Review-Pip & Pear

I was delighted to be sent another lovely range of Irish made kids products last week. It was a perfect time with my husband being away too-I had nutritious meals as a standby for Josh.

“Pip & Pear Chilled Baby Food is the best alternative to home cooking with all of the goodness and none of the guilt!” The ingredients include Organic Fruit and Vegetables, Organic Gluten Free Baby Pasta, Bord Bia Approved Irish Beef, Lamb and Chicken and Bord Iascaigh Mhara approved Fish.

I really loved the fun packaging and convenient little tubs. The price point is good too and I know I would have definitely had them in my shopping trolley when weaning Josh. Unfortunately mushed food is no longer his thing but he loved the fruit pots. I tasted the ones we used and they all tasted really wholesome and flavoursome too.

I hated the bulk purée sessions in Josh’s early stages of eating so for mums heading into that stage, I say give yourselves a break every now and then and pick up a Pip & Pear and rest assured your little one is consuming a healthy meal with less of the stress for you!

Find out more here: http://pipandpear.ie/site/

Mummycooks Course

A few weeks ago I attended a course on finger foods for babies with Mummycooks in their home based kitchen in Stillorgan. Josh was eating really well so I wanted to find out a bit more about introducing finger foods and leaving him to his own devices.

Siobhan’s demo kitchen is based in her own home but is by no means a commercial kitchen and would make you drool a little with envy if your own kitchen doesn’t quite cut the mustard.

I brought Josh along and there was one other baby there. There were 6 participants so it was really interactive. We were given handouts, water and Siobhan started the demo promptly.

Her recipes were easy to follow, tasty and gave great inspiration. She cooked some polenta chips, sweet potato with cinnamon & nutmeg and broccoli and cheese muffins along with some homemade houmous.

We talked through other finger food options and she gave some really handy tips. We also spoke about the fear of choking, which I must admit is a constant worry when they lob a whole chunk of something in their mouth. You have to get used to the gagging, keep calm and know their limitations but trust them too.

I really would recommend these classes for whatever stage you are at. Just the inspiration is good and chatting with other mums about food habits is great too. The classes will resume in the autumn.

Siobhan is also the distributor for the wonderful babypotz which you can purchase from her on the day or online too.

http://mummycooks.ie/

Here is Josh enjoying his sweet potato!

6 months-The world of weaning…

Josh has just turned 7 months so I’m looking back on the 6 month mark, it is a month I look on very fondly. It seems each month just whizzes by quicker than the last!

He turned 6 months the day after his christening which was a wonderful weekend that I posted about a few weeks ago. This month was all about getting him well into weaning and I have to say he has really taken to his food very well-a little foodie like his mama.

We started Josh on solids at 19 weeks, baby rice and puréed fruit and veg where his main staple but this month we did big batches of chicken, fish and beef combos. It took him a while to really enjoy the chicken, I think it was the texture but he now gobbles it up no problem. We also introduced yoghurts-I find the glenisk ones great and finally bread which he adores!!!

Yoghurt also took him a while to get used to for some reason but the bread went down a treat, taking little pieces at first and now he holds a chunk of toast in his hand most mornings and munches away..The clevafeed is also a great contraption for sticking some fruit like melon or strawberries into so they can suck on that too. Next up is the sippy cup so I’ll let you know how that goes!

This month we’ve also had the top tooth trying to cut through, the bud appearing and disappearing and making Josh a little grumbly at times so during these periods I alternate with teetha, calpol and nurofen to get him through. He drools a lot more during these times and with the recent temperature increase he can develop a little chin heat rash so I put some Vaseline on it as a barrier at night and that seems to soothe it.

He is just the best craic and a great little chum to hang out with every day. I made the hard decision this month to wind up my event business for the foreseeable to spend some extended time with the little man and I know it won’t be a decision I’ll regret! Even when he’s a little grumpy he smiles and can give you a giggle-that alone makes everything worth it.

I know the next 6 are going to fly by so we are going to enjoy the summer and continue to make some special memories together.

First 1000 Days

I only really heard about this towards the end of my pregnancy and it’s fair to say that quite a few ‘treats’ made it into my diet when pregnant. A good mummy friend of mine downloaded the book for me but the way it printed was a little strange so I didn’t probably give it the attention it deserved. Then when I was in Ballymaloe I heard others talk about a demo they went to in Cork and how great it was.
Last month I saw the free tickets pop up on their Facebook page and signed up quickly. I am so glad I did, it was a great night that I attended last night.
I went with my mum as she will be cooking for Joshua too. We are both keen cooks but came away with some great tips and ideas from the lovely Nevin Maguire. The night was professionally run, easy to follow and loads of time given to questions as well as lots of their recipe books around so I took a few to give to mummy friends and of course one for my blog followers. All you have to do is follow me on twitter and retweet the picture I put up of the book. Alternatively check out their great site and order your own copy and sign up for their updates.

http://www.first1000days.ie/

4 months

We are racing through Josh’s 4 month mark.

Really getting to know his little ways has been so much fun. His development has really taken a leap too. Laughs are a regular occurrence, he grabs and sucks anything within reach and he has fallen into a nice little night routine too.

We got a tricky toothie phase so used teetha gel, we purchased a gummee glove and calpol was administered when required. Drool has still continued but grouchy Josh has gone again and my smiling happy boy has returned.

At 19 weeks I also decided to start him on solids after my visit to Ballymaloe. We stocked up on the blender, weaning spoons/bowls & fresh fruit and veg. We started the first couple of days with a spoon of baby rice/porridge and transitioned onto carrots and pears. I boiled & puréed these and popped them in silicone ice cube trays in the freezer so I could take out a portion each day. 2 ice cubes is enough at first so a couple of carrots goes a long way! His first few days he wasn’t quite sure what to make of the spoon, the food and the whole experience but 2 weeks on he cries when I take away the carrot and loves to grab the spoon too! My phn gave me a great tip, not to wipe away the excess from his mouth as they also have taste buds surrounding their lips so it is all part of the learning for them. It will be a messy process so best just to embrace it. 2 weeks in I think it’s going well so next week it will be porridge in the morning and late afternoon tea of a new veg/fruit..

Having said all that mama has found this one of the harder months. It’s like the last 4 months have accumulated as I am exhausted, sometimes I feel like I am sinking, sometimes overwhelmed so with such a wonderful little boy & husband in my life I have decided to re evaluate things a little and work out our daily lives in a way that works out a little better for all.

As I approach my first ever Mother’s Day I hope I can put my tiredness irrational self behind me and believe what I am doing is good enough, enjoy every moment because one thing I do know is how unbelievably lucky I am to have such a wonderful little family.

Ballymaloe Baby Food

As my little guy approached the world of solids, off I took myself and our little family to wonderful Ballymaloe for this afternoon demo at the start of the month.

The minute you drive through the gates of the world famous cookery school you feel energised and positive. We were welcomed by a wonderful array of cakes and some freshly brewed tea and coffee. We were given our packs filled with recipes for the day, then babies were dispatched to daddies and out to the gardens we went.

It began with a good discussion on planting your own seeds and how kids are fascinated by seeing things grow and then eating them. Not an easy task to look after little seedlings as well as your little one but their direction and description made me think I might give it a shot!

It was then back into the demo room for a discussion on weaning and some valid points from Darina which comes from her self penned notes from both her own daughters/daughters in law experiences.

The main ethos is natural, seasonal, organic produce for both you and baby which makes complete sense in your head and by the end of the session it also seems to make sense on your pocket. The main organic buys should be chicken, eggs, mushrooms and oranges according to Darina and outside of this seasonal & local as much as possible.

She recommends waiting until 6 months to wean breastfed babies, I have just started Josh at 19 weeks which will be discussed in a separate post and we also discussed baby led weaning versus traditional weaning methods. Most of the recipes are for slightly older babies/children but will be great to have them to hand over the coming months.

A lot of the recipes where demonstrated and Josh even nipped in for a feed after walking around the beautiful Ballymaloe gardens with his daddy. Samples were passed around and then at the end a spread of some of the recipes was laid out for all the mums and dads to enjoy.

This course is subsidised by the school due to their strong beliefs in this topic and there was no doubt as I walked out promising to return again soon that is was money well spent! Check out their website for the next course although I don’t think there is another one for baby food this year however they have other great kids courses too! http://www.cookingisfun.ie/cookery-courses/course-list

Mummy Moments

A New Mum’s honest experiences and thoughts

weaning