Solid Feeding Necessities

We started Hadley on baby oatmeal about 3 weeks ago, and I think we are going to move on to baby food this weekend because she loves eating like a big girl and she is getting bored with the bottle. I have decided to make my own baby food, so I thought I would share some of the products I have found that seem to work:

1. Fisher-Price Healthy Care Booster Seat: We originally got a Graco High Chair, but it was one of the ones that got recalled recently, so we took it back to the store. Several of the moms in my neighborhood had this Fisher-Price Booster Seat for their babies and loved it. We have been using it for Hadley now for about a week, and we love it too. It is a booster seat, so it straps to a chair instead of being free standing. It works on just about any chair. It is also sturdy. Some of the high chairs I looked at were really wobbly. We just make sure this is hooked to a sturdy chair and we put the chair back against a wall or in a corner so she can't wiggle it too much. The other moms that I talked to that had this booster seat also use it when they travel or go to restaurants. It folds up so that it is easy to travel with. It is also all plastic, so it is really easy to wipe clean. The tray is dishwasher safe too, but we usually just hand wash it.

2. BabyPro All-in-One baby food maker: This baby food maker was only $69 at Babies R Us. It steams and purees the food, and the steamer and puree containers are both dishwasher safe. I used it over the weekend to make squash, and it was really easy. If you are on a tight budget, I think it is a good alternative to the more expensive Beaba (which is $130-140). The only differences I can tell are (1) it has two containers (one for steaming and one for pureeing), instead of one like the Beaba (so there are two containers to clean--but this is not really an issue because they fit in the top rack of the dishwasher easily) and (2) It does not have a defrost function. We already had the BabyPro bottle warmer that also fits baby food containers, so we just defrost them in the bottle warmer. We've actually used the bottle warmer more for heating her oatmeal than we ever used it for heating bottles.

3. Stay-Fresh Baby Food Containers by One Step Ahead: I found these online at the One Step Ahead website and Amazon.com. I originally bought some flip-top containers at Babies R Us, but I had to take them back because the lids would not stay closed. The One Step Ahead containers have screw-on lids so the lids stay closed, and they interlock for stacking in the freezer. They are also 2 ounces (not like the 1-oz ice cube trays), so each container is a full serving. They come in sets of 12, and I bought three sets. They can be put in the freezer, microwave (or bottle warmer) and dishwasher. Since the lids screw on, I think they will also be easy to travel with when we go out to eat and around town--although for long trips, I am planning to just used store bought baby food.

--Amanda