bibs

We were given these as a present. Initially I was a bit meh but then once I tried them, loved them. The square design allowed a lot coverage of D when he was at his super-messy eating phase, the neck fitted snugly so no food escaped down there (and was comfy as made of fabric) and lastly no amount of tugging from D would remove it :)

Mess mess mess!

Emergency stash of pouches

Yes yes I know, real mums hand steam every vegetable that passes within 5 yards of their baby. Except sometimes (often!) that's not practical. Sometimes you're out unexpectedly and need something now. Sometimes you're on a long joinery and so you want something that travels well. Sometimes you're just too tired to cook from scratch... Anyway a stash of emergency pouches has always saved this household!

Tommee tippee milk bottle or Nuby 

We tried nearly every cup in existence when weaning D off the breast (he skipped out the bottle phase) - you can read about all the different ones we tried here. By far our favourite were the standard Tommee Tippee and the Nuby. Both of which I've already bought for Iz :)

Fully mastered his TT cup by 6 months

Highchair cushion

Most simple yet ingenious invention ever! £5 in Ikea buys you a blow-up 3-sided cushion which you can slip into any highchair when out&about, instantly transforming those far too big wooden ones into something even your 5 month old is secure in. And it rolls down into practically nothing so easily fits in your nappy bag. Definitely as essential if you eat out with a little one.

Love the simplicity of this cushion - brilliant!

Brother Max pots 

There are so many different pots available for freezing food in. I loved the Brother Max ones because the 2 sizes were perfect portion sizes for early weaning (5-7 months) and the larger ones for later (8-12 months). They also had space to write on them and came with a pen. And even better they have a squishy rubber bottom so it's very easy to "pop" the food cube out once it's frozen. Although equally they double up as fab little pots to feed from - very handy if out as then you don't need to faff with more bowls etc.

The smaller sized pots

Ikea Antilop highchair 

Why spend anymore than £15 when that will buy you the best highchair out there?! The 2 reasons that make it the best in my mind are:

- it is all plastic so very easy to clean without any edges for food to get stuck in (you can even put the whole chair in the shower if it gets particularly messy!)

- it doesn't have a big "lip" on the tray so even small babies just starting out can try reaching for food and can see what they're being offered

Both of these also mean its perfect for using during painting or crafting activities when you want some sort of control over your toddler!

Perfect for crafting

The downside is that it doesn't fold away but as I'm using it 3 times a day I'd be far too lazy to fold it down anyway!

Great for finger feeding (and mess making!)

Floor mat

Essential of you want to stand any chance of keeping your carpet clean under the highchair. And can also double up as messy play mat for painting, gluing etc. Perfect!

Protect your carpet!

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So those are my top 10 feeding/weaning essentials. What do you think? Any others you couldn't have lived without that I've missed out? I'd love to hear them :)