Lansinoh mOmma Warm Plate Review

When Lansinoh found out that we were about to start weaning Holly, they sent us the mOmma Warm Plate to test out.

The mOmma Warm Plate can be bought with one each of the mOmma rocking forks and rocking spoons and the complete set looks quite unlike anything else we have ever tried before. The colours are bright orange and bright green and the plate and cutlery are really big, bold and chunky. Ideal for tiny hands to grab as your littlies are learning to feed themselves.

For us, the warm bowl is ideal. I can place Holly's mashed food into the bowl as I am serving up the rest of our dinner, top the bowl up with hot water and let her food gently warm as the rest of us get ready to eat. The mOmma warm bowl has a chamber underneath the bowl which can hold warm water which keeps the food gently warm while you eat.

The mOmma warm bowl can go in the dishwasher and also in the microwave (as long as you remember to unplug the cork so that steam etc. can escape from the chamber!). It has one small compartment which we are currently using for Holly's mashed food and a larger compartment which will be good for finger foods as she grows up.

I really like the mOmma plate for using at home but I think it is a bit bulky for me to consider taking it out and about with us (which is a shame because the warming concept would work really well for a travel bowl). I also found the cork incredibly difficult to undo for the first three or four weeks that we used it (after that it seemed to loosen a bit and was far easier).

Our mOmma warm plate came with a rocking fork and spoon set. These are cutlery with big round heavy ends so that when you put them down they can rock and stand on their bases. This is a little piece of genius because it means I don't have to worry about putting a spoon down on the table while I am feeding Holly and it potentially getting dirty. I also worship these spoons because I can put them easily in my changing bag for taking out with me, safe in the knowledge that the integrated covers will protect them in my bag before us, and equally, they will protect my bag from ick after I have used them to feed Holly!

Holly is a touch young to be attempting to spoon feed herself but I will definitely let her have a try with the mOmma spoon soon as the big chunky handle may make things quite easy for her to grip.

All of the Lansinoh mOmma tableware is BPA free.

  

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Travel Products Review

Having recently got back from our first holiday abroad with baby Holiday I have a few tips to share on products that made our lives easier. today I'm sharing my thoughts on a few Tommee Tippee travel products - some of which I bought, and some I was sent to review.

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Single Bottle Travel Steriliser

Experience told me that in the hot climate of Poland I might struggle to keep up my breast milk supply so I wanted to take bottle feeding kit with me on holiday without it taking up valuable luggage space in the back of my car.  I invested in a Tommee Tippee single-bottle steriliser which is less than 30cm tall.

The steriliser can be used for microwave sterilisation or for cold-water sterilisation (this was more suitable for us as we were staying in hotel rooms for the duration of our holiday).  I invested in some sterilisation solution and each evening I prepared a bottle just in case.  The steriliser features an internal cage into which you place the pieces of the bottle, sterilisation solution and water.  Our solution took 15 minutes to sterilise and it kept for many hours if the steriliser remained unopened.

I found the Single Bottle Sterliser indispensible on holiday and will definitely be using it again when we travel in the UK and abroad.

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Insulated Bottle Carriers

The Tommee Tippee insulated bottle carrier appealed to me because it only takes one bottle (unlike my previous carrier which was designed to take several bottles).  I took it on holiday because it was compact and because I knew that I could use it to carry cool water for Holly to drink on hot days, or warmed water if she needed it for a feed.

My only complain about the Closer to Nature insulated bottle bag is that because it is designed for Tommee Tippee bottles, it is quite short and so other brands of bottle struggle to fit.  I do like the velcro handle though as it means you can strap it to the buggy.


Tommee Tippee Sangenic Wrap & Go (Travel Nappy Wrapper)

Now, if you have been a reader of Mellow Mummy for some time you will know that me and nappy wrappers don't get on because of my green credentials.  I also tend not to use nappy sacks unless absolutely necessary (normally when I am out and about or travelling) and when I do, the sacks are always biodegradable.

Therefore, the Tommee Tippee Sangenic travel nappy wrapper isn't really my thing but I was sent one to try and it seemed to make good sense to take with us on our road trip where I wouldn't necessarily be able to find a sealed dustbin in a hotel room or at the side of the road.  The Wrap & Go is a little case which you can strap to your buggy which dispenses scented, anti-bacterial, tie-top nappy bags.

The bags are garish colours and the citrussy scent is overwhelming when you first open the packet (although it does quickly disappear and the bags are more or less unscented after a few days in your changing bag).  The refills of bags on a little roller are easy to put in and out of the dispenser but not so easy to re-wind when your three year old pulls out the entire roll and winds it all around your hotel room.

I'm not sure that the Wrap & Go offers me much more value than my normal nappy sacks but if you are someone used to using a nappy wrapper, I can see that they would be appealing.

The Sunday Review - Unbelievabowl by Vital Baby

When I first unwrapped the Unbelievabowl from Vital Baby I thought "If this works, this is a piece of frickin' genius". A baby weaning bowl that actually sticks to the highchair or table? I mean actually... as in for more than 2 seconds.

I placed the small circular stand onto the kitchen work surface and pressed down the clip to cause it to suck the air out and fasten itself firmly to the table. Then I twisted on the small bowl (perfectly flat at the bottom to ensure a good amount of space for food, yet well rounded at the sides to help you scoop the food out, without being so tall you drop the food before it reaches the top). Then I gave it a really good yank!

I pulled with all my might and the bowl stayed right there on the surface. Right, I thought. That's bliming brilliant. Really unbelieve - a - bowl.

So I called through to Lara who had been chilling out in front of CBeebies and Mr. B who had also been enjoying a bit of Show Me, Show Me. "Watch this Daddy", I said and, with a snigger, I challenged Lara to pull the bowl from the work surface.

And, right there in front of my eyes, Lara reached up, placed her tiny little finger against the suction base of the bowl and tipped it right up and off the table! Un-fricking-believeable.



I've tried the bowl on the highchair, on the wooden table, on the kitchen work surface, on waterproof table cloths, placemats. You name it, I've tried it. On about 50% of the surfaces I get pretty much no suction at all - at least no better suction than the bog standard bowls you find at the supermarket. On the other 50% of surfaces (mainly the wipe-clean ones) it sticks really very firmly indeed but somehow my toddler has the magic touch. For Lara, the bowl never stays put for more than a couple of seconds. I don't get it. Its like some sort of secret she's unwilling to share with me.

And so, the wonder of the Vital Baby unbelievabowl has been rather dampened for me!

Colouring Pencils In Restaurants – A Rant

Dear restaurant owner, please ask before offering my child colouring pencils or crayons at the dining table. It isn't allowed at home, so why would it be allowed in your restaurant?

Lara has been dining out with us at restaurants since she was 3 weeks old! At 19 months she is now old enough to sit up at the table with us and enjoy a meal (quite what foods she gets to enjoy depends on the 'children's menu' available but I shall save THAT rant for another day). Over the last few of months, every time I have taken Lara to a restaurant, she has been presented with some paper and coloured pencils... this is doing my head in.

Lara enjoying a meal out when she was 8 months old!

Like all toddlers, Lara can be a bit of a handful when she is hungry, and if she gets bored she sometimes needs some entertaining. I understand the thinking behind the presentation of coloured pencils to children, I really do, but I just wish that restaurateurs would ask me before supplying 'entertainment' for my own children. I want Lara to grow up to know how to behave at the dinner table and to join in with the pre-dinner chit cat with the grown ups. Dining out is as much about the social occasion as it is about the food. I don't want Lara to be the troublesome kid causing havoc, or the child who ignores everything going on around them. I don't want her to be absorbed in colouring pencils, or a personal console, or even a cuddly toy... I want Lara to join in with us.

That isn't to say that I would always refuse the offer of colouring pencils in a restaurant. No, sometimes I need all the help I can get to keep her calm until the food arrives. But, once the crayons have arrived, there is no going back and even food can sometimes be ignored in favour of frantic scribbling. For this reason, Mr or Mrs waitress, kindly ask me before plonking the colouring pencils down in front of my child. Thank you.

The Sunday Review – Scandinavian Selection No-Tray Highchair

When I was first asked to review the Scandinavian Selection No-Tray Highchair I was a little taken aback. Why? Because it is a product with which I am already familiar. It's simple – it is exactly what I would draw if asked to draw a highchair. But then, as I sat there and pondered this, I realised that, in my recent baby-buying shopping sprees, I had never come across as highchair like it.

Highchairs these days are all-singing, all-dancing, but perhaps they don't need to be? The Scandinavian Selection highchair is widely used in restaurants and cafes across the UK including Pizza Express. If it's good enough for use in a restaurant, it must be suitable for use at home, right?



The No-Tray highchair is a great idea for encouraging your child to become part of the social occasion of mealtime. You child can sit right up close to the table – a tray puts distance between you and them. In the mellow household we have been looking for a wooden highchair for some time. Until now, it would have been no good for us as we have only had a breakfast bar; trust me, it is very hard trying to find a high-chair that is high enough for a child to eat at a breakfast bar. But thankfully we are on the move and when we have a dining table all of our own I want Lara to be able to sit with us at the table without a tray but with the support that a highchair offers.

I recently had the opportunity to try a Stokke Tripp Trapp. I wanted to love it, but I didn't. At £75 including delivery, the Scandinavian Selection No-Tray highchair is considerably cheaper than the Tripp Trapp. Because it doesn't try to be arty or clever, I found the Scandinavian Selection easier to construct, easier to get Lara in and out of, easier to clean and considerably safer for Lara to wriggle and squirm in to her heart's delight.



It is certainly a no-frills highchair. It is fixed height, with no tray, no padded cushion, no cup holder, no recline and no wheels. But to be very honest, I rarely use any of those features of a highchair and it means there are less parts to clean and less pieces to lose or break. Despite it's simplicity, the highchair is still stylish. Our version is made from plain birch with clear lacquer - I think it looks smart and stylish and perfect for our new home.

Lara loves sitting in the No-Tray Highchair. I think she really feels the freedom of it compared to her other highchairs. I sometimes worry that she wriggles about too much as the seat is very spacious. You can buy a safety harness to attach to the highchair but I think the real solution is to encourage your child to sit still and pay attention at meal times.

Image courtesy of PJP PR

The seat is firm and fixed and I think that I probably wouldn't have been able to use it with Lara when she first started weaning as it doesn't provide any support for babies who can't sit upright wholly unaided.

The No-Tray highchair has also been put through it's paces by two of my team of mummy testers.

Lucy (Mum to a 14 month old) said,

“We found the highchair easy to use. It's great that it comes up to the table, but it won't go under the table to get my son really close. We found that he was able to turn round in the highchair so I think it would work better with the harness.”

Hayley (Mum to a 16 month old) said,

“The Scandinavian Selection couldn't be easier to use and we found it really easy to clean. It's perfect for toddlers who are good at feeding themselves.”

The Scandinavian Selection No-Tray highchair comes in three different colours and can be bought online at their own website, Amazon or Jojo Maman Bebe.

Introducing Cutlery to a Toddler

Somebody said something to me the other day that made my eyes open widely,

“If a child is baby-led weaned, how will they ever learn to use a knife and fork?”

Well, let me tell you!

Firstly, I should say that baby-led weaning has worked well for us; I highly recommend it but you also know that I’m not a devout BLW-er, I took the practical approach and spoon-fed when it suited us. Lara has seen me spoon feed her from 4 months old. She knows what a spoon is and what a spoon is for. At 7 months old, Lara first started eating yoghurts unaided. Yes it was messy, but it gave her a level of independence and slowly started exercising her manual dexterity.

Children are clever. They copy you. Even if I had never offered Lara cutlery until now, I’m pretty certain she would know what to do with it. For me and Mr. B it has always been important that Lara sit with us up at the dinner table (err… breakfast bar) and share the social occasions of mealtimes. These past few months she has been learning – watching us and taking it all in. While she has eaten her dinner with her hands she has watched us eat exactly the same food with a knife and fork.



About 4 weeks ago I decided that Lara’s dexterity had developed enough that it was worth trying her with cutlery. Not just a spoon with her yoghurt, but a fork, spoon and knife to use during every meal. At the time, all that we had to fit her little hands was a plastic spoon and fork from MAM. They had been great for us feeding her, but they just weren’t up to the job of self-feeding. The plastic wasn’t strong enough to cope with her frantic stabbing of food, and the handles weren’t long enough to give her a clear grip.

As a first step into the world of toddler cutlery, we tried the Boots own brand cutlery that we got at the Ritz the other day. This spoon and fork set is about as standard as it comes. Flat plastic handles, very little shape to the metal heads but good value at just £2.79. They are functional but Lara never seems that interested in using them and the bowl of the spoon is so shallow that her food tends to fall of it before it reaches her mouth.

Images courtesy of Vital Baby

I have also invested in a set of toddler cutlery by Vital Baby because they looked a bit more like REAL cutlery than anything else similar on the market (most toddler cutlery looks a bit toy-like). The handles have rubbery grips which are easy to hold even when covered in food and they are every so slightly shaped – presumably to aid tiny hands. I like them, I think they’re a good introductory cutlery set. The spoon is scooped but not too deep for Lara to get her lips over and not too shallow that the food falls off. The fork is effective and Lara got the hang of it extremely well. In contrast, the knife is nearly useless. I know it is for safety reasons, and I know it will be a long time until Lara is really capable of using a knife effectively but the Vital baby knife, like almost all other ‘first cutlery’ knives I have seen has a shapless blade and no-cutting ability whatsoever. If Lara tries to use it to cut a sausage – the sausage ends up on the floor.

Image courtesy of Jojo Maman Bebe

So, having established that toddler cutlery is a nice idea, but perhaps a bit too ‘safe’ and shapeless to be effective I wondered whether the best approach would be to just jump straight in and give Lara a real set of cutlery? I was sent a set of Junior Cutlery from Jojo Maman Bebe. It has a more sedate pattern and feels sturdier and immediately more grown up. The result is generally a success. Lara seems to be at her most effective when using the children’s cutlery than any of the others we have tried. The handles are round and don’t seem to present a problem to her other than when she is very sticky! The only problem we had was with the main spoon in the set (there are two), the big spoon is simply too big for Lara’s mouth at present!

I don’t feel like I’ve pushed Lara too hard by giving her a more grown-up cutlery set. I feel like it is what she needed – I’ve given her the tools to do the job properly! Lara is a long way from being self-sufficient with her knife, fork and spoon but she is on her way.

Taking 'Stock' of Your Child's Salt Intake

Most people know that as an adult, our recommended salt intake is no more than 6g per day. Most people also know that a baby on their first solid food should only eat food with no added salt. However, I have found that there is little guidance available for those stages in between. I have a healthy happy toddler who, other than her lunchbox meals at the childminder, eats the same meals as me. When I cook, I am always conscious of ensuring that our family meals have a low salt content but it is hard to know where the limits are. How much salt should my toddler eat?

The Food Standards Agency state that under 12 months, babies should have less than 1g of salt per day which they will get from their breast or formula milk. From 1-3 years old, this increases just a little.

1 to 3 years – 2g salt a day (0.8g sodium)
4 to 6 years – 3g salt a day (1.2g sodium)
7 to 10 years – 5g salt a day (2g sodium)
11 and over – 6g salt a day (2.4g sodium)
Source: Food Standards Agency Eat Well Website

I am naturally someone who reads the labels of food. Partly because the ingredients on many of the foods I buy fascinates me. Generally I won't avoid a food for me and Mr. B. if it contains scary ingredients but I do like to know and understand what I'm eating. For Lara, things are a little different, I like to buy her food made from natural ingredients and with a low salt and sugar content (i.e. no added salt or sugar).

Over the past 12 months I have learned some interesting things by reading the labels on baby foods and adult foods more closely than I did before. For instance, we are often told to buy breakfast cereals made exclusively for babies to ensure that they contain low levels of salt. In Lara's early days of weaning we tried some great cereals from Plum Baby and Organix but soon I discovered that the breakfast cereals that Mr. B. and I normally eat don't contain any added salt or sugar either. I KNOW all too well that this is not the case for many of the “children's” breakfast cereals on offer but it did teach me that I don't need to pay extra for 'baby' food just because it has the word 'baby' on the packet when there is a perfectly reasonable non-baby equivalent which is just as suitable for her to eat.

Not every food product that we used to buy in the Mellow household is now suitable for us to share with Lara. One of the most significant changes that I have made to the way I cook is the brand of stock cube that I use. I know that the best way for me to control the amount of salt in the stock I use is to make it myself from scratch! I do make my own, very occasionally, after a good roast dinner. More regularly I use a stock cube. I had heard that there was such a thing as a 'baby stock cube' and I assumed that it was another one of these things that you pay more for just because it has the word 'baby' on the packet. That was, until I actually compared the salt content of my normal stock cube (I was using Oxo) with the salt content on the Boots Baby Stock Cubes and the Heinz Baby Stock Cubes. The difference was phenomenal.

Boots Parenting Club Nutritionist, Vicky Pennington comments,

"If a baby has too much salt in their diet, it could strain their kidneys as they are not developed to handle large amounts of salt. The Boots Baby Stock Cubes contain less salt than regular stock cubes to help control salt levels. When babies are weaning, we don't advise parents add salt or sugar to their food."

The Boots Baby Stock Cubes are available in Chicken, Beef and Vegetable flavour. They are quite soft in texture and subtle in taste. I find them a little more difficult to break down so I have to mix them carefully in hot water rather than just bunging one in to a dish. Both myself and Mr. B. thought that we would be lacking that little something in our meals with a 'baby' stock cube but we actually quite like the flavour. Boots Baby Stock Cubes are organically certified and free from artificial colours, flavours, preservatives, egg, gluten, milk and soya so are suitable from the very early stages of weaning.

Image courtesy of Boots

There is little to choose between the different brands of baby stock cubes. Despite assurances from Boots to the contrary, I have my suspicions based on ingredients, nutritional content, packaging style and country of origin that they originate in the same place... they certainly look and taste similar! The Boots Baby Stock Cubes are the most easy for me to regularly lay my hands on. I have found that Kallo stock cubes (without the word 'baby' on the packet) are also quite a lot lower in salt than some of the better-known brands. Kallo also do a 'very low salt' version which has the same salt levels (and ingredients, packaging and country of origin) as the baby stock cubes but they are very hard for me to find in the supermarkets.

If you are interested in finding out more about how to feed your toddler a healthy happy diet, you may like to visit 10 Steps To a Healthy Toddler at Little People's Plates. You'll find some great guidance.

Lunchbox Fillers for Hungry Toddlers - Any Tips?

I send Lara to the childminder with a lunchbox, partly because I wouldn't want to burden the childminder with the need to provide separate, baby-safe foods for just Lara; and partly because it means I am still in control of what types of food (and importantly, how much junk) Lara eats. I admit, I have strong views on feeding my toddler so the following may sound a bit preachy in places but remember - I'm mellow - I don't live stricly by my 'healthy eating' rules but I try my best - bringing Lara up with a love of healthy food is IMPORTANT to me.

I'm always on the lookout for ideas for healthy, easy-to-prepare, filling snacks to put into Lara's lunchboxes. I've found a number of life-savers over the past few months that I wanted to share with you but perhaps you can help me out with some more suggestions – comments welcome!

Home-Made Snacks
As-per my working-mum resolutions, I try as hard as I can to provide Lara with home-cooked food every day in her lunchbox. But, I'm not superwoman so I very rarely manage a home-made main meal AND home-made snacks. I'd love to have time to cook flapjacks (sweet and savoury), low-sugar cakes, and other goodies; but the reality is, I don't. I simply don't have time. And so, I struggle to find healthy, ready-to-eat alternatives in my local supermarkets.

  
Images courtesy of Bondy Consulting

Crisps & Biscuits
There are a million and one different snacks and biscuits specifically targeted at children. Most of them sweet. Next time you're in the market for kids snacks, just take a moment to look up the sugar and salt content of them - you would be very surprised (Heinz Biscotti are a case in point).

I have always been happy with the ingredients in the Organix and Plum Baby snacks but when I try them myself, I personally prefer the flavours of the Plum Baby products. I'm particularly happy that Plum Baby have just launched a range of savoury snack foods – it makes such a pleasant change from the sweet biscuits I had been offering Lara. The Plum Baby snacks are very 'grown-up' styles and flavours. I particularly enjoy munching on their Parmesan Bakes, and their new Spelt Breadsticks! As happy as I am to have them in Lara's lunchbox, I do have a couple of reservations; the pack sizes are much too big for one sitting and I'm disappointed with their use of Palm Oil as an ingredient.

FruitFruit is easy as a snack food; especially now that Lara has an ever-growing set of teeth. A piece of fresh fruit is a regular sight in Lara's lunchbox but on the days when I run out, I have emergency rations of Organix fruit purees and squeezies on hand. Lara also loves Humzingers – these fruit chews are nowhere near as good as the real thing but they make great lunchbox fillers.

Image courtesy of Humdinger Foods

Yoghurts & CheeseFruit yoghurts have sugar in them – fact. When I'm buying yoghurt for Lara, I look for ones with no added sugar but it is hard to find one with less than 12% sugar. The Plum Baby fromage frais have the lowest natural sugar content, but they are near-impossible for me to find. Our current favourites are the Little Yeo's which are VERY tangy. In terms of cheese, I normally steer clear of processed cheese products for Lara. The most junkie I'm prepared to go is Mini BabyBel (I lost one in the living room recently and still haven't found it). The cheapest, and most no-nonsense option is for me to buy a piece of 'normal' cheese and wrap a small piece for Lara each morning.

Images courtesy of Tropicana (Freud)

Drinks
Until very recently I had only ever offered Lara water and milk (apart from one failed attempt at fruit tea which Lara spat out and which permanently stained a brand new outfit!). I want to be able to offer Lara something a little more exciting just once in a while.

I refuse to offer Lara the fruit squashes that myself and Mr. B drink regularly (too much scary stuff inside them – she can drink it once she can read me the ingredients and tell me what they all are). That really leaves me with few options; hot drinks don't seem to appeal to her and should only be given in small quantities anyway; watered-down fruit-juice seems like the best bet (her teeth are too young for the neat stuff) but it means that I need to decant a small amount of juice into a cup or bottle for her to take each morning in addition to of her water cup and milk cup.

I've had a look at the pre-diluted juice bottles that are targeted at children and I'm appalled. The current options look like they're healthy but they just aren't. They are either packed full of added sugar or sweetner, or packed full of preservatives (natural or not, it just seems so unnecessary). I recently tried the Tropicana K1ds juice drinks for children which will be available in August this year; If I can get over the environmental guilt of regularly using these small plastic bottles then I'm happy to give these to Lara because they are just juice and water. Nothing else. I still plan to save them for treats, and I need to make sure that she brushes her teeth afterwards, but at least I've found a lunchbox drink of which both Lara and I approve!

If you'd like to find out more about providing your toddler with a healthy, balanced diet; check out Little People's Plates, a website produced by the Infant & Toddler forum - a group of independent nutrition and development experts.

The Sunday Review - The Wean Machine

Images courtesy of Cheeky Rascals

I recently met a fascinating and inspiring local business woman – Tilly Beazeley, inventor of the Wean Machine. Tilly is a bubbly soul who is passionate about feeding our children healthy, REAL food.

If you've read my post about Baby-Led Weaning, you'll know that I take a pragmatic approach to feeding my daughter – for us, the first stages of weaning were not all about finger-foods but about home-made purées getting lumpier and more adventurous every day.

It's a shame that I didn't discover the Wean Machine until after Lara had started feeding herself – it would have been absolutely perfect for us to make lumpy, textured baby foods to challenge Lara's taste-buds, teeth and jaws during those early days of weaning. The Wean Machine is a plastic gadget (BPA-Free, Phthalate-Free and PVC-Free, naturally!) designed to help you turn real food into baby food anywhere and everywhere you go. It is incredibly easy to use – just insert the food, give it a squeeze and hey presto, baby food!

As a travel gadget, the Wean Machine is pretty nifty. I was (and still am) often tempted to take pre-packaged food out with us when away from home for meal-times because it avoids the mess of spoons and bowls having to be brought home in the changing bag. The Wean Machine is self-contained, the food gets squeezed into its own integral 'bowl' and the spoon that accompanies it stashes tidily away inside the lid during travel. As a plastic tool, it is dishwasher safe too, so very easy to clean.

Images courtesy of Cheeky Rascals

The Wean Machine is pretty sturdy – you can squish all sorts of cooked foods in it, and a few softer, raw ones too. It encourages you to offer your child real food. When you're at home, at friends or at a restaurant, if you're careful with the choices you make, there is no need to buy different food for your baby, you can use the Wean Machine to squish some of your own. Right from the very beginning, Lara has (where appropriate) eaten the same meals as us; I don't want her to grow up thinking that there's a difference between 'children's food' and 'grown-up's food' and the earlier I can get that message across to her, the better. I spent many an evening zuzzing samples of our dinner with a hand-blender, and I know plenty of people who invested in mini food-processors to get them through the first stages of weaning but an electronic blade, however efficient it may seem, breaks down many of the chemicals in food, and can cause them to change state (such as potato which goes incredibly stodgy).

The Wean Machine has had a lot of thought put into it. The gadget is often accompanied by a picture board-book called “What Am I Eating?” which has some suggestions for recipes and large, bright, bold pictures of foods for your baby to identify. It may be awfully middle-class of me, but, as a foodie, I'd much rather that Lara learned to say 'Butternut Squash' before she learned to say 'Crocodile'.

You can find the Wean Machine at Kiddicare and Mothercare and some specialist baby outlets for around £19.99 (similar to the cost of a mini-food processor which you can't take out and about with you!).

The Cows Milk 'Thing'

You know how I told you I was a member of almost every single baby club around? Well, this week I have been inundated with emails from each baby club, kindly reminding me that in just a few weeks time, Lara will turn one (as if I'd forgotten).

The reason for the flood of emails is evident. At 12 months, the government recommendation is to introduce cows milk into my daughter's diet and, if I am formula feeding (which I am currently), to replace this with cows milk. The formula companies are in a panic, they see this as the point at which they will lose me as a customer and they're desperate to find a reason to sell me more stuff, whether I need it or not.

Image courtesy of Amadeus

For me, the transition to cow's milk comes as a release. No more preparation of bottles each evening to take to the childminders in the morning. No more cash blown away on tubs after tub of infant formula. It means less stuff to carry around and a welcome move away from reliance on a product with which I have always felt a little uncomfortable.

I know there are people who don't or can't do the cow's milk thing. I understand that there are people who see cow's milk as just an unnatural an alternative to breast milk as formula. I also understand the argument that the human stomach was never really built for cow's milk. But for me, it is part of my life, it's a handy, natural option and I'm confident that Lara is not intolerant of it.

Image: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I intend to switch Lara as soon as we get back from the USA. I would have liked to do it beforehand but I'm worried I won't be able to get to a local shop for milk while we're away (and I don't trust US milk... it's a long and slightly unpleasant story).

The astute among you will have noticed that not once have I suggested in the text above that I might feed Lara a 'growing-up milk' or 'toddler milk'. It has never crossed my mind. Even after the host of emails from the formula companies, even after the relentless TV advertising... I will not be feeding Lara a toddler milk.

Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I find the adverts very misleading. A recent TV advert tells us that our babies need to drink a gazillion litres of cow's milk to get the same amount of iron as in one cup of their formula. So? If your child is eating a full and varied diet, they should, by 12 months be getting their required iron intake from real food – not formula food. I do know of children, who, even at 3 years old do, genuinely need food supplements such as toddler milk to get their required nutrients; but in general I feel that toddler milks are unnecessary.

An episode of Panorama a few months back (the one with Annabel Karmel) revealed that many growing-up milks are sweetened to make them appealing to toddlers – feeding your toddler a sweetened drink will only make it harder to transition to cow's milk, water or other natural drinks.

I'll shut up now because I'm ranting. I'd love to know your experiences or opinions on the transition.

The Sunday Review - Goodies Organic Squeezies

You'll know, if you've read any of my other posts on weaning, that I'm a mummy who really wants to offer Lara great home-cooked food whenever I can. As well as mummy-ing and blogging, I also work 9-5.30 during the week and I have found it hard to provide both of my childminders with a home-cooked main meal for my weaning daughter, as well as healthy snacks throughout the day. These days I am always on the lookout for convenient, healthy snacks to put in Lara's lunchbox.

Image courtesy of Organix

I have recently tried the Goodies Organic Squeezies fruit purées by Organix. In line with the Organix 'No Junk Promise', they are made from organic fruit and nothing else! No added anything. You might wonder why I would buy a pouch of puréed fruit when a piece of real fruit would be just as healthy, just as convenient and also made from 100% fruit? Well (and I do feel I have to make excuses for myself here!) there are a number of reasons:-

Firstly, I get all of my fruit & veg delivered on a Monday in an organic box by Abel & Cole. Sometimes the box doesn't contain anything suitable to give to Lara, on other occasions the box will contain fruit that isn't really ripe until later in the week. I always like to have a few sachets or pots of fruit on hand for these situations.

On weeks such as this one, when Lara is teething, she really doesn't fancy gnawing on a slice of pear or chomping on a piece of mango. All she wants is something easy and sloppy that won't tax her gums too much. This week, the Goodies Squeezies have been a lifesaver – when she has refused all the other things I have put in front of her, she has gulped down her Squeezies. Phew.

And finally, the Goodies Squeezies pouches offer a wide range of different flavours compared to the range of fresh fruit I am likely to have around the house at any one time. Designed for toddlers from 12 months upwards, they have adventurous flavour combinations such as Mango, Pear & Orange or Banana, Pear and Kiwi. The purées are a lot thinner in consistency than other fruit purées I have tried but that's a good sign – it means that there are no thickening agents in there. It also means that they are suitable for babies from as young as 4 months (or whenever you choose to start weaning).

The pouches make a fun snack - they are squeezable so that older children can grab them and feed themselves. They are also resealable (you can finish them up within 24 hours). The pouches are made from a sturdy material that means I can shove them in Lara's lunchbox and not worry about them bursting or coming unstuck (which has happened with some fruit pots and yoghurts – ick); unfortuately that means that the packaging is non-recycleable... something I personally feel that an organic food company should be looking to address.

The Goodies Organic Squeezies by Organix (100g) are available from around 89p. You can find out more about Organix on their website http://www.organix.com/ .

The Sunday Review - Trainer Cups On Trial

In much the same vein as my review of pelican bibs a fortnight ago, here's my take on a few of the trainer cups and beakers that Lara has been trying out.



When I first started weaning Lara, I began offering water with her meals; I gave her a MAM transition trainer. We use (and love) the MAM feeding bottles so it seemed like a natural progression. At first Lara used the cup with a traditional MAM teat fitted so that she could get used to holding the cup without changing her drinking technique. After about a week I fitted the soft teet-like spout and she took to it straight away. The soft spout is more robust than a teet. It has a small plastic insert which holds the spout rigid and prevents spillage. For about three weeks I switched between the teet and the spout depending on Lara's mood. I found the transition trainer to be the perfect way to introduce a cup to my daughter.

Lara has now moved on to a trainer cup with a traditional rigid spout. We have tried both the Lindam Annabel Karmel Cup (because we loved their weaning spoons) and the Anywayup Cow Cup (because it looks groovy).

The Lindam Annabel Karmel Cup is a non-spill cup with flexible handles. It is sturdy, has a soft rubbery feel (which is easy to grip), it easy to open and has an effective non-spill valve which can be removed once your child gets used to NOT throwing their cups around (do they ever?) The cup comes with a matching cover to prevent leaks and to keep the spout clean – the colour matches so well that family members and childminders have been totally thrown by it and haven't realised that it is a lid! Ehehehe – then they seem surprised when Lara throws a wobbly because she can't get any liquid out. When I first moved Lara onto this cup, she found the sucking motion against the valve to be hard work. It took a few weeks of getting used to. I am extremely pleased with the Lindam cup and would have bought more of them if I weren't the type of Mummy who likes to try a little bit of everything!



The most recent cup that we have tried is the Cow Cup by Anywayup. It is very similar to the Lindam cup in shape and purpose but has a small lip at the base of the cup to prevent it from falling over (it can't however, prevent Lara from picking it up and tipping it over). The non-spill valve on the Cow Cup is slightly different and allows Lara to drink more easily – however, the valve often seems to fall out and I find it floating in the dregs of the water when I open it up. The spout cover on the Cow Cup is very tight-fitting to ensure it keeps the contents in. I have no worries leaving the cup rattling around inside the changing bag but I do have worries trying to open the blimming thing to wash it! I often end up pulling so hard that when the lid finally does come free, it catapults me across the kitchen. The lid on the cow cup is useless – it doesn't have any means of staying put so I just go without. My feeling is that the Cow Cup looks pretty, but isn't quite up to the job.