Making baby food

It probably will take me longer to write this post then it does to make baby food. I have loved making Jacks food- but I was nervous at first, I didn't have a fancy baby food maker that all my friends had... I went to the store to buy one but they were so expensive and i figured i had all the appliances at home to make the food- so i decided I would give it a try. I'm glad I did because you totally don't need the fancy food maker- it's nice it steams and purées the food all in one place. But, anytime I can cut down on costs and space- I will do it. Speaking of costs... Making your own baby food saves you oodles of money! Each organic little pouch of food is up to 2 dollars- for 2 dollars I can feed jack for a week making the food. So- here's how I make jacks food; 

Pears- yummy!

Peel the fruit/veggie, this takes the most of the time.

Cut up your fruit into pieces

Throw chopped fruit into your steamer.

Cover and steam until soft.

Choose your method of food processors. I have two- I use them both, but because this is a big batch I chose to use the big food processor. You can also use your blender! 

Hit it!

Sometimes I add the water I steamed the fruit with- depending on consistency of fruit/veggie. With pear you probably don't need to add liquid but sweet potato yes. 

Using the liquid from steaming is great because it has yummy nutrients.

I like to make big batches of food and freeze them in my ice cube trays. Once frozen I pop them out and store them in a labeled plastic bag. Then all I have to do is thaw the cube and dinner is served. 

See- its not scary! Give it a try... Your baby will love the food you make and you will save money. For more recipes and tips check out The Super Baby foods book. 

Baby Faves

I have so many friends having babies and asking for advice on what items to register for. Every baby is different so every mom is going to like certain items more then others. For us, this is what worked...

The Ergo Baby Carrier. We loved this particular carrier because you are carrying all the weight on your hips instead of your shoulders. I highly recommend purchasing the infant insert so you can wear baby right away. I can remember countless days/nights wearing jack in the Ergo because it was the only place he would sleep. I also would snap myself out of the Ergo and jack would stay asleep in the infant insert all snuggle buggle.

 I figured out how to nurse Jack in the Ergo and walk around... I can't walk super fast but I can walk and nurse. FABULOUS!

We also have the Bjorn and the Moby wrap. I like the moby wrap a little more then the Bjorn because it is more comfortable to wear. Caleb primarily wears the Bjorn-he has yet to try the wrap on, I don't know why? I don't love the Bjorn because all the weight is on your shoulders- I get sore pretty easy wearing it. That being said it's better then nothing. We keep one carrier with us in the car in case Jack is fussy- he ALWAYS loves to be in the carrier. * This is a great place to save money, two of our 3 carriers are hand me downs. You can find great carriers in consignment shops as well- wash them up and they are good to go!


 Aden and Anais Bamboo Swaddle blankets. I LOVE these. I have one with me at all times, They are so versatile! They are bigger then the average swaddle blanket and have a bit of stretch so I got THE best swaddles out of them- Jack couldn't move a bit and would not break out of it. Jack loves the blankets he grabs them and pulls them up to his face and snuggles with it.

I also used them as a nursing cover in a pinch. I  would just tuck it into my bra and cover! I would use the blankets to clean up a spit up here and there and wash at the end of the day. One of my favorite items of all time.

                                                                               
Stroller- We love our Uppababy! The height of the handlebar is adjustable and moves up higher then most strollers- which is nice for us tall peeps. The Uppa maneuvers so smoothly, I can also run with it if I lock the front tires. Although- I would prefer to have a jogging stroller for running (for many reasons) but, while I don't the Uppa is just fine. I love that you can stroll with 3 babes in the uppa! AMAZING- So as our family grows we just purchase the Rumbleseat and away we go.

When thinking about buying a stroller, I highly recommend going to a store and testing them out and picking what works best for your family. We purchased ours new in box from a consignment shop for half the price. For you Orange County peeps- Check out Posh tots and Newport resale in Costa Mesa area (by Bel Bambini). The owner at Posh Tots has a wish list, we put our name/number on it and a week later she called us to say that the Uppababy came in. :)

An exersaucer and play mat are pretty amazing. Jack started playing under his mat at around 2/3 months I believe. He is pretty content there and still hangs out underneath it. The exersaucer is the deal! Jack will play in that thing forever, and I love that he is stuck there- I don't have to worry about him cruising around. Both our exersaucer and playmat were hand me downs. love me some hand me downs.














Because I breastfeed exclusively I didn't need a ton of bottles and whatnot. I DO recommend getting a pump... But, if you are planning on doing mainly breastfeeding I would wait before you stock up on bottles in case your baby doesn't like the bottle you purchased, pre-washed and can no longer take back. 

This is just a list of my favorite/most used items. There are so many things you can buy for baby but maybe don't need. I'm a huge fan of simplicity- so if we don't NEED it, we don't have it. For instance a baby wipe warmer- don't need it. I'm sure Jack's bum would prefer a warmed wipe, but what happens when we are out and about and don't have the warmed wipe... Will he pitch a fit over a room temp wipe? Anyway, that's my two cents.

6 months

Our little man is 6 months old... well, plus a week. We were in Washington on vacay so I wasn't able to update the blog. Jackaroo has grown quiet a bit in the past month. At his checkup today he weighed 16.10 oz and measured 26 1/2 inches tall. In the past month, Jack has began (army) crawling although his favorite mode of transportation is the back scoot. He rolls easily from front to back and sits up by himself wonderfully. Jack was busy making two teeth while we were in Washington- with minimum fuss I might add. Probably the biggest change was the introduction of food. We began with avocado at his mid day feeding. After four days we moved onto banana- He LOVES him some banana. Next came peaches which weren't a hit the first day because I just mushed up the peach. Later that day I cooked the peach and pureed it- then the peach was a hit. My goal is to make all of his food- for a number of reasons. I will know exactly what he is eating and so that his first bites of food are just that- food. Another reason is its cheap, I like cheap. Lastly, I enjoy cooking if I didn't enjoy cooking I would probably buy his food.


I am loving this 6 month stage,  Jack is so full of life and joy. I love watching the world through his perspective. Many people have commented on what a happy baby he is, and how silly he is. I agree, I think he will be making us laugh for years to come. He is pretty rumble tumble... when he rolls over and bonks his head on the table it doesn't phase him... he keeps on smiling.