This is for all of you moms out there. I decided that instead of spending forever on the computer doing research on my own, that I would just ask you...
1)Kayley is going to be 6 months old tomorrow and so we are going to start her on baby food. I was planning on just going the Gerber baby food route, but I'm definitely open to anything and would love to give her the healthiest stuff out there. Any advice.....what brand of food you like/good baby spoons,bowls, etc. and the best place to buy them? I would like to also give her some homemade baby food. Any special recipes??
2)Do you have any recommendations of fun and/or educational toys for 6-12 month old babies? I know that Kayley likes the toys that we do have (which aren't that many), but I would like to get some more. On that same note, any specific toys or anything else that really helped your
kid(s) with teething?3)My diaper bag zipper completely broke off at the airport on my way back from New Orleans. I wasn't too devastated about it because I was never a huge fan of my diaper bag (if you can even call it that) anyway. I was just using one of those free bags that they give you when you buy perfume. My parents gave it to me with the perfume like 5 years ago for Christmas! :) Anyway, so now I have an excuse to go and buy a cute one. I don't want to spend a fortune on a $200 petunia pickle bottom bag (even though I love them and think they are adorable!), but I do want something that is durable and will last for a long time or at least through a few children. It would sure be nice if it was cute too! I'd also like one with separate sections or pockets or something because mine was just a big huge bag and I'd always have to search forever to find anything. I know those are a lot of requirements and I'm not asking for you to pick a bag out for me (even though that would sure be nice;) but do you know of any places that sell diaper bags that fit that criteria?
4)Last but not least...now that Kayley is starting to sit up, I'm super excited about being able to have her sit in the grocery cart when I go shopping. I started looking online last week for shopping cart covers but the cheapest ones I could find were $50 dollars and they were really ugly. And then there were some super cute ones but they were anywhere from $75-$100. Are they all just that expensive or are there some you can get for a more reasonable price?
I'm sure I have hundreds of other questions, but that's all I can think of for now. If you have any advice, it would be greatly appreciated!! If you don't want to post a comment on my blog, then you can just email me any of your suggestions at AshleySealHall@gmail.com. Thank you!!
PS I am ashamed to say that I have become one of those bloggers that updates about once a month, if that. I am going to make it a goal this next month to be better about that because I get annoyed with people like me when I go and look at their blog and they haven't updated for over a month. It makes me not even want to waste time looking at their blog because I know before I even click on it that they haven't posted anything new forever. (No offense to those of you who are like me! I definitely understand how you feel.) So sorry to all of you who feel that way about my blog! I am repenting and I will try to do better! And to those of you who are great bloggers: I admire you! :)
So many questions, so many answers...I think I am going to have to give it some thought-I will probably email you though considering that not everyone will agree with me. You are so flippin' cute! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWell I'm not a mom - but my mom bought a cart cover at Target for about $20. And - we make baby food for our nephew in the blender (fresh fruit and vegetable either boiled or baked) and then after we puree them (with some of the water we boiled them in to make them more runny) we freeze them in ice cube trays. When they are frozen we take them out of the ice cube trays and freeze them in Ziplocs bags labeled as what they are. When he is hungry we take out two or three at a time and either sit them to thaw or microwave them. A lot cheaper than baby food, more nutritious, and gets them used to normal texture because it is the real stuff with no added preservatives. If you want me to spend a day with you making mass amounts of homemade baby food just call! I would love to!
ReplyDeleteJust a thought, I don't know how you are with sewing, but you could make a cover, then it's only the cost of the material. Also, I know a few people who could do it if you can't.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is that you can get yams or squash or carrots or whatever at the grocery store and just use your blender. It is probably much cheaper than buying the already made kind. We always just ground up whatever we were eating, within reason. Mashed potatoes and stuff like that. They say to start with the orange veggies.
I am cheap, I just used whatever bag I had. After my first one of course. :-)
You are great parents and will know what is best. Hope it helps at least a little bit.
Well here in Germany we have only a few choices. Everyone here starts with carrots, so that's what we did. Auburn started solids 4 days ago and loves them!!! I have heard that squash is good as well. We just can't get them here. There are a few foods that you should not make your own baby food for a little while because of a high nitrate content. Email me and I can tell you what they are. I decided to start with baby food first and then make my own....
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Hey Ash! I always used the Gerber baby food. I was a little skeptical about the other off brand stuff... But Brady always did great with Gerber food. Also, making your own baby fod is WAY easy!! All you do is bake or boil whatever it is you want to make, I actually hav ea recipe book called "Deceptively Delicious" that tells you how to cook each veggie to preserve the vitamins best. Right now you can get it for $7 at the TJ MAXX in Draper. It's not a baby food cookbook, but it does tel how to puree stuff. :) Come to think of it, there probably are baby cook books out there.
ReplyDeleteAs for toys and stuff, I think every baby is different about what they like... So we would take BRady to the store with us and see which toy he played most with. He LOVED his bouncer though. And cold wash cloths are GREAT to sooth sore gums.
As for diaper bags, I sam some really cute ones at babies r us the other day... The cute ones don't last long though... I didn't check the price though. But I know some were on sale. I also saw somw cart covers that came with diaper bags on sale at babies r us. I think they were like $20 for the whole set?? I didn't notice the cuteness though... But I don't remember them being super cute. You should check it out.
Anyway, She is getting so big! I can't believe we are all moms! Weird!
PS WHOA! Sorry about the novel. :)
ReplyDelete1. I always feed Natalie Gerber. I love that its convienient. I'm crafty and home-made in some areas but baby food isn't one of them. I have a friend who makes hers in bulk and then freezes them in ice cube trays so she can just dethaw a block or two at a time. I think that's a great idea. Im just too lazy (and I dont have much freezer space, what with all the ice cream!) Also, if you do buy gerber, dont but the #1 food- just my opnion, but I've tasted both, and if you just mix a little hot water in with the #2 gerber food it's exactly the same as #1. (#1 costs more and you get less, in my opinion they're just trying to rip you off.)
ReplyDelete(I'm sorry I can tell this is going to be a novel, and I haven't read what other people wrote, I may be repetitive.) :)
2. Teething toys... Well my sister in law told me to put a string cheese in the freezer, wash the plastic, leave it on and let natalie chew on it. It really worked well for her first few teeth. Now she knows it's food. :) Other then that? somewhere around 6-7 months natalie started figuring out that putting things in a container and taking them back out again was really fun. ? That's an idea I guess?
3. My diaper bag from the hospital broke last month and I got a brown one that's pretty basic from Babies r us. And then last week I totally regretted it when I saw my friend's diaper bag that doubles as a backpack. Mine was swinging in front of me everytime I leaned over to pick up natalie, and hers was on her back, out of the way so she could chase her baby around. I wish I had one like that. I still might get one. I'm pretty cheap, but I may have to invest in one. (I think it may have been a petunia pickle bottom bag.)
3.I found our shopping cart cover at Kid to Kid, it was $15, still in the bag it came in, I washed it and ta da. But. I only used it for a few months because I kept forgetting it in the car and then finally gave up. But I was really glad I had it when she was still really little.
If you have any questions for me you should be able to just hit reply to this message in your email and write me back! Good luck Ash!
Ash as far as the baby food the rice cereal is fine but I made all Jack's food. It is cheaper and healthier because I know exactly what I put in it. Start with veggies first for sure. All you do is steam the veggies: peas, carrots, squash, stick them in a food processor or blender and freeze them in ice cube trays. Then I would take 2-3 out in a bowl and defrost them in the frig overnight for the next day. Easy with fruit too. It comes out a little chunkier than the pureed stuff but I liked that because it was easy to transition to real food which is all he eats now. As for toys Jack loved anything that made noise when you push the buttons like balls that he could practice crawling after (when he got to that point) and the rings. I think the best thing to do is take her to the store and hold up toys you are willing to buy. She will let you know what ones she really likes. Plastic and soft is best because they put their mouths on everything. Call me and we can talk more.
ReplyDeleteHey there's a great website for homemade baby food that I used a lot - http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
ReplyDeleteRobby loved sweet potatoes so I did a ton of that! Also, no need to rush on the solids - take it slow and don't feel like you need to be doing tons of solids at all even until they turn 1.
And after a year of just wanting a petunia pickle bottom bag Rob got me one for Christmas! So it doesn't hurt to put it on your list! ;)
I never used a cart cover...
Robby LOVED his Fisher Price Jumperoo, totally worth the money.