Groceries Without Leaving Your Car! (And Limited Time Discount Code.)

2015: It's been quite a year!  I realize it's been 10 months since I last wrote on this blog.  Since then we went on an Alaskan cruise with my husband's family, visited my family in Wisconsin for a few weeks, my husband got a promotion that came with much more work and responsibility, we potty-trained our twin boys (daytime, not nighttime yet), the boys started their second year at a Mandarin-English preschool, and we celebrated their 4th birthday.

So, just like all of you, we've been busy!  And busy parents could use some help when it comes to obtaining groceries.  Disclaimer:  I have NOT been paid to write this; all opinions are my own. Just seemed too good not to share!   That said, let's talk about how Walmart will do your aisle-walking for you, bring the groceries out to your car, put them in your trunk, and all you have to do is sit there!  And pay.  You do have to pay.  (See below for info on a limited time discount code.)  I just found out about this service from friends in my MOPS group.  Here's how you do it:

• Go to the Walmart Grocery website, and register.
• If it's available in your area, you pick the store where you'd like to get the food, and pick the date and time (a two hour window) for pickup.   
• Shop online for your items.  
• Pay with a credit or debit card online.  
• Check your email for a confirmation, and a map of where by the store you'll need to park.
• The store will call you when the order is assembled.  You can pick it up then, or wait until the time slot you chose (they are just finished early sometimes.)
• Call the store 10 minutes before you'll arrive, and then you'll need to call again once you park in the designated pickup spots.  
• Sign for your groceries through the window of your driver's seat. 
• Open the trunk.  They load.  
• You go home!

I tried it for the first time today, with my kids in the backseat.  They got to listen to Christmas music and look at library books, and I got to have my trunk loaded with groceries.  I made the order the night before, while watching TV with my husband, something I was going to be sitting on the couch for, anyway!  

We don't always shop at Walmart, since they don't have everything I want, but I will say for some basics it was great.  They have also expanded their organic offerings, which you can read about in this article.  For organic dairy and packaged items, it's pretty good, though I will say I'd like to see them offer more organic produce.  The pickings for fruit and vegetables is slim.  But since Walmart is so affordable, I got the whole trunk, most of which were organic items, for just $66.  Partly that's because of a code my friend shared with me to get $20 off.  

Here are details about the code:  Expires January 15, 2016.  The code is GIFTED20 and they will take $20 off an order over $80!  

Do you know of any other stores that offer similar services?  Share in the comments below!  

What Do Your Kids Eat For Breakfast?

Recently, I was fascinated by this New York Times article depicting breakfasts children eat around the world.  Inspired by the article, I started taking photos of what my twin three-year-old sons eat for breakfast.  I don't do anything fancy, and rely heavily on frozen foods to simplify the morning routine (though I try to use healthy, organic options as much as possible).  I usually only make pancakes or French toast from scratch if we have nowhere to be in a hurry.  My pattern for the meal tends to be: 1.) Grain-based item, 2.) Fruit, and 3.) Protein.  This isn't based on any extensive nutritional research, just the mode we've fallen into that satisfies the boys and keeps them full until morning snack. 

While I've photographed a few of their meals in their entirety, I often serve the fruit first, to make sure they eat it, with promises of the next "course," or item, if they finish ;)  

Blueberries, cheddar cheese, Earth's Best French Toast Sticks sprinkled with cinnamon. 

Apple slices and a cha siu bao (a Cantonese barbecued-pork-filled steamed bun).

Strawberries, Applegate Naturals Chicken and Maple sausage, and Trader Joe's Organic Silver Dollar Pancakes.

Pear slices, Applegate Natural's Turkey and Sage sausage, and Earth's Best Organic Mini Waffles with strawberry jam.

When the boys wake up I give them juice as well.  Usually it's organic apple juice, just a few ounces, that I pour into sippy cups along with 1 teaspoon of elderberry syrup and topped up with water.  We eat breakfast about an hour after they wake up, so then they usually have milk with the meal.

A few other things we tend to have at breakfast that didn't get photographed:

• Trader Joe's Multi-Grain Toaster Waffles
• De Wafelbakkers Sweet Potato Cinnamon Whole Grain Spelt Pancakes (Freezer section of some grocery stores.)
• Raspberries
• Bananas
• Applesauce
• Cherry tomatoes
• Any other flavor of Applegate Naturals breakfast sausages and patties (Freezer section of some grocery stores, including Target.)
• Any other type of cheese
• Yogurt

They love bacon but we rarely have it, and sadly, they don't seem to like eggs :(  

What do your kids eat for breakfast?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

More Tips for Feeding Two Babies

This post may contain affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!

Now we are two years past the time of nursing, formula, bottles, and all that goes with it!  But I am still learning so many things about that important first year of feeding.  Here are a few things I've learned from other parents of multiples.  (This is a continuation of my first post on the subject: Feeding Two At A Time.)

• One friend of mine said she would nurse one baby, while simultaneously bottle feeding the other baby, who was propped up on a boppy.  That must have taken some juggling skills!  But this way, you could take turns each feeding, and both babies would have the bonding of a nursing session, as well as learn to drink from a bottle if necessary.  
• One product that seems to be popular is the Table for Two, used for bottle feeding.  I've never used it, though I can see how handy it would be for feeding, impromptu naps, propping babies up to read to them, even for spoon feeding solids when the time comes (but not so easy to clean for that purpose).  However, the drawback for me is that this doesn't allow the caregiver to have any back support while feeding the babies.  It seems as though you have to sit criss-cross in front of the babies and may end up hunching over them.  Please comment below if you have used this product!    https://buytablefortwo.com/  

  
  
  

  Image from https://buytablefortwo.com/

  
  
• Next is a product that I did not have, but wanted to try, was the Bebe Bottle Sling!  This link, http://www.bebebottlesling.com/, will take you to their website, which also sells cute gifts for multiples.  The sling can be attached to a car seat handle, thus can be used for feedings on the go.   

  
  
  

  Bebe Bottle Sling Image from http://www.toysrus.com/
  
  

  
  
• A similar product is the Bottle Snuggler, found at www.bottlesnugglers.com, which props the bottle on top of the baby for feeding.  Lots of women of my grandmothers' generation seemed to suggest bottle propping, though I know it's been decried in more recent times.  But, when you have a bunch o' babies, you do what you gotta do...just use these products with your own judgement.  
• Another option is the Twin Z Pillow.  I've never used it, and haven't personally seen friends use it, but according to the website, http://www.twinznursingpillow.com/, you could use it for breastfeeding, bottle feeding, lounging, and tummy time!  I will say that, judging by pictures alone, this seems easier and more stable for the babies than the My Brest Friend double nursing pillow I had.  It also offers more back support, which is important after C-sections, when breast-feeding, etc.
• A product that follow your multiples for an even longer period of time is an adjustable high chair or booster seat.  You can strap the babies in and recline the back, and move the seats around wherever you are in the house.  Later you can strap them to chairs when they start to eat solids, or even remove the tray and use as a booster seat when they're toddlers (if the seat will fit under your table, depends on the height of your chairs and table).  We had the ones below, the Fisher-Price Spacesavers.  However, they're no longer in stock at Walmart, so one option is to order online.                                                                                                                                                                                      

Happy feeding!

Feeding Two At A Time: Part 1, Nursing and Bottle-Feeding

Feeding two babies at one time is challenging!  But with practice, you can master all sorts of methods.  In this post I'll just be explaining what we did, and what worked for us.  This post, Part 1, deals with babies; Part 2 will discuss feeding two once you start solids.

When the twins first came home, we were doubly blessed with the two boys, and you might say quadruply (is it a word?) blessed to have both my parents living with us for the first couple of months.

When you have extra people around to help:

• Nurse one baby while someone else bottle-feeds the other baby.  (Sometimes the bottle had pure pumped breast milk,  sometimes it was supplemented with formula if I hadn't pumped enough, and sometimes it was just formula.)  I kept track so that each baby had the same amount of "turns" nursing.  
• Tandem nurse.  A few times I had my mom help me to tandem nurse using a large, twin nursing pillow.  But this was always very tricky for me.  It seemed almost impossible to position myself inside the pillow, which wrapped around my waist, insert a back support pillow behind, then balance one tiny, squirmy baby on a side while reaching for the second baby.  Then getting one latched, hoping the other didn't fall off the side of the pillow, getting hot and sweaty, trying to keep clothing out of the way, then doing it all again when the first baby stopped eating and needed to be "re-latched."  It was like a circus.  So, I rarely tandem nursed.
• Other people bottle-feed babies, while you pump and/or sleep.  Self-explanatory.  One warning, however:  if you're serious about keeping up your milk supply, don't skip too many nursing or pumping sessions in order to rest.  

Eventually, my milk supply completely dried up and the boys became solely formula-fed.  This was bittersweet.  My parents had to go home when the boys were 2.5 months, and my husband was at work every day, so we quickly developed ways for just one person to feed two babies at a time.

When one person feeds the babies:

• Tandem nurse.  See my description of the circus above!  But I know from first-hand accounts, reading online, books, etc., that this IS possible, and becomes easier with practice.  The "double-football hold" seems to be the most popular position.  The book  Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding and Caring for Twins and More! can be very helpful.  
• Nurse one baby at a time.  Train babies to wait their turn while they lay nearby you, or adjust their schedules so that they eat one after the other.  Try and keep track of who nursed on which breast and alternate.  That way if one baby is a stronger breast-feeder, you will help to keep the milk supply somewhat more even on both sides.  This is, however, a more time consuming method.  
• Prop babies on boppies for bottles (say that ten times fast).  You can lay them semi-sitting up and sit in front or between them on your bed, couch, or on on the floor.    
• Put one baby in your lap, and another propped next to you, also for bottles.  I usually sat with my back against the headboard of a bed and bent my knees.  Then one baby could sit on my lap facing me    

A cheerful morning feeding!  

• Place babies in seats, sit between them (again, for bottle feeds).  Sit so that you're facing the opposite direction the babies are facing, so that you can have your back supported by something.  Using the car seats was my mother-in-law's suggestion, and while it seemed so simple, it revolutionized the way we were feeding the babies!  I placed a towel or blanket under the babies to pad the seats more.  You could also use bouncy seats.  

Our favorite bottle-feeding position.  

In all of these scenarios, have bibs, burp cloths, bottles, remote, pillows, and anything else you think you’ll need for a feeding, ready and reachable.  Afterwards they took turns being burped.  Being on the floor had its advantages, because if one got sick of waiting around in the seat, I could put him on the floor and let him roll or wiggle to his heart’s content.  I spent a lot of time feeding, propped against our couch, watching Netflix.  It was about that time I developed my obsession with "Downton Abbey."

Spot the historical error in this Downton Abbey promo pic!  We were speaking of bottles...

If I wasn’t watching TV, I also could use this feeding time to pray, either silently or out loud, so the babies could hear my voice.  Sometimes I’d sing to them, or just sit and enjoy the silence.  Occasionally, I’d use it as an opportunity to verbalize what would happen that day, what needed to be done.  This was for my own sake; I figured if I said it out loud maybe I’d remember it!

Happy feeding!

Grocery Shopping With Twins

For months after our twin boys were born, we took turns going to the grocery store.  Eventually, I got brave and took the boys.  I stuck them in their car seats, clicked those into our double Snap 'n' Go, and walked.  It happened to be a Trader Joe's grocery store, which, if you're familiar with them, are designed purposely to feel like a small, neighborhood store.  Which means small aisles.  Tricky with something that steers and turns like a bus.  And I could just get whatever would fit in the bag below the car seats.  This is also how I would do the occasional Target run, though that required getting in and out of the car.  But for any trip that required buying a lot at one time, I had to go alone or send someone else.

When the boys were finally sitting up by themselves, we ventured into grocery stores that boasted double-seater carts.  By then we were living in Texas.  (How I love, and miss, HEB!  It's a chain that only exists in certain parts of the state.)  But sometimes the desirable carts were placed in odd locations, not in the parking lot or not even with the regular carts.  A few times, afraid to leave my babies alone in the car, I put them in the double stroller, searched for  the right cart, loaded them in, put the stroller in the cart, returned it to our car trunk, THEN went shopping.  Waaaaaay too many steps.

But not every store HAS double-seater carts, much to my, and I'm sure many a mother of multiples', dismay.  Or worse, stores that have just a few...or one.  Once, after the boys had been walking for awhile, I tried to bravely transfer them from the car to the store without the stroller in between.  I tried to have them walk by holding my hand, occasionally muscling a runner or a layer-downer up into my arms across the parking lot.  We finally entered, only to find no suitable carts.  I asked an employee who said they only had one, and uh, it was being used.  I gave up, and returned my squirmy squirrels to the car.  Then we went to Costco!  Beautiful Costco, where ALL the carts are double-seaters.  More retailers need to invest in these types of carts. (Market Street, I'm talking to you!)  Multiples are on the rise, and besides, mothers with several little ones of different ages surely need more of these carts, too!

Solutions for shopping with twins:

• Scope out stores beforehand, if possible.  When we moved to a new city, it was oddly fun for me to go around, testing out all the new grocery store chains in our area, or even to see how local branches of familiar chains were laid out.  I could also do some product and pricing comparisons.  I would see if a store had good carts, and if so, WHERE they were kept.  Next time I went with the boys I could try and park as close as possible to those carts. 

• Be organized.  It took me awhile, but I've finally gotten into a better meal-planning routine, and this helps with my grocery lists.  If you can keep your twin-accompanied grocery runs to once a week or even less, score!  

• OR, if you don't mind grocery shopping more often (sometimes it's nice just to get out of the house), take your double stroller and just stuff in whatever will fit at that time.  Then go back in a few days for other necessities.  

• I WISH I had known about this product before (my kids are too big for it now), but it looks very helpful:  the Buggy Bench!  Carry it in the car and just insert into the basket of a cart for an instant, second seat.  

• When the babies are still tiny, you could also wear one baby, and have the other in their car seat in the basket of the cart.  I have also seen people put one car seat on the riding part of the seat, and one car seat in the basket...but then you have very little room for groceries.  

• Bring whatever will bring more peace:  bottles, snack cups, sippy cups, pacifiers, etc.!

Happy shopping!

Top 5 Tips: Twin Pregnancy

1.  Eat!

In the early stages of my pregnancy, I was ravenous.  Then came some morning sickness/nausea, which put a slight damper on eating.  But with twins, you'll get bigger faster, and your stomach will be pushed higher and higher, possibly causing more heartburn. It was so bad at the end, for me, that I didn't enjoy eating as much, because I knew I would pay for it later, and it would even keep me from sleeping.  I was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes towards the end, and it literally took the joy out of eating.  I had to avoid certain things (pretty much everything I liked) and test my blood every few hours.  SO, my advice is to get in those calories as soon as you can, in a healthful way, of course.  In their book "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads: Proven Guidelines for a Healthy Multiple Pregnancy," Barbara Luke and Tamara Eberlein state that a mother expecting twins should gain around 40-56 pounds.  For triplets, 58 to 75, and for quads 70-80.  I did not gain that much, and I think it was partly due to my frame and my inability to eat much at the end.  According to these authors, an ideal diet for a multiple pregnancy is actually related to a diabetic diet, and suggests 3,500 calories a day for a mother expecting twins.  Wow!  I'm not a medical professional, so of course, you should get recommendations from your own doctor; but I did find this particular book very helpful.

When you don't feel like eating, think of your first ultrasound for motivation!  They need nutrients!

2.  Take it easy.

I heard a lot of people talk about how pregnant women could be just as active as anyone else, and I even personally knew women who continued to train for marathons up to 7 months gestation.  Also, lots of people told me that when the second trimester hit, it would be the Golden Age of pregnancy, I'd have more energy and feel better.  Some mothers of multiples may experience it this way, but not me!  I was exhausted at the beginning, and when the second trimester hit, I felt REALLY BAD.  I was tired and literally in pain.  I should have listened to my body's signals, and rested more.  I felt blessed that I finished my school year teaching kindergarten at around 3 or 4 months, after which I resigned.  But I was still trying to take a long walk for exercise every day (and feeling exhausted after a block), and doing errands, and took a few trips.  I understand that we should be healthy (and have a life), and there's also the nesting drive, pushing us to want to have everything ready for the babies!  And many of us are working and have other little ones already.  But, if and when possible, take it easy!

I'd like to stress something here:  Multiple pregnancies are on the rise, but this doesn't make them less risky.  Multiple pregnancies are still, technically, high-risk pregnancies compared to single pregnancies.  They are different and should be treated differently!  Listen to your body, listen to your doctor.  There is no shame in taking a nap or putting your feet up when you can!

3.5 Months along and not very big yet, but already needing more rest than usual!

3.  Be prepared.

Many women expecting twins and other higher order multiples end up needing to go on bed rest.  I was on bed rest for my last 2 months.  This will limit many things you may have planned to do.  So, it's not crazy to set up the nursery, or assemble the crib in your room, or whatever you're going to do, as soon as possible.  Try to do errands and any physical tasks early on.  Then, if you do end up on bed rest, you can do all the sitting-down activities: setting up online registries, making and printing baby logs, preparing baby announcements (if you want to) in which you just have to add a photo, make and print address labels for announcements, write thank you notes for things you may have already received, find a pediatrician, etc. Also, we had some insurance nightmares.  Try and do whatever you can before the babies arrive!  Long phone calls and dealing with bureaucracy is only harder with multiple crying infants.  Some of it can't be avoided, of course.  I also cooked a few meals and froze them for later.


4.  Line up help.

We were incredibly blessed to have my parents live with us for the first two months after the babies were born!  My mother had recently retired, and my dad's job could be done online.  But before they even arrived, I was on bed rest and my husband really had to step it up and do everything: work full time, do everything around the house, grocery shop, and drive me to my numerous appointments.  My family was eager and willing to help; if yours is not, do your best to convey the medical necessity of you taking it easy!  If no family is around, or you are single, there is no shame in letting housework slide and cutting out any other unnecessary activities.  Try to draw upon your pre-pregnancy network of friends and acquaintances to help you: maybe someone can do laundry one day a week, another friend might be able to pick something up at the store for you.

Because everything just gets harder at this point: almost 8 months along!

Also look into lining up help for AFTER the babies' arrival.  Can any family members come stay with you for a bit?  Can you afford a night nanny? (We couldn't quite justify that cost, and weren't even very aware of the concept at the time.)  Do you need to start arranging childcare for when you return to work?  And FOOD.  If no one offers, ask your best friend or ANYBODY to set up a meal registry for you.  People love to help, they just need to be organized.  Here are some great sites for that:

MealBaby

SignUp Genius

Take Them A Meal


5.  Do your research...but not too much.

As mentioned above, carrying twins brings risk.  Some doctors are well versed in multiple pregnancies, but you'd be surprised.  In most cases you'll be referred to a specialist to see regularly on top of your usual OB/GYN.  If you're not, maybe you should request that this happens.  So read up on your particular type of pregnancy to gain a working knowledge of the facts.  It's okay if you can't remember every tiny detail.  But if a complication arises, at least you won't be surprised, and you won't feel blindsided by medical terms being thrown around at the doctor's office.  At 26 weeks I was admitted to the hospital for pre-term labor, which they managed to stop, and was diagnosed with TTTS (twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome).  At one point my husband told me to stop reading about the condition so that I wouldn't worry so much!  So, he did all the reading and worrying from then on.  Be educated, but stop random Internet searching at 1 a.m. while biting your nails and raising your heart rate!  Your babies need you to be as calm as possible for them :)

So, those are my top 5 tips for a twin pregnancy!  Eat, rest, prepare, get help, and read!  What are yours?

Baby Meal Planning

In case you couldn't tell yet, I leaned heavily on BabyCenter.com from conception and beyond, for advice.  If you'd like more detail on what to feed your baby and when, you can check out their age by age feeding guide.

From birth to 4 months, your babies don't need anything other than breast milk and/or formula.  Then, I seem to hear a lot of conflicting advice on when to introduce "solids," anywhere from 4 to 6 months.  I would go on your pediatrician's advice or your own detailed research from a source you trust, when it comes to that question.  For the record, we gave our boys baby rice cereal when they were about 4 and a half months.  They spit it out.  After that, I'd "practice" with them just once a day, with just a spoonful of cereal.  Then when they were 5 months, we did peas, and continued on from there.  

I received the Baby Bullet as a shower gift, and it was wonderful for making your own baby food!  (Shop around for the best price.)  Sadly, I only used it for a few times before we had to pack everything up and move to another state (see my post on moving with twins).  Some things were in storage, some in boxes in a temporary housing situation, and who knows where the Bullet ended up.  I suppose I thought we'd find permanent housing sooner, and then I'd tote it out of a box and use it again.  So I also used a lot of store-bought baby food to save time, since those months were a huge period of transition for us.

(Now I'm discovering there are lots of gadgets out there that will both steam and puree your food in one container, so you can take out the step of transferring.)

There are now a lot of organic options out there for ready-made baby food, though I will admit that I did not do 100% organic.  If you do, that's great.  If that's too expensive for you, but you're still able to do some organic, here is a chart that might be helpful when deciding what to buy organic:  (Taken from last year's FoodNews.org)

Once solid food was an established part of our routine, the boys "meals" from around 7 months old onwards looked something like this:  (You'll note that I wrote "bottle" for milk feeds.  I was sadly not able to produce milk past 3 months.  So if you follow our pattern, you would either be nursing throughout the day and then feeding solids a little after they've digested, or doing a bottle of pumped milk.)

7 am:  Bottle 

8 am:  Breakfast:  

• 1 serving/package/jar of pureed fruit
• A few spoonfuls of baby oatmeal

11 am:  Bottle

12 pm:  Lunch:  

• 1 serving/package/jar pureed vegetable
• A few spoonfuls of rice cereal

3:30 pm:  Bottle

4:30 pm:  Dinner:  

• 1 serving/package/jar pureed vegetable
• A few spoonfuls of rice cereal

7 pm:  Bottle

As the boys progressed in months, from 7 months old to 12 months, I gradually added two snacks, other types of food, and tried to add more finger foods, and their meals gradually looked like this:  (It will look like a lot of food, but keep in mind that they may not always finish everything you offer.  We were trying to introduce variety and new things.  And also during this time, your babies may start to crawl and be more mobile, and need more calories.)

7 am:  Bottle

8 am:  Breakfast:  

• 1 serving/package/jar of pureed fruit
• A few spoonfuls of baby oatmeal
• Handful of grain-based finger food

9:30 am:  Snack:  

• 1/2 serving/package/jar of pureed fruit

11 am:  Bottle

12 pm:  Lunch:  

• 1 serving/package/jar pureed vegetable 
• A few spoonfuls of rice cereal
• Handful of soft fruit or steamed vegetable as finger food

3:30 pm: Bottle

4:30 pm:  Dinner:  

• 1 serving/package/jar pureed vegetable or pureed meat, or baby yogurt
• A few spoonfuls of rice cereal
• A handful of soft fruit or vegetable as finger food 

6 pm:  Snack:   

• 1/2 serving/package/jar of pureed fruit
• A handful of grain-based finger food

7 pm:  Bottle

When the boys got older, I followed a slightly different pattern, which you can see in my post on Toddler Meal Planning. 

Happy feeding!

Old-Fashioned Fridays: "Food and Family Living"

I've decided to start a new, little portion of my blog, that isn't necessarily devoted to all things twin.  It's just for my own fun, and maybe yours!  I'll call it "Old Fashioned Fridays," in which I write about baby and child care, vintage-style.

Hughina McKay, my 3x great aunt.

Recently, I learned that my great-great-great aunt became a professor of Home Economics at Ohio State University.  (Oops, sorry sports fans in the family...um...Go Pack Go!)  Hughina McKay (known as Aunt Eny to the family) was born in 1880 in Ontario.  The family ended up moving to the States, she never married, and eventually wrote several textbooks in her field.  One such book is called "Food and Family Living," published in 1942.  Believe it or not, there are 4 left on Amazon!

What kind advice might there be for feeding your kids in 1942?

There's an entire chapter on teaching kids good eating habits.  The advice seems good to me:

"A happy mealtime.  Let the child's associations with food be pleasant.  Do not pay too much attention to his eating.  Children need to learn social customs.  The best way of teaching good manners is by example.  Good conversation in which the child is free to join if he has anything to contribute adds zest to even the plainest food and is a fine tradition to establish for mealtimes."  

"Children enjoy helping themselves at meal time if given the opportunity."

The book also suggested planning one meal for the whole family, and you just adjust how much and what is given to each family member based on age and needs.  I admit I don't always do this, and often feed the twins simple foods, and then my husband and I eat something entirely different.  But getting your child to eat what you eat is a good way to introduce them to new flavors.

"Small servings of the family dinner may be given to the two-year-old."

For babies, unsurprising ideas:
For infants under a year old, "Food and Family Living" suggest breast milk, artificial milk if necessary, well-cooked cereal, and soft, cooked and strained fruits and vegetables for later in a baby's first year.

For babies, surprising/old-fashioned ideas:
1/4 teaspoon of egg yolk to a 5 month old (Raw?  Yikes!), spoonful of orange or tomato juice (for Vitamin C, they say), and cod-liver oil (yum).

For toddlers, the book groups children 18 months to 5 years old into one category called "Preschool Children."  It suggests they basically eat what adults eat, but in smaller portions and omitting things that are too difficult to chew.

They made a point of encouraging liver, which the book says "has been shown to stimulate the appetite."  I wonder...

Happy Friday!

Finger Food Ideas

Babies:

There are TONS of websites and books out there for baby food recipes.  Two good websites that I liked for both babies and toddlers were Weelicious and Wholesome Baby Food.  But here is a list of things I personally used to slowly introducing finger foods to our babies:

• Diced tofu
• Soft cheeses
• Cereal puffs and yogurt melts (many brands sell variants of these)
• Cheerios or other o-shaped cereal
• Well-cooked and soft vegetables, such as carrots or chunks of potatoes or sweet potatoes
• Diced pears or other soft vegetables

Toddlers:

Here's a list of foods that are easy for your kids to eat, not too messy (if you care about that), and for when they're not eating whatever YOU'RE eating that's been cut-up.

• Cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
• Grapes, halved or quartered
• Cheese cubes
• Small cubes of cooked chicken
• Quesadillas with beans, cheese, and anything else, cut into bite-sized pieces with a pizza cutter
• Quaker Oats Oatmeal Squares cereal
• Chex cereal
• Spiral, bowtie, macaroni, or penne pasta (easier to pick up or stab with a fork than spaghetti)
• Steamed green beans and asparagus (once they learn how to bite off a piece, or you could cut them up)
• Steamed broccoli florets
• Steamed carrots, cut into rounds (I guess we steam a lot of things in our house...)
• Waffles or pancakes (again, teach them how to take bites, or break them into pieces at first)
•   Pouches of pureed fruits and vegetables (various brands offer these, and can be used once your kids know how to squeeze the pouch.)
• And you know those packages of mixed veggies in the freezer section?  The pieces are small enough to eat (so small, in fact, that they're a great fine-motor exercise just to pick up and eat!) and sweet.  Here's a video of one of my sons eating them with gusto:  

Baby Logs: Filled In Sample Log

Here is a log that's been filled in, just as an example of how we used it.  The times, amounts, and details are completely fictional!!  This is just to give you an idea of what you can write down to keep track of basic details in case your pediatrician asks, or in case you have problems and want to detect patterns in your baby's behavior.

	Date:
Time	Feed/Sleep	Diaper	Pump
6: 00          am	Slept
7:	Slept
8: 00	Nursed on L side 10 min, R 10 min	BM	15 min., 3 oz
9:	Awake 20 minutes
10:	Slept
11: 00	Nursed 15 minutes both sides	W
12:	Awake 15 minutes
1:	Slept
2: 15	Nursed 10 minutes both sides	W	15 min., 3.5 oz
3:	Slept
4:	Slept
5: 00	Bottle 3 ounces	BM	30 min., 6 oz
6:             pm	Awake
7:	Slept
8: 10	Nursed 15 minutes both sides	W
9:	Fussy
10:	Slept
11: 00	Nursed L 10 min., R 15 min.	BM
12:	Slept
1:	Slept
2: 20	Nursed 10 min. both sides	W
3:	Slept
4:	Slept
5: 00	Nursed 15 min. both sides	W
Totals:	Nursing:  7 times	BM: 3	oz
	Bottle:  3   oz	W:  5
Meds:	Gas drops at 9 p.m.
Notes:
News:	First time to smile!
Bath:	Bath at 6:30 p.m.
Other:	None.