Hawaii Babies
Starting Solids: What do I really need?
We'll be introducing solids next month and I'm wondering: What items/brands have you found most useful? What should I not bother buying? We have a high chair. Splat mat? Utensils? Bowls? Larger bibs? TIA!
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Re: Starting Solids: What do I really need?
Our high chair is on hardwood, so I didn't see any need for a splat mat.
Here are the things I use and/or bought more of once we started solids:
More bibs (not the little drool ones, which we had tons of, but the big ones). I prefer ones with snaps to velcro, but that just a personal preference (these are my favorites). I hate washing velcro and having it stick to everything.
We've got a set of Munchkin bowls (5 of them), which I really like, but I also bought some suction bowls. Unfortunately, Henry can get the suction off easier than I can!
One set of Munchkin spoons (6 in a pack) - I like the bowl part of those spoons....not too shallow, not too deep.
A set of "Take and Toss" small containers and spoons for traveling/visiting.
A toy (like this one) that can suction to the high chair tray for when I'm getting the food ready. Crucial for us!!! He always fusses getting into the chair, but is perfectly happy once I suction down that toy. He is strong enough now to pull it off and toss it on the floor, but it keeps him occupied long enough for me to grab his little food nuggets (as I call them!) out of the freezer or fridge and warm them up or mix his cereal.
Hey Nicole!
We started yesterday
We don't even have a high chair yet, LOL! We're using the Bumbo + tray for now and it works fine. I'll be ordering a high chair soon though. I don't have any special bibs or anything but I did buy these to bring to Hawaii; https://www.tommeetippee.co.uk/product/roll_n_go_bibs_4_months__/ I am just using a plastic bib now (you saw the pic). We have these spoons; https://www.tommeetippee.co.uk/product/6_heat-sensing_spoons_4_months__/ I don't have any special bowls or anything but I'd like to pick up some soon (just using our regular bowls right now).
BTW, I just made some homemade baby food (carrots). Fun stuff
I love Hawaii!
Tara & Ian . 4/24/2008 . The Kahala Planning . Married
I love Hawaii!
Tara & Ian . 4/24/2008 . The Kahala Planning . Married
OOOOH, that's the other thing! I would like to make some homemade baby food (puree to begin with, chunkier later), but I do not own any sort of blender or food processor. I've survived this long without one, but have always wanted to make my own smoothies and milkshakes.
Any advice on what should I get?
I won't talk brands since ours are probably different, but here's what was handy:
Floor mat. Our chairs are on wood, but I still like a mat underneath so I can be lazy and not have to clean the floor (pea puree is a b!tch to clean out of weensy cracks!). I actually just have a couple of old tablecloths that I rotate since I didn't feel like buying anything new.
Bibs. The big plastic lined ones. I prefer the velcro ones - they're faster to put on and remove, and I just stick the ends together before I toss them in the laundry tub to soak, so I don't have any issues with them sticking to other stuff. I keep a bucket with Napisan - like Oxyclean - in it in my laundry to put the bibs in...I learned the hard way that banana can go mouldy on a bib within about 24 hours!
Spoons. I'll let others recommend a brand - different parents and babies have different preferences though.
Bowls. For ages, we just used the Take & Toss kind. We didn't actually throw them away (you can wash and reuse them just like any other plastic storage containers), but they were the perfect size to toss a couple of cubes of frozen puree in and let it sit in the fridge overnight to thaw for the next day, which meant that the lids were also super handy. I still have most of the original containers and use them to store snacks in when we leave the house.
Blender. I didn't buy a special baby food processor or anything - a regular ole blender did just fine for everything from peas to meat.
Oh, and I found wholesomebabyfood a handy resource for ideas on when to introduce certain foods, etc. (they're on the conservative side compared to most websites, so if you have any allergy worries it's a good place to look).
Oh! I nearly forgot, one more thing: good lung capacity. You'll need to hold your breath while you change diapers because the poo of a solid fed baby?
LOL...I can't even begin to imagine! When H was younger, his poo barely had any smell at all. Then about a month or so ago, it started to stink like rotten eggs! I don't quite know what to expect once he starts solids, but I'll definitely be bracing myself.
Some foods are worse than others for Will and Dash. Green things - like peas or broccoli - and protein rich food like red meat are pretty whiffy. Sweet potato and carrot weren't bad so they got a lot of those before they started on finger foods lol.
For bibs, I like the flexible plastic ones with the trough at the bottom. I got over the cloth ones really quickly, especially since a lot of food wouldn't come off even after a cycle in the washer.
We use the Vitamix to make baby food, and I love it -- it purees or blends in an instant and is super easy to clean. We originally bought it at Costco as a splurge since we do a lot of shakes and smoothies (you can cook in it too). I think Sarah didn't like it since some food does get stuck under the blades, but that wasn't a big deal for me, especially since I made big batches at once and anything lost was negligible. Still way cheaper than buying jars, even at organic prices.
I use the Beaba trays to freeze 2 oz. portions -- love these, although they are pricey. I have two and just transfer to freezer bags once the food is frozen.
We started with oatmeal cereal and some samples of EBs jarred food, so you can take your time figuring out your baby-food-making supplies. Have fun!
You've gotten great advice...spoons, bowls, bibs and a high-chair are what we went with...no need for a splat mat with four piggy dogs underfoot! LOL!
I also have those Munchkin suction bowls and they suck (well they DON'T suck, which is the problem!)...Libby had pull them up with no effort. I want to look into that suction thing that Jaime has recommended.
We use these Boon Benders...adaptable spoons and sporks...of course, we never spoon-fed Libby, she's always just used them to feed herself, so I am not sure how great they'd be for spoon feeding (although I cannot see why they wouldn't work for that...).
We also got their plate, but again, Libby has figured out how to get it up off her tray or the table.
For bibs, we use the big laminated ones that have a pocket....helps to catch food that goes out of the mouth! We use the Koala Baby Easy Wipe bibs from BRU. Libby HATES wearing bibs now, so I've got to find some other solution. I am thinking of getting some sort of smock or a larger toddler button down shirt that we can throw on over whatever she's wearing. Hm....
As for your blender question...we have a Kitchen Aid 5-Speed Blender and LOVE it! It's very study and offers many different blending options...it was a wedding gift when I was married the first time (1997) and still going strong! It makes AWESOME smoothies!
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We originally got a splat mat b/c we have carpet and the plastic smell was so nauseating that I returned it (thanks to free returns on Amazon). Plus they're not that cheap. So instead we use a big cheap rug from Walmart (something like this but no design) and it's worked great, since I can just throw it in the laundry machine whenever it needs a cleaning and just air dry it.
I got the Boon suction bowl and I LOVED it so much that I got another one! It sticks really well esp if u wet it first, then slam it on. B has pulled lots of bowls onto the floor before but not this. You can use the Boon coupon in my previous post for 10% off too! I had bought both of mine without the coupon months ago =/
Our favorite spoons are the same as lelekay: Munchkin ones since they're deep enough to hold substantial food vs those shallow covered tip ones. And they're also super cheap.
We use OXO cups for B since he's always loved drinking out of cups (since he sees us do it). We go the messy route (w/that rug catching everything) and take out the valves and let him learn to control the flow himself and he's done really well, esp since the handles are really easy for him to hold on to! We have 3 of these (some with the training lids, some with sippy spout).
For bibs, we use Bjorn ones primarily and I love it a lot (we have 2) but my only gripe is that the neck area is stiff so I usually put a cloth bib on first so it's more comfortable. But I love how it catches all the dropped food so I feed it back to him from the bib and we don't waste any food (esp after all the work making the homemade food!). Actually, another good thing is that when B had the flu last week, he vomited at dinner but cleanup was a breeze because the bib caught EVERYTHING! so all I had to do was dump it out. He was squeaky clean. But after his beets experience and his sleeves got all dyed red (we let him self-feed w/spoon mostly), I also got this bib w/sleeves but it's pricier so we only got one.
I love the Annabel Karmel tray most for freezing homemade food but I only got one and I also have an OXO one since OXO is cheaper (both work well though, I just like the soft edges more on the AK one whereas the OXO one is more like ice cube tray material with a nice sliding lid).
For making baby food, I use an hand blender. I have this KitchenAid one and it's the best thing that's ever happened to my homemade baby food IMO. I've tried my food processor and blender before that and the hand blender is WAY nicer because I can puree/blend much easier (and don't have to wait for it to cool) when it's fresh off the steamer in any bowl (glass/ceramic) whereas the food processor bowl is plastic and I don't like having super hot foods in plastic, esp not for LO, but that's just me.
Anyway, everyone has their own preferences, but I think everyone's responses will give you a look into all the different products out there. GL!
ETA: I forgot to mention, everything we have is dishwasher (top rack) safe for easy cleanup (which is impt to MH since he does it).I may have to get some of these - I've tried 3 different brands of suction bowls and NONE of them work! Either the boys can pull the suction cup part off the tray or they can yank the bowl out of the suction attachment.
I love Hawaii!
Tara & Ian . 4/24/2008 . The Kahala Planning . Married
I totally agree that these rock! They are pricey, but soooo easy to pop the food out.
I have to say, I also love the Beaba itself. It's certainly not necessary....any food processor will do. But I love that I can steam and blend all in one, and only have one device to clean.