What the Fuss? Feeding Frenzy Part II: Toddlerfeeding

As I mentioned yesterday, Lei's brush with disaster was the impetus for a post on all things fabulous for feeding. However, my list grew cumbersome rather quickly, so I separated my list of fantastically fussworthy feeding items out into breastfeeding and toddlerfeeding categories and numbered them to keep the confusion to a minimum.

In Feeding Frenzy Part I, I presented my list of amazing breastfeeding accoutrements. Today we're on to toddlerfeeding. Because this is Leighton's current stage, I am having a blast trying out lots of new products. Enjoy!

1) I make Leighton's food using the Beaba Babycook. I know what you're thinking ... What a pain in the ass! I'll stick with jars.I get that a lot. However, our pediatrician told us that she should eat as much table food as possible. So, my kid eats delicious dish made from scratch. Plus, I figure since Ryan cooks for us daily anyway, why should Lei eat bland, boiled meat in a jar?

The Beaba Babycook is a well-crafted appliance, spare in size, that steams and blends foods for your babe. With an all-in-one gadget like this, there's no need to make a huge mess. You can either make an event of making these meals, or toss in some of what you're having for a particular meal and freeze the rest for later. The Babycook makes it so simple, it's a meal time staple for me.

I cook for Leighton once a month and freeze the portions using item #2 below. Once frozen, I pop them into Ziploc freezer bags and we're good to go. Beef Stew and Cherub Chowder are just two hits found in #12 below. Lei likes food with hints of garlic, spices and onion and eats veggies most kids won't touch. Plus, her meals taste like real food (hmmm curious) and sometimes it's hard for me not to oversample her dish while I feed her. My mother-in-law bought the Babycook for us as a gift, which was a great savings for me because I was going to buy it anyway. It retails for $150.

2) Beaba Multiportion Food Storage Containers are perfect portion sizes. I have two, but in making a month of meals, I am going to pick up another. The retail for $20 and come in pink, orange and green. I got mine at Giggle.

3) Once Leighton's little fish teeth began peeking through her gums, we switched to Beaba silicone spoons. You can use these from the start, but I was so into the silver Tiffany spoon that my aunt gave as a shower gift that we used that and a healthy rotation of take and toss spoons until a few weeks ago. These Beaba spoons ($20 for a pack of four) are colorful implements that can really shovel it in. The handle is big enough for grown ups to get a good grip and they look so cool that I had to add them to the list.

4) We eat out quite a bit, granted we do it before six o'clock, and Phil and Ted's Me too portable highchair goes with us every time.  It has clamps that screw screw onto almost any table. Lei feels like a big shot in this chair because it allows her to be right where the action is at a conversational height. Plus, her legs dangle, which keeps her from pulling her new favorite stunt - trying to stand in the high chair. At $60, the price is a little steep, but again, we eat out often and for us, this chair is the difference between wolfing down dinner and lingering a bit after a fine meal. Last time we accidentally left it at home, we turned the car around and went back to get it.

5) Top 100 Baby Purees will get you from the very first, single food purees all the way to trickier dishes. If you are going to make your own baby food, this book is a must. $16 at Giggle.

6) I never to forget to bring my Zoli On-The-Go snack dispenser. I have forgotten to bring bottle, but whatever. The segments screw together and the top can hold formula or cereal. This colorful little item is practical and at $15, completely worth it. Incidentally, this is one of the Fussworthy items you can win this week! Enter to win.

7) Leighton has the coolest highchair - lucky little ducklet. Her Svan Highchair (tray cover and cushion too) look tremendous in our house. Our house isn't big enough to camoflauge a multi-colored, plastic masterpiece of a high chair, so wood was the way to go for us. The Svan is Scandinavian-designed, finely crafted and adjusts from six months through the teenage years which helped justify the expense. The chair and tray cover is $260 and the cushion is $40. Both were gifts from my mother-in-law but I was intent on buying them anyway once we graduated from the bebePod. Love the Svan!

8) My Udaipur Burp & Bib set has not yet arrived, but I can't wait. It's too cool and Indian fabrics are so hot right now. We don't really need burp cloths per se any more, but I'm sure I will find plenty of uses for them. In preparing this post, I saw that there is a matching crib set. I'm so glad I didn't see that before I placed my last order or I wouldn't have been able to help myself and we DO NOT need anymore bedding right now. Pick up this set of two burp cloths and matching bib for $39.

9) Leighton hates, HATES, wearing a bib, but we try. The Bumkins SuperBib is a wonderful compromise for us. The fabric is waterproof, it covers her, has a pocket and the best part is that I can wash it in the sink and hang it on the cabinet knob to dry. At $8 each, we rotate two and love them.

10) My mom has the cute pink Bumbo at her house. I opted for the bebPOD Plus (plus because it comes with a tray and a toy) - mostly because the red, shiny, molded, foam seat struck my fancy. And, after a little while, Lei could pull the tray, clearly an afterthought for the Bumbo people,right off with less than herculean strength. These seats only last for a few months and so it's a nice-to-have, for sure at $60. But, Lei was able to sit and participate in lots of activites she otherwise wouldn't have with out the bebePod.

11) Elegant Baby Bowl and Spoon set is fun and functional and comes in both pink and blue. The suction works and so it was an easy addition to the list - a fussworthy find for $15. One warning - the animal on the end of the spoon may be distracting because it's so darn cute.

12) Cooking for Baby has fancy meals for baby. My First Beef Stew is Lei's absolute favorite! This book makes it so easy to cook amazing fare for your teeny ones. This Lisa Barnes cookbook can be found with two different covers. Pick it up at Amazon or WIlliams Sonoma (green cover) for $20.

13) Take and Toss Straw Sippers made this list because we HATE sippy cups. Leighton thinks they're dumb and, frankly, I agree. If Europeans go right from bottle to cup, we can too. Lei prefers to ease the transition with a straw, and I'm fine with that. Cheapy Cheap at $3.49 for a four-pack.

14) The best part of the Combi Ergo Spoon and Fork Set is that baby can grab it, but I really picked it because we eat out a lot (did I mention that already?)and the set comes with a plastic case to protect from germs. Totally worth it for $6 at Giggle. This is the other Fussworthy item you can win this week! Enter to win.

This was fun! We welcome any comments you have good or bad about any of the products featured here. Feel free to mention any that we may have overlooked too! You never know what will turn up as the next Fussworthy giveaway.

This product review conforms to the Fuss Formula.

As you may have gathered, a number of my items can be found at Giggle. It's my favorite baby store and I registered there when I was pregnant. I love it so much I contacted them to be an affiliate advertiser. In the interest of full disclosure, The Daily Fuss does receive a small percentage of purchases made at Giggle when clicking through from our Giggle banner. Your support is certainly appreciated. Happy shopping!

Comments

[Lisha]

I Loved the bebPOD Plus, it is amazing

[Jennifer W. Freeman]

I'm always up for a babyfood-making party. I like to turn it into an event. :)

[Jennifer W. Freeman]

They are one and the same - total oversight on the credits. I will update the post with proper accredidation. Thanks Whit!

[Whit]

Jen! I think the pic of #12 ('Cooking for Baby') is actually the cover of Lisa Barnes' book of the same title; not sure if the Williams-Sonoma book is one and the same.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=604139367]

This was great. Very informative as were about to embark on all of this. We were going to start solids this week, but Noah's ear infection has me waiting until his 6 month b-day, a little later than I wanted, but oh well. We got that Beaba Babycook for Xmas, and I'm eager to try it. Also have No. 2, 3, 9, and 12 on the list. Going to pick up a copy of Top 100. Thanks!