Baby Gourmet Creative Combo Purées & Mushies: Review & Giveaway! (Closed)

Baby Gourmet is an organic baby food company with Canadian roots offering a wide variety of tasty, nutritious and convenient meals and snacks for little ones. Although we've historically made most of our baby food from scratch, there have been times when we've appreciated having "ready to go" options (e.g., while out and about,travelling, etc.) and, in these cases, Baby Gourmet's been our go-to brand. Our daughter has enjoyed various purées from their Simply Smart and Squoosh lines, and earlier this year when our son CJ was starting solids, I partnered with the company to review their Creamy Brown Rice Cereal.

Today I'll be sharing my thoughts on two other Baby Gourmet products I've most recently had the chance to test out - Creative Combos Purées and Mushies. Both are designed for babies 8+ months old, so the timing was perfect as our little man had just passed this milestone himself when I received my review package.

We got to test two of the five available Creative Combos flavours (Fruity Carrot & Greek Yogurt Smoothie, and Vanilla Banana Berry Risotto) and both flavours of Mushies (Banana Berry Greek Yogurt and Fruity Greens).


Product Info: Creative Combos Purées

At around eight months, your baby is ready for a new taste adventure.  At this age, babies like to feel the difference in textures.  Our Creative Combos deliver enhanced texture in our fruit & veggie recipes.


Fruity Carrot & Greek Yogurt Smoothie

Greek yogurt is perfect for babies because of the creamy texture and most importantly for the protein content. Jen`s kids love smoothies and a scoop of Greek yogurt always makes it way into the blender. Think healthy, natural creamsicle when you eat this one...yum!!!

Advantages:

• No added sugar or salt
• No fillers or thickeners
• BPA-free
• No gluten
• Kosher

Complete Recipe List:

• Organic Mango
• Organic Banana
• Organic Apple
• Organic Greek Yogurt
• Organic Carrot
• Organic Orange Juice Concentrate
• Organic Lemon Juice Concentrate
• Ascorbic Acid

Vanilla Banana Berry Risotto

Jen makes delicious vanilla bean rice pudding for her family and modifies it for baby by removing dairy and adding bananas and blueberries

 

Advantages:

• Organic
• 65% Daily Value Vitamin C
• No Added Sugar
• No Added Salt
• Nut Free
• No Fillers
• Kosher
• BPA Free Packaging

Complete Recipe List:

• Organic Banana
• Organic Apple
• Organic Brown Rice
• Water
• Organic Blueberry
• Pure Organic Vanilla Extract
• Ascorbic Acid
• Organic Lemon Juice Concentrate

My Review: Creative Combos Purées

Having tried (and thoroughly enjoyed) many of Baby Gourmet's other purées, we had high expectations for these ones, and they definitely didn't disappoint!

Taste-wise, both are flavourful and delicious. The ingredient combos work well together and the main flavours all come through. The Fruity Carrot & Greek Yogurt Smoothie is sweet and a little tangy, and the Vanilla Berry Banana Risotto is, well, very vanilla berry banana-y. (Shocker, right?) Both taste natural and "real", and neither is cloyingly sweet.

The VBBR is the more "interesting" of the two, texture-wise. The brown rice in it is moderately blended (as though it's been pulsed a couple times through a processor), yielding a chunky consistency that's adventurous but still totally manageable for the toothless folk.

 

The FCGY is smooth, but thicker and creamier than the 6-7 month purées we've tried.

I like to serve both combos mainly as snacks on the run, but sometimes I'll bust 'em out at home after meals, as a special treat. Both of my kids go a little cuckoo when they see one. CJ gives it the crazy "I want you!" eyes, and S inevitably pleads "Can I have some????" So it works out well - Ceej gets the first half and then S polishes it off, which (mostly) pleases both and helps ensure neither is over-fruit-sugared. (Particularly key for the FCGY, which has 22 grams per pouch.) An open package does last for 24+ hours in the fridge, however, which comes in handy when the little guy and I are snackin' alone.

On the few occasions we've allowed him to gulp down a whole pack in one sitting, it's taken him all of about 42 seconds. That's mommy's little competitive eater!

Overall, Baby Gourmet's definitely whipped up another healthy, tasty winner with their Creative Combos. (Heck, I may or may not have even slurped down a pouch (or two) myself - shhhhh! :)


Product Info: Mushies

For little mouths just discovering new textures and flavors, Mushies are the next step in developing a taste for good food. These freeze-dried packets of healthy bite-sized snacks have no added sugar or anything artificial – just pure, top quality organic ingredients. Perfect for babies and toddlers.


Banana Berry Greek Yogurt

Babies love our Vanilla Banana Berry Risotto, so Jen replaced the rice with protein-packed Greek Yogurt to give a creamy texture. Like all Mushies, Banana Berry Greek Yogurt is freeze dried with nothing artificial and no added sugar, a perfect melt in your mouth snack for self feeding babies.

 

Advantages:

• Perfect for little fingers
• No Added Sugar
• Nothing Artificial
• Only the best ingredients
• BPA Free Packaging
• Kosher

Complete Recipe List:

• Cultured Organic Milk
• Organic Skim Milk
• Organic Banana
• Organic Blueberry
• Organic White Grape Juice Concentrate
• Organic Whey Protein Concentrate
• Organic Tapioca Starch
• Citric Acid
• Mixed Tocopherols
• Ascorbic Acid

Fruity Greens

Inspired by the popularity of Juicy Pear & Garden Green baby food, Jen added the goodness of Kale and then freeze dried the new recipe into melt-in your mouth, bite-sized bits of fun that babies love to feed themselves. Another great way to help baby develop a love for green veggies!

Advantages:

• Perfect for little fingers
• No Added Sugar
• Nothing Artificial
• Only the best ingredients
• BPA Free Packaging
• Kosher
• Organic

Complete Recipe List:

• Organic Banana
• Organic Apple
• Organic Spinach
• Organic Pregelatinized Tapioca Starch
• Organic Kale
• Citric Acid
• Ascorbic Acid

My Review: Mushies

Mushies is Baby Gourmet's newest product line, launched this past June.When my BG contact first mentioned it to me, for some reason I assumed it would be a chewy snack and thus wondered how it would be safe for a toothless 8-month-old. Well, I assumed wrong. (And, clearly I didn't read the product description ahead of time, or the "freeze dried" bit would've steered me in the right direction!)

In actuality, Mushies are reminiscent of mini meringue cookies. They start out lightweight and solid, and then instantly crumble and melt in your mouth. So definitely no choking hazard here.

Here's a recommended(ish) serving size of Mushies including both flavours. I'm willing to bet you can tell which type is which. :)

Mushies are the perfect size for little fingers, and the dry texture makes them easy to grip.

OK, so that's all good - but how do they taste? Pretty darn good, I have to say! The Banana Berry Greek Yogurt is creamy with a subtle sweetness, and the Fruity Greens remind me of our morning green smoothies. The spinach comes through fairly assertively (which I like!), but it's tempered nicely by the apple and banana for an overall pleasing experience. Both our kids gulp down each flavour like there's no tomorrow!

Another thing I love about this snack is that it's essentially mess-free. You can't say that about too many things that are consumed by almost-one-year-olds!

I also like that each package contains about 3-4 servings. Big enough to share with friends, but small enough for a single child to consume before losing its freshness (i.e. within the recommended 5-7 day window).

The only thing I'm not overly thrilled with is the presence of a few funky ingredients (e.g., mixed tocopherols and pregelatinized tapioca starch) but everything appears to check out OK from a safety standpoint so I can deal. :)

Overall, I've gotta hand it to Baby Gourmet yet again. Mushies are a nutritious, fun, tasty, safe and accessible snack for new self-feeders (and their older siblings, who'll want in on the action too!) Definitely a great option to have kicking around your pantry.

Buy It: 

Visit the store locator to find a store which sells Creative Combos, Mushies and other Baby Gourmet Products near you!

Win It:

Two lucky Manager to Mom readers will each win a 12-pack of Creative Combos and an 8-pack of Mushies! (Note - flavours will be chosen by Baby Gourmet based on availability.) Open to CANADA ONLY.

To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Please follow all instructions within each entry option to ensure your entries are valid.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  The prize is being provided and shipped to the winner by Baby Gourmet.  I received no financial compensation for writing my review or offering this giveaway, although I did receive the sample items free of charge.  This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours.

Baby Gourmet Creamy Brown Rice Cereal: Review & Giveaway (Closed)

Vanilla Banana Berry Risotto. Vegetable Lentil Dahl. Menu options from a classy fusion restaurant? Not quite! They're actually two of the many scrumptious, organic meal varieties for babies and toddlers offered by Baby Gourmet, a company which believes parents should never have to compromise taste nor nutrition for the sake of convenience when it comes to feeding our little ones.

 A little more about the company, from their website:

Founder Jennifer Carlson wanted to feed her babies food that was healthy and tasty, but was disappointed by grocery store options. With a little ingenuity, she started making her own - whipping up baby-friendly batches of tested and much-loved family recipes. The results were so yummy, she enlisted the help of her sister, Jill Vos, and Baby Gourmet was born.

As VP Product Development, Jill makes sure our recipes are filled with only the best, freshest, organic, kosher ingredients from around the world.

Jen oversees every aspect of Baby Gourmet with the passionate and watchful eye of a mother and a business person.

Founded on a mother's love and fueled by an unwavering commitment to quality, we make great tasting healthy, organic baby food.

Every package of Baby Gourmet passes strict nutritional and food safety guidelines. We pass all USDA and organic certifications. But, as moms, we go a step further. We actually taste every single batch ourselves. If we don't absolutely love it, we pour it out and start from scratch. It's true! Because our bottom line is not 'the bottom line'. It's our commitment to making great tasting, nutritious food - the only kind we would feed our own children.


Baby Gourmet has Canadian roots (it was initially made in Canada - in Jen's own kitchen! - and sold at the Calgary Farmers Market) but is now produced in the United States.

The BG product line includes both purees (available in numerous flavour combinations and different consistencies) and rice and oat-based "Great Grains" cereals. Their website allows you to browse by age group to determine appropriate options for your child(ren) at any given point.

We've tried various Baby Gourmet purees and Squoosh for our daughter (now 32-months-old) and, aside from one staunch refusal during a period when she was boycotting pear, she gobbled 'em all up like they were going out of style! So far, we've made all our own purees for CJ (now 7 1/2 months) but I'm sure there'll be times when we grab some Baby Gourmet for convenience. BG is definitely the commercial brand I trust the most to provide healthy, minimally processed purees for my little ones when we're in a time crunch.

Today, however, I'll be switching gears and reviewing Baby Gourmet's Creamy Brown Rice cereal, one of three products within their Great Grains line. I'd experimented a bit early on with making rice cereal for our daughter, but ultimately wasn't a fan of the process nor (more importantly) convinced we were providing baby with superior nutrition, so we went with a commercial product. We decided to do the same for CJ, so when I learned that Baby Gourmet had recently introduced its own version and that it was made with brown rice (widely considered more nutritious than white), I was eager to give it a try!


Product Info:

One of the simplest foods to start baby on  - rice cereal.  It is gluten free and easy to digest.  Creamy Brown Rice cereal is an excellent source of iron & B vitamins.  It is simply delicious.

Advantages:

• Excellent source of iron & B vitamins
• Easy to digest
• No added sugar or salt
• Dairy free
• Gluten free
• No artificial colours or flavours
• BPA-free package
• Enriched with niacin, riboflavin, and thiamine
• Easy pour spout
• Resealable pouch locks in freshness

Complete Recipe List:

• Organic brown rice flour
• Electrolytic iron
• Niacinamide
• Riboflavin
• Thiamine Mononitrate
• Soy Lecithin

My Review:

I was sent a 6-pack of Baby Gourmet Creamy Brown Rice cereal (227g each) to review.

First of all, I have to say the resealable spout format (carried forward from their puree packaging) is awesome - a marked improvement over the infuriating cardboard punch-out spouts that are unfortunately the norm for baby cereals. The recyclable spout makes it much easier to pour the cereal and is also a great solution for keeping the product fresh. Long gone are the days of wiping up powdery spills from the counter and fiddling with awkward plastic wrap / elastic band combos!

The consistency of the dry cereal is "heartier" than the white rice variety we used to buy. It definitely has the appearance of a wholer grain.

That said, it's still an instant cereal like the others; it's ready to serve immediately once combined with a liquid or puree.

We first introduced the cereal when CJ was a week shy of 7 months. Upon the advice of professionals we've seen (due to his low weight gain), we introduced vegetables and meat first to ensure he started with some "bulkier" nutrients. So he was pretty much an old hat at solids when he had his first taste of his Baby Gourmet brown rice (prepared with breast milk). We captured the occasion on video; no jury required to deduce that he enjoyed the experience! And big sister even wanted in on the action too!

For the first few days, we continued to prepare his cereal with breast milk. After that, however, we started to prefer adding it to purees for two reasons - to thicken them up, and because his bowel movements are on the infrequent side (once every two days or so) so we want to ensure that when he's eating rice (which can trigger constipation) he's also getting other foods which promote movements. Here we've mixed about a tablespoon into a pear puree to make it nice & bulky!

 

Overall, it's clear that CJ enjoys eating this cereal. We do have a non-picky eater so far in general, so it's hard to "speak" for all babies, however I've tasted it myself and it's certainly pleasant - it has a smooth texture and even a hint of sweetness, despite the fact that it contains no sugar.

In terms of nutrition and health, first of all I appreciate that the cereal is made with brown rice. Although opinions are still divided on white vs. brown as an early food for babies (with proponents of white stating mainly that it's easier to digest), I feel that white is basically empty calories, and I'd rather give my baby a wholer grain - especially since he's on the small side. Second, obviously the USDA organic certification is a Good Thing - this means that the cereal is made with 95%+ organic ingredients.

Third, the ingredients themselves. I'm fine with the addition of iron and various B vitamins to ensure baby's maintaining an adequate store of these important nutrients. However I wasn't as thrilled to see soy lecithin on list as the choice of emulsifier. We try to steer clear of GMOs in our household, and soy is one of the most genetically modified crops. The cereal package doesn't explicitly say non-GMO, so I checked with my PR contact at Baby Gourmet who confirmed that although many of the cereal's ingredients are GMO-free, the full product hasn't been certified. Which means the soy lecithin may, indeed, be from a GM crop. :( But - here's the good thing! My contact also mentioned that moving forward, the company will replace soy lecithin with an organic sunflower lecithin in its production, which should eliminate the GMO threat. Am I concerned enough about the current batch to stop feeding it to my baby? No - I still think it's a healthier option overall than most, if not all, other commercial baby cereals available today. However once the sunflower version becomes available (depending on where CJ is at with foods) I may purchase some new packs and donate any that are remaining from my review package.

Overall, out of all the commercial baby food companies operating today, I trust Baby Gourmet to go above and beyond when it comes to taste, convenience, nutrition and health, and also to strive for ongoing product improvement. Their Creamy Brown Rice cereal is no exception; it's yummy, made with nutritious whole grains, and soon will be completely soy-free. Overall, I think it's a great option to consider incorporating into a baby's early diet.

Buy It: 

Visit the store locator to find a store which sells Creamy Brown Rice cereal and other Baby Gourmet Products near you!

Win It:

One lucky Manager to Mom reader will win a 6-pack of Baby Gourmet Creamy Brown Rice cereal of their own! Open to CANADA ONLY.

To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Please follow all instructions within each entry option to ensure your entries are valid.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  The prize is being provided and shipped to the winner by Baby Gourmet.  I received no financial compensation for writing my review or offering this giveaway, although I did receive the sample items free of charge.  This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Mmmm Tasty!!!

Our little guy turned 6 months old today! Over the last few weeks, he's been getting increasingly excited around food, so we've given him the occasional taste - for example, here he's enjoying a wedge of peach from his mesh "feeder".

Tomorrow we're going to start solids for realsies! Our 6-pack of Baby Gourmet creamy brown rice cereal arrived this afternoon so we're going to start with that. (Upcoming review/giveaway alert!!),

At what age did you start your little one(s) on solids? What were their first foods?

Favourite baby gear roundup: 7-9 months

It's that time again! In this post I'll be listing our picks for top baby items from the 7-9 month age range (inclusive), based on our experiences with S. Yes, I'm aware that this list has 11 items in it. I couldn't decide which one to leave out, and it seemed silly to have a single "honourable mention". So 11 it is! :)

If you're interested, take a look at our 0-3 and 4-6 month roundups as well!

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#11 - "Touchy/feely" books, such as That's Not My Puppy by Usborne Children's Books. At this age, babies are getting much more coordinated and S just loooved exploring the textures in these books - soft fur, shiny collars, bumpy frog skin, etc. Between about 8 and 9 months, however, she started getting a little more aggressive & "rippy", preferring to manhandle the entire book rather than simply feel the textures on the pages. ;)

#10 - Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo. This item made the #4 spot on our last list. We continued to use it quite a bit during months 7 and 8, and then its allure tapered off pretty sharply for S once she started crawling. In her 9th month, we just used it sporadically when we needed some quick hands-free time, though she'd generally start grumping at us after a few minutes. :)

#9 - Small soft cooler / lunch pack. (Any brand should do!) Once S began to eat solids (at just before 6 months), we discovered just how many additional items we needed to take with us when out & about! Bib, face cloth, spoon, sippy cup, food containers, snacks. I know that many parents like to pack these items in their diaper bags (and many bags are designed well for this), however we find that our bag is usually pretty stuffed mainly due to S's bulky cloth diapers. Plus, when we go out to eat we like to have her food items accessible without necessarily needing to lug her large bag around. So we started using one of the small soft coolers we got (for free) at the Great Canadian Cheese Festival and it is perfect!

#8 - JJ Cole outdoor blanket. First of all, there's definitely some seasonality involved in this pick, as we wouldn't have been able to take advantage of this item during the Winter. That said, we fell in LOVE with our JJ Cole blanket this past Summer as it was so perfect for S to hang out on during all of our outdoor events - cottage, camping, the beach, parks, BBQs and more! And we believe she was the perfect age for it, especially during the first part of Summer when she was sitting, rolling and just starting to "army" crawl. We'd spread a few of her favourite toys on there and she'd be happy as a clam! As she became more adept at proper crawling we did need to grab her and move her back fairly often (as she'd generally want to go pull out and eat grass at the edge of the blanket :) but this was still way more convenient and less messy than simply setting her down in the grass all the time. Why is the blanket so awesome? Well, it's super-durable, has a wipeable surface and folds up nicely when you're done with it! Plus it comes in some really attractive patterns to boot! This blanket probably would have made the 4-6 month roundup as well (instead?) if this age range coincided with the warmer months, as I can definitely see throwing a soft blanket down on top of it and laying a younger baby down. And I totally see continuing to use this moving forward when our child(ren?) are older for picnics, beach trips, fireworks, etc. All in all, a highly recommended item!

#7 - Fisher Price Healthy Care Booster Seat. We bought one of these seats for feeding on the go, and it is terrific! It is durable, safe, lightweight, portable, easy to clean, simple to use, very affordable and grows with baby. Many parents even claim that they use one of these seats in place of an actual high chair for everyday feeding, as a baby can sit safely in it as soon as he/she is ready for solids. Although most restaurants have high chairs, we find that they are generally very roomy and more appropriate for older/bigger babies, so we would take our Fisher Price booster seat with us when we went out to eat during S's first couple months on solids. The seat features extra long, adjustable straps so that it can be easily attached to virtually any size/type of table chair. We also set it on the ground to feed her when we're eating outside (BBQ, picnic, etc.)

#6 - ERGObaby Carrier. This was our #1 pick for the 4-6 month roundup. Although we still love our ERGO, we haven't used it as much recently as S often prefers being more mobile and closer to the action when we're out & about. So we've been opting for her stroller more often. But it's still my carrier of choice and great for shopping trips, walks in more "rugged" territory, etc.

#5 - Playtex "The First Sipster" sippy cup. When I was pregnant, I spent literally hours and hours researching baby gear for my registry. (Ahhh to have that kind of time again! ;) One of the items I spent a lot of time on was sippy cups, as it seemed that so many cups had negative reviews and that leakage was inevitable. But then I came across this cup and the vast majority of reviews were positively glowing! It seemed like this was the only cup that didn't leak, so I added a set of them to my registry. Fast forward almost a year, and I'm happy to report that after 4 months of daily usage, we have, indeed, had ZERO leaks with this cup! It's the perfect size and shape for little hands learning coordination, therefore ideal for the 7-9 month stage. And it's BPA-free, which is important to us as well! Great li'l cups. :)

#4 - Baby leg warmers (e.g. BabyLegs). Words cannot express how much I heart baby leg warmers! They're utterly adorable, come in sooo many cute patterns and add warmth without hassle (as they can be left on during diaper changes). Finally, they help protect baby's knees from chafing during the crawling period, which makes them particularly awesome during the 7-9 month stage! S has about 8 pairs so far and I totally want more. I think I'm addicted. ;)

#3 - Shape sorter and stacking cups (tie!). We have the Fischer Price Baby's First Blocks set and stacking cups by The First Years, though there are many other brands that create these types of toys as well. I decided to pair them together as S was introduced to both during her 7-9 month period and basically played with them in tandem. She started out by grabbing all the objects, mouthing them and bashing them together, then she enjoyed putting them into the shape sorter container and dumping the container. Finally, at around the 8 1/2 month mark, she began to put small cups and shapes into bigger cups, and attempted to put shapes into the correct holes. (Though we don't expect this skill to fully emerge for at least a few more months!) I love how portable and easy to clean these toys are as well! They're the first ones I grabbed this Summer when heading outside at the cottage or off to the park or beach. The one downside of the particular brands we own? It's not clear whether they are BPA-free, which means they likely aren't. :( That said, although she does mouth the pieces she's not actually ingesting any food or liquid out of them so it doesn't concern me as much as it would if her cups or servingware contained BPA.

#2 - Alphabet puzzle mat. We borrowed one of these puppies from Chris' sister (among many, many, many other things - thanks Tracey! ;) I'm not sure what brand it is, but numerous brands appear to create these mats. Which I get, because they're AWESOME. Particularly if you have non-carpeted floor in your baby's play area, like we do. Let me count the awesomeness: 1) Soft on baby's legs and knees, 2) "Grippy" so that baby's feet doesn't slip when pulling up on things, 3) Provides a designated "area" for baby's stuff, 4) Easy to clean and 5) Fun for baby to rip apart! :) I'm sure that in upcoming months there will be a 6) Fun for baby to put back together, but during the 6-9 month range she's pretty much in pure destruction mode. ;)


#1 - Blending device and baby ice cube trays. Now let me start out here by saying that I understand not all parents are into making their own baby food, and that's cool. That said, I knew from the get-go that I wanted to make food for S (for various reasons that belong in a different post), so I needed a good system. I ended up with The Magic Bullet as my blending device and Baby Cubes for storing her food, and the duo has worked WONDERFULLY! We were lucky enough to inherit the bullet from Chris' grandparents who had one that they didn't use. I have to admit I haven't used it for all its intended purposes, but it certainly purees like a dream. Quick and easy to use, and simple to clean. FTW. I looove our Baby Cubes too, as they are certified baby safe (as I mentioned above, this is important to us when it comes to products which touch her food and drink), space conscious (they stack easily), microwave-safe, come in various sizes and can be frozen for as long as 6 months (depending on the puree). All in all, these two items combined earned the honour of #1 baby gear in the 7-9 month range (according to hubby and me!)

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Well that's that! Hope you enjoyed our latest roundup!

So how about you? Do you have any 7-9 month "must have" items which didn't make our list?

Solids Update - Orange is Good and Green is Bad!

It's been over a month since we first introduced S to solids, so I thought I'd do a li'l update on how she's progressed since then! She's definitely making it clear which foods she hearts, and which we can scrape right into the toilet, TYVM. That said, it seems like this can change over time (as evidenced by her reaction to bananas, for one thing) so there's still hope for those green veggies!

On a related note, we haven't experimented any further with baby-led weaning since broccoli day. Time constraints and anxiety over the prospect of choking (merited or not) are the culprits here. I'd like to incorporate more of this, however, as I think it's really good for her development to be able to explore food fully on her own. But I think I'll have Chris there with me next time just in case something does go awry!

Here's a food introduction timeline so far:

• May 5 - Rice cereal (home-made, kinda liked)
• May 11-12 - Pear (home-made puree, disliked)
• Week of May 15th - Peas (home-made puree, disliked)
• Week of May 15th - Oatmeal cereal (home-made, kinda liked)
• Week of May 15th - Rice cracker (store-bought, liked)
• Week of May 22nd - Prunes (store-bought puree, liked) 
• Week of May 22nd - Avocado (home-made mash, disliked) 
• Week of May 29th - My Organic Baby oatmeal cereal (bought, liked)
• Week of May 29th - Steamed broccoli (BLW, kinda liked)
• June 7 - Sweet potato (home-made puree, liked)
• June 9 - Banana take 2 (home-made mash, disliked)
• June 12 - Carrots (home-made puree, liked)
• June 15 - Banana (home-made mash, liked)
• June 16 - Spinach (home-made puree, disliked)

Next on the radar - peas, avocado and pear take 2, beans, peaches and possibly another grain such as barley. We're going to hold off on meats for a little while yet!

On Eating Organic...

Chris and I have dabbled around in buying organic foods for awhile now. There are numerous articles out there discussing the health and other benefits, however we (admittedly) haven't put a huge emphasis on it up until this point. Now that S is eating solids, however, we're making an effort to change this! While it's not practical (or highly affordable) to plan to buy EVERYTHING organic, there is a short list of produce we're going to really focus on. You may have heard of it - it's called "The Dirty Dozen". Developed by the Environmental Working Group, these are foods that are commonly laden with a large number of pesticides which are difficult or impossible to clean off. It appears that the list changed slightly in 2010; here's the latest short list:

1) Celery
2) Peaches
3) Strawberries
4) Apples
5) Blueberries
6) Nectarines
7) Bell Peppers
8) Spinach
9) Kale
10) Cherries
11) Potatoes
12) Grapes

In an ideal world, all of the food we eat would be organic, however this may not be practical or affordable in all cases. Luckily, there is also a "Clean 15" list of fruits and veggies which are least affected by pesticides and therefore not considered as important to buy organic:

1) Onions
2) Sweet corn
3) Pineapples
4) Avocado
5) Asparagus
6) Sweet peas
7) Mangos
8) Eggplant
9) Cantaloupe (domestic)
10) Kiwi
11) Cabbage
12) Watermelon
13) Sweet Potatoes
14) Grapefruit
15) Mushrooms

Info on both the (older) Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 can be found here.
Info on the latest Clean 15 can be found here.

Also, I found the following "cheat sheet" which can be printed out as a quick reference!

Today, S and I are going to head down to Pfennings Organics & More in St. Agatha and check out their organic produce section. Pfennings also offers four types of organic produce baskets (blender, fruit, local and wild) which change week to week. They also offer free delivery to surrounding areas. We might start ordering these! I love the local basket in particular; organic AND local - a great combo! Plus, the fact that the basket's contents change week to week will encourage us to try different recipes and preparations.

I'm also going to scout out other good sources for organic produce - in particular, foods from the Dirty Dozen list. The local supermarkets have some selections, but they're limited and unpredictable. In cases where we can't buy organic, we're going to at least strive to buy local. Ontario farmers have reduced their chemical pesticide use considerably within the last 25 years and there are ongoing initiatives to continue this trend.

So how about you? Do you strive to buy & eat organic foods? If so, do you focus on the Dirty Dozen or do you try for broader adoption? Where do you buy your organic foods?

"S" @ 6 months: On a Roll!

So this was weird. Months 1-5 flew by so quickly, but month 6 positively DRAGGED on. I thought it would never end.

...As if! I just felt like finding a not-so-cliched way of saying the cliched "WOW! Where did the time go?!" :) On that note, let's dive into Month 6!

S's latest appointment and vaccination took place last Wednesday, May 25th - one day past her 6-month birthday. She handled the shot like a TRUE champ; just a tiny whimper - not even a cry! That's our girl! Growth-wise, she has gained in both weight and height but has slowed down a little bit. 13 lb 15.5 oz (up about 5 1/2 oz from last month) and 25.5 inches (only up 1/2 an inch since her 4-month appointment). Curve-wise, she's at around the 25th percentile in weight and just under the 50th percentile in height. She's a little peanut, but definitely still in the healthy range!

Here is her official 6-month photo:

Yeah, she's kinda wearing grampa pants in this one, but she's comfy dammit!

Take a look at her up-to-date month-to-month album here!

Lots of big milestones and changes this month! For starters, she FINALLY mastered the fine art of rolling from her stomach onto her back, following a good 2 months or so of rolling in the other direction and getting stuck. Now she flip-flops around every which way, and sometimes gets a good barrel roll going! Definitely no more brief, unattended moments on the bed or the change table starting this month! She has also really started rockin' the mini pushups and is working on a move akin to downward-facing dog. Baby yoga continues to pay dividends!

She is also now able to sit up. OK, mostly. She still gets a little unstable from time to time, as evidenced by the following photo:

(I felt pretty bad as that lovely smile quickly turned into a grump once she'd clonked over on her side. Oops!!)

Her strength and coordination continued to improve this month as well. Following a couple weeks of Chris and I mulling over whether or not she could work herself out of her Bumbo chair, she finally settled that debate with one super-determined back arch! Luckily Chris was right there, and since then the tray is always firmly in place!

Speaking of the Bumbo tray, we've taken to suctioning her Melissa & Doug First Bead Maze on there, and this keeps her entertained for a good 8-10 minutes at a time! She likes to spin the bottom beads, and she is learning to push the main beads up and over to the other side. Great little toy!

Near the end of the month it would seem she suddenly went from being the strong, silent type to having an opinion on everything - and SHARING it! Buhs and gahs and AHHHHHHs and ARLLLLLLLLLAAAAAS galore! Daddy really has her going here:

Finally, the biggest and most exciting milestone of them all: starting solids! If you've kept up with my blog recently, you may have read that we first tried some home-made rice cereal (lukewarm reception) and then switched gears and offered her pears (not a fan). Next, we gave peas a whirl and she booed these off the stage too. We concluded that she doesn't like anything that starts with "pea". :) At the very end of the month, we decided to go back to grains but moved to oats, as we didn't want to gum her up further given her continued infrequent bowel habits. And guess what? They were a hit!



Lots more culinary excitement to come in Month 7!

Oh yeah - one more thing worth mentioning (well, repeating) here. A few weeks back, S was coughing a lot so we took her to the doctor who thought she might have asthma. Since then, we've used the inhalers on and off and she's much better now. Poor Lucy has been relegated to the basement, however, until we can find a loving new home for her. :( But that's another story.

Overall, Month 6 was an exciting and happy month, so let's end on that note, shall we?

"WHEEE! My Daddy is the COOLEST!"

Pears, Poo and "To Bed With You!!!"

I had a plethora of ideas for awesomesauce blog posts this week, however sickies, lack of proper sleep and Blogger's little stunt threw a wrench into that. But now it's the weekend and perhaps (with hubby's assistance) I can do some catch up here. We'll start with a rather sleep-deprived "miscellaneous happenings" update; excuse any improper grammar or questionable sentence structure and flow. THERE, I said it. Now I can write with impunity! ;)

First of all, an update on solids. On Wednesday we found ourselves once more into a double digits number of days since S last had a doo-doo, and her "composter" farts were getting seriously wretched! So we went for the double poo-ty frooty combo - more prune juice, and some mashed up pear! This was the third or fourth time she'd had prune juice so she has gotten used to it and doesn't mind it. So how'd she do on the pear, you ask? Well:

Lots of strange faces and definitely more slopped onto her tray or mushed into her bib than actually ingested, but it was a pretty good start! Unfortunately when we tried again the next day with the other half of the pear, she decided she was having none of it. Gaah. Well, we'll try again later.

In any case, it appears she got enough in to hit pay dirt! Or would that be poo dirt? Or pay squirt? :) Anyhoo. Let’s just say that an insta-bath was in order following Wednesday night's inshident. Oh! And despite the magnitude, her baby blue Charis Designs cover held everything in. w00t!

A few people have commented that S's recent bowel habits must sure make diaper changes easier. This got me thinking. In terms of the clean-up process, would I rather contend with one or two "regular" poops per day, or a GINORMOUS, sticky, peanut-buttery, "baby wipes ain't cutting it" affair once every 10 days or so? And y'know what - I'm not sure! What would YOU rather contend with?

Next on the solids radar: oats and peas. We're also excited about introducing quinoa which is SUPER healthy, however it seems the recommendation is 8+ months for this one, so we won't go there just yet.

In other news, I'm starting to question the whole asthma thing. S's been a LOT better over the last few days; very little coughing overnight and generally nice, regular breathing. Granted we *have* been using her inhalers (at least the long term twice/day one) but we've also been battling the sickies. Maybe she just had whatever we did and is getting over it now? Do we really want to continue making her breathe in those chemicals if this is the case? Though on the flip side, if it's the inhalers that are making her better, do we want to stop them now? Gah, so many questions and so few clear answers! That said, Chris and I have agreed to continue with the inhalers until her follow-up appointment next week, and then re-evaluate from there.

Finally, we're now on night 3 of Really Craptacular Sleep. S has been a) very difficult to settle and b) waking MULTIPLE times overnight to fuss 'n' feed. Like, we're talking every hour and a half. It's been reminiscent of her first couple weeks except even more challenging because Chris hasn't been off work to fully share the pain (though he *has* taken her for an hour or so in the mornings before work to help me out) and because she barely naps during the day, preventing me from "sleeping when baby sleeps" and catching up. BUT! I think she's teething and/or going through a big growth spurt, both of which are good things! (Not that teething's fun, but it's something every baby needs to go through!) Oh-so-fittingly, the amber teething necklace I won over at Obsessions of The Trophy Wife just came in the mail the other day (all the way from Lithuania!), so we'll give that a try this weekend and see if it helps her out!

Chris showed me something he found the other day which is also oh-so-fitting:

 

The product description:

Go the F*!k to Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don't always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. Profane, affectionate, and radically honest, California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach's verses perfectly capture the familiar--and unspoken--tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. In the process, they open up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations, and laugh at their absurdity.

With illustrations by Ricardo Cortes, Go the Fuck to Sleep is beautiful, subversive, and pants-wettingly funny--a book for parents new, old, and expectant. You probably should not read it to your children.

And a sample verse:

The cats nestle close to their kittens now.
The lambs have laid down with the sheep.
You're cozy and warm in your bed, my dear
Please go the f*!k to sleep.

Awesomeness.

First crack at solids - what a "grind"!

OK, so I lied. :) We weren't planning to introduce Starryn to solids until closer to 6 months, however we decided to go for it tonight. Why? Well, she's been super-interested and grabby during recent meals, she's a skinny li'l thing and Granda Mary was over today who we knew would LOVE to get in on the experience as well! Also, Ange mentioned yesterday when we were over for a visit that she's been preparing homemade rice cereal for Sam and I *loved* this idea! Super cheap and all natural - no additives!

You can use either white or brown rice to make cereal. Commercially available rice cereals generally use white rice, however brown is more nutritious. We opted for simple white basmati for this initial "experiment" as we had a bag handy, it cooks nice & quickly and we thought that this might be the easiest for Starryn to digest for meal #1.

There are two main methods for making homemade rice cereal:
1) Cook the rice whole and then puree it
2) Grind rice into a powder using a food processor or coffee/spice grinder and then cook it

We opted for 2). Ange mentioned this is super-easy to do; she uses a coffee grinder which creates a very fine powder and simply adds boiling water which "cooks" it within less than a minute. She also mentioned that the first method results in a pasty cereal which isn't ideal.

We ground the rice using our Oster combo blender/food processor which did a pretty good job, however the resulting powder apparently wasn't fine enough to cook using the boiling water method. We also didn't add enough water initially. We ended up adding a bit more and then nuking it for 30 seconds which got the job done. (As it turns out, 4 parts water to 1 part powder is an effective ratio to get a nice, semi-solid consistency; probably would have been ideal to look this up ahead of time but you know me - I rarely measure in the kitchen ;)

So the big question - did Starryn like it? Well, she was pretty eager from the get-go!

She eagerly welcomed the first mouthful by grabbing the spoon and gumming around at it, and then opening up for more when Mommy was finally able to get the spoon back. Whew!! The "Hmm I'm not sure about this" faces did come as she took a moment to contemplate the texture and taste of this new stuff in her mouth...

 ...but in the end I'm pretty sure she swallowed more than the amount that ended up either drooled onto her bib or splattered across her cheeks. So that's good, right?

Here's a clip showing our li'l eater in action!

 

So that was lots of fun! Though really it was an experiment more than anything at this point (and, happily, a successful one!) We might try again tomorrow or we might give it a few more days until next time. I'd like to read more about homemade cereals - incorporating breast milk, ensuring she's getting enough iron, expanding to other grains, etc. before we plunge forward with gusto. Alternatively, we might try out banana or avocado rather than more cereal as a next step. Lots of great sites out there with helpful tips, including wholesomebabyfood.com and homemade-baby-food-recipes.com.Squee! I loooove food, so I'm so excited to share this love with our little love! <3

"S" @ 5 months: Let's Make Some Noise!

The months just continue to fly by! One more and our sweet little S will be half a year old!

Her 5 month "birthday" took place on Easter, so we thought it fitting that her official pic reflect this adequately. :)

(Compare to months one, two, three and four!)

No doctor appointment this month, so we relied on Wii Fit for her weight which came in at 6.2 kg or about 13 lb 11 oz. Subtracting the weight of her sleeper (say 2 oz) puts her closer to 13 lb 9 oz. A little over a pound heavier than last month, so gaining steadily!

We've been LOVING the bumbo chair this month! She's the perfect age & size for it.

She spends the most time in her bumbo during meals. While Chris and I eat, she continues to hone her understanding of cause and effect with games like "throw the ring links on the floor so that Mommy picks them up!" and "drag the loud plastic rattle back and forth repeatedly across the table":

 

(At least she can't cast away her Sophie since we have the giraffe snugly tethered to her car seat!)

The back to front roll maneuver has become a cakewalk for her, and she now does this almost every time she's placed on her back. Check out the efficiency, even as early as 4 months, 1 week!

She also sleeps fully on her front now. We were concerned about this initially, but we're now feeling quite confident that she's aware & strong enough to move if breathing becomes an issue. Plus, outside of tying her down, there's not much we can do about it at this point!

When she's on her tummy, she sometimes gets a li'l lazy and just hangs out there with her head down and to the side. But she is also starting to do the "mini pushup" moves and thrust her bum up in the air, downward-facing-dog stylez. (Yup, it would appear she's paying attention during baby yoga!)

All that said, she has yet to demonstrate mastery of the front-to-back roll. I've seen her do it a couple times now so I know she can do it, but I think she either forgets or doesn't really enjoy that move.

She's starting to get more active in her rainforest jumperoo! She has learned how to rotate herself around to access the various toys, and she's starting to bounce with the aid of a couple strategically placed phonebooks. She has this funny little side to side hopping move; I remarked to Chris that it looks like an early incarnation of the wedding shuffle. :) No vid yet - will definitely get on that this month.

It appears she now grasps the concept of object permanence. For example, when we're playing with one of her puppets during a diaper change and I move the puppet down out of sight, she continues to look for it. And when we play "Where's S?" with a prefold over her face, she will now reach up and pull it away (whereas before she'd just flail around until I took it off myself.)

Socially, there is no end to the smiles and laughs! She definitely has her more serious moments (when she's focusing, learning and/or reflecting) but when she's happy and she knows it she REALLY WANTS TO SHOW IT! Check out the big gummy grin:

Big laughs for her lion toy. RAWRRRR!

She continued to play around with new vocalizations this month. Once again, Baby Center hit the nail on the head by asserting that she'd be blowing raspberries by the end of her 5th month. Indeed, she was! She has also started doing an open, close, open, close chomping motion with her mouth. On a related note, she is now DEFINITELY showing an interest in food! She always checks out what we're eating and will open her mouth eagerly if we bring food close to her. So far I've given her sips of water, "tastes" of pieces of food such as carrots and banana (really just letting her mouth them a bit) and diluted prune juice when she hadn't gone poo in 13 days. However, we won't officially try solids for another couple weeks as she's still fully satiated from da booby and we don't feel the need to rush things here.

Finally, knock on wood, but we may have been wrong about her being allergic to cats since she hasn't really exhibited any of these symptoms since Lucy came back! I'm cautiously optimistic about this as it would really suck to have to find a new home for our li'l tuxedo cat.

Well that sums up the highlights from Month 5. As always, looking forward to what the next month will bring for our S!