Ballet flats aren’t my favorite, but even I’ve been lusting after the fun color combinations that Tieks offers — add in their reputation as extremely comfortable shoes, the signature blue sole, as well as the functionality (they’re foldable) and it sounds like a win win. The shoes are pricey, though — they range from $175-$295. The pictured shoes (in burgundy) are $175; they come in sizes 5-13. Tieks
MamaX 2 says
My LO is starting to eat some solid food and is in full-time daycare. Does anyone have recommendations for easy homemade baby food that will travel well to daycare. I realize the transition from purées to soft finger food goes quickly, so I would appreciate recs for all types. My first wasn’t in full-time care until she was much older, so I didn’t face this then.
CHJ says
I loved this book when our guy was starting solids:
http://www.amazon.com/Start-Fresh-Childs-Lifelong-Healthy/dp/1609611942/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412347539&sr=8-1&keywords=start+fresh
It walks you through a bunch of basic purees and then on to some blends that are really good (like a roasted banana and blueberry one – so good). He also talks a lot about next steps and food for toddlers, too.
We also used these containers for transporting the purees to daycare. They are the perfect size for a puree meal and never ever leaked:
http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Blocks-Freezer-Storage-Containers/dp/B004QZBEFK
I would make a big batch of something on the weekend and freeze it in ice cube trays, and then transfer everything to ziplock bags in the freezer. Each day, we would defrost a few cubes of a few different things. It was easy to have a good variety that way.
His favorites were sweet potato, carrots, applesauce, that banana blueberry recipe, and peas. Least favorite: broccoli and green beans.
ECR says
I’ve made a lot of Smitten Kitchen’s baby food purees: http://smittenkitchen.com/baby/ I love her applesauce and peach puree–so easy! I freeze them in ice cube trays as she suggests. For transporting to day care, you could put an ice cube of food in a bowl with lid or tupperware and it will be thawed and ready to eat for the morning snack. Highly recommend the ice cube trays she uses, too. I’ll never use plastic ice cube trays again.
Meg Murry says
My go-to was wholesomebabyfood.com – they have instructions for how to cook just about any puree, and some good suggestions for flavor combos. I tried a few of their recipes, like for meatballs, but luckily daycare provided food for us, so I only had to come up with weekend food.
hoola hoopa says
For finger foods, do an internet search for ‘baby lead weaning’ lists. I found them extremely helpful when I needed suggestions. One of my kids’ favorites were beans, rinsed out of the can. I like to have some prepared items on hand for rushed mornings, and the dole fruit-in-juice cocktail cups were lifesavers (great for the diaper bag, too). Thawed peas. Cheerios, obviously.
One child ate purees for maybe two days. Another ate purees until they were 16 months old.
(former) preg 3L says
“One child ate purees for maybe two days.” — Thank you for this!! My daughter HATES purees and I’m beside myself trying to figure out what to do. At nearly 8 months old, she still chokes on food when she tries to feed herself, but won’t take it in a mesh feeder (that worked for about 3 weeks), and she just hates spoon feeding.
Nonny says
What about starting to mash things rather than puree them? My 9-month old loves it when we put a dollop of mashed sweet potato or yam on her high chair tray – she can pick it up and there isn’t anything for her to choke on, but it is a good start on moving on from purees.
My daughter also loves avocado and banana (not in deliberate combination) and can pick them up and eat them herself without there being a choking hazard (we slice the banana lengthwise). Have you tried those?
(former) preg 3L says
We have been trying with bananas – cutting them lengthwise is a great idea. I’ve also given her cooked carrot (sliced lengthwise). She still manages to gnaw small pieces off and choke on them though. It’s unnerving!
mascot says
The choking is unnerving, but as I am sure you read in the BLW stuff, the gag reflux is much further up in the mouth in babies than older children. So they really aren’t in as much distress as it sounds like. MumMums, puffs, and pouches were all great options for us too. It’s really just practice until closer to one. She’ll get the hang of it.
eh230 says
Just let her keep trying. In some ways, the choking is actually good. She is teaching herself where the food goes in her mouth. My LO is a year, and he refused purees from about 8 months on. Babyled weaning people suggest giving LOs food that is cut into a finger/french fry shape. This lets them hold and put the food in their mouth without choking. That worked really well for my son.
(former) preg 3L says
I read BLW and I really liked the approach, but seeing my daughter cough and sputter is so stressful. She always manages to gnaw off small pieces, so we tried the mesh feeders but it’s too much mesh and not enough food for her I guess.
hoola hoopa says
It was BLW for her. We also found it extremely nerve-wracking, but I’d estimate it was going smoothly after ~ 1 month? Not sure whether it was age or experience, but I’m thinking experience because I feel like she was younger than 8/9 mo. (This child has always considered herself several years older than she really is. God help me when she reaches her teens.)
Ditto the suggestion of pouches, which was mainly how she survived. They were new when she was that age, and I’m honestly not sure what we would have done if they hadn’t been on the market yet. It was expensive, but she was (a) eating and (b) not choking. Mum mums are those dissolving puffs, right? ditto those, too. Not much for nutrition, if I remember right, but great for practice.
Katarina says
My son was not a big fan of purees. Have you tried having her self feed a pouch or mum mums? My pediatrician was unconcerned that my son was not eating much at 9 months, as long as I kept offering. Right after 9 months he got really into table food, and later started eating purees as well.
(former) preg 3L says
This is encouraging, thank you. We haven’t tried a pouch or mum mums, maybe we should. Glad your ped was unconcerned too!
MomAnon4This says
This. One of the 2 best choices I made with my son (now age 6) was skipping baby food and giving him grown-up food cut up to baby size. I was trying to force him to eat smashed peas but instead he grabbed a green bean – ok, have a green bean, kid! Such a good choice – he hardly ever ate anything that wasn’t food, and I think it helped his eye-hand coordination, too, because he was grasping the food and feeding himself. Also got him to try a lot of foods and like them (for awhile, anyway…)
MamaX 2 says
Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions ladies. You’ve given me lots of great ideas!
In House Lobbyist says
How about green peas, green beans and sweet potatoes? Our second wouldn’t eat “baby food” so we started cooking her vegetables to mush so she could feed herself. Cheese was always a big hit too.
Pogo says
I’d never heard of Tieks before – these look cute but they’d have to be insanely durable for me to shell out $200 for them. The blue sole also seems like it would relegate them to casual wear, at least for me.
FVNC says
Just this week my one year old started preferring solids/finger foods to purees, so I’m in the midst of the transition now.
So far I’ve sent her to daycare with various combinations of following: veggies from frozen veggie mix (with a little butter and herbs for flavor), roast butternut squash (diced), baked sweet potato (diced), small slices of baked sausage, sliced tangerines, baked apples and pears (diced).
I’m planning to try: meatballs, mac-n-cheese, tortellini, humus sandwich pieces (i.e., more substantive food than veggies).
I send each type of food in a small tupperware. So far it seems to be working okay. The daycare teachers have been helpful for providing suggestions (like the tortellini and humus sandwiches).
Looking forward to hearing ideas from others, because I feel like I’ve not been very creative.
FVNC says
Oops, this was meant as a response to MamaX2
RR says
I am intrigued by these, but I just can’t spend almost $300 on what would have to be casual flats. The price point just seems insane to me.
hoola hoopa says
I’ve seen the before and thought the same thing. I love the fun color combos and will spend as much on casual shoes as work shoes… but $300 for ballet flats? Can they possibly be that much better than $100 flats? If they were really comfortable and durable, I could see myself splurging on a sale, though.
Charley says
First: apologies to anyone who’s TTC and may not be in the same boat as me. Feel free to skip this thread if you want.
I woke up in the middle of last night with a crazy charley horse in my left leg…and I’ve only ever in my life gotten those when I was pregnant. At that exact moment I realized my period is late. I am FREAKING out. We have two kids and have talked seriously about adopting a third because I never ever ever ever ever want to be pregnant again. It’s been a slow month for us in terms of bedroom stuff (and we use cndms) but there’s a slim chance I could be pregnant. Really trying to be rational here but it’s hard. I know there’s nothing internet strangers can do about this — just wanted to put this out there somewhere AAAAAAAA!
FWIW says
My sister was just mentioning that anytime she has a high level of stress in her life, she also convinces herself that she’s KU as well.
Her words: “Yeah, I used to freak out for days until I realized that a couple bucks at the drug store could totally alleviate this. It’s my thing- every couple months I freak out and then pee on one for reassurance. Sometimes it’s just one less thing to stress about. Yeah, my life may be stressful but I know I’m not PG.”
Tunnel says
Just pee on a stick and find out.
Anonymous says
+1 good luck. I hope you are happy with whatever the result is.
MomAnon4This says
Yeah, whenever I get a nosebleed I think I might be pregnant, because twice that happened to me the day I peed on the stick.