guest post by Gwen: favourite baby snacks

Okay, so I lied, Gwen is actually not going to be guest posting. But, hey, we can pretend. A few weeks ago I sent out a plea to my Tweeps asking for their most loved out-of-highchair snacks for their babies between 10-12 months old. You see, despite the fact that this is my second rodeo, I still feel like I have no clue what I’m doing about 90% of the time. I forget so much about Evalyn’s infancy. I try to remember what she was doing/eating/saying at what stages but, basically, unless there’s a photo to look back on or a specific blog post, I don’t remember.

So a few weeks ago I found myself stumped about what to feed Gwen for (at least mostly nutritious) snacks. The thing is, she doesn’t like to be contained – having 3 meals a day confined to the high chair is bad enough as it is. Plus, we’re busy. We’re on the go. We don’t typically have time to be sitting around in the high chair more often than we already have to. So I needed to come up with some ideas of things that would be easy and relatively non-messy for her to eat on her own, out of her chair.

If you know our Gwennie, you know that she’s super picky about fruit. A kid who doesn’t like fruit! It’s absurd to me as Eva would live off fruit if she could, and has always been a fruit lover. Unless it’s in pouch form, I usually have to trick Gwen into eating fruit. As in, soft pear chunks mixed with beef stew. Delicious, right?

Sometimes she’ll be more apt to eat fruit if she’s on the go, grazing, but you know, this gets messy. Fruit is juicy and sticky and a lot of it stains. Anyway, that whole fruit tangent is a bit beside the point…

After reaching out for ideas on snacks I started racking my own brain – trying to remember what types of snacks I took with me on the go, to church, to friend’s houses, and so on, when Evalyn was a baby and what other things would be ideal for this stage. So here are a few ideas I’ve come up with that may help you if you’re looking for some new ideas.

Before I start the list, I should also note that since Gwen has been very adventerous with her food right from the start, many of the typical go to’s don’t really work. She laughs in the face of mum mums and even cheerios, which used to be thrilling and marvelous barely get the time of day anymore (unless, of course, they are in her sister’s bowl .. then they are amazing). Puffs give her a little bit of a thrill, but I don’t often shell out the money to buy them. She also is very good at self feeding and regulating her food. There are very, very few times when I have had to be concerned with her putting too much in her mouth, or taking too big of a bite or whatever. She is a pro star at pulling things out of her mouth if she can’t chew/swallow it, so that also helps with the variety I can give her.

Without further adieu, here is a list of our favourite snacks at 11 months:

- Fruit smoothies - frozen fruit, milk, banana, yogurt, spinach, probiotic, frozen veggie cubes.

- Pouches – or juicies as they are lovingly referred to in this home. We could not live without our juicies.

- Shreddies - new on our menu this week – she’s loving them – they may be too crunchy/difficult for smaller babies or babies who don’t do much self feeding.

- Peas, corn, black beans, lentils – throw a mixture of any/all of these things in a snack trap and she’s a happy girl.

- Cheese – cubes, shredded, sliced, strings … whatever. If she has cheese, all is right in her world.

- Steamed edamame beans – up until this week I had been cutting them in half but she is now able to eat them no problem as they are. Again, a snack trap full of these and she is good to go.

- Graham crackers – these were suggested by both Lynsey and Karla and so I tried them while we were making s’mores at the cottage. She likes them but doesn’t go crazy over them and I do find they’re a bit messy. So, she’s only had them a few times.

What are your favourite (older) baby snacks? Especially for when you’re out of the comforts of the high chair?

(recovering?) Pepsi Addict

Yesterday marks three weeks since I have had any Pepsi.

Or any pop for that matter.

You read that right. Three weeks. Twenty one days.

This may not be a big deal to some (most?) of you, but to me, it’s huge. This is the longest stretch I’ve gone in a long time. Maybe even in forever? Well, I mean, since I started drinking Pepsi, which was before high school. I was typically a Pepsi a day girl. Sometimes (too often, really) more than one. It was the love of my life. It kind of feels like I’m breaking up with my soul mate, you know?

All around, I am feeling some major differences since cutting it out. I am feeling so much better. I’m not nearly as draggy, I have way more energy and my body feels good. Maybe some of this has to do with the nicer weather, but I’m sure not entirely. And, as an added bonus, the number of pounds that I’ve lost in three week isn’t awful, either. (I should also add that I have been making some other pretty big changes in my eating and exercise habits, too, so the weight isn’t entirely because of the lack of pop). 

I’ve been very careful and strict with myself so that I don’t just end up replacing the missing Pepsi with extra coffee. I allow myself a maximum of two coffees per day (okay, once or twice I had three..but only because it’s dollar iced coffee days at McD’s and people always insist on bringing them to me) and other than that I’ve been drinking water like a crazy person. It’s become a challenge to myself to see how well I can do with this and how long I can go.

I won’t say I’m quitting forever, because I am likely not, nor do I really want to. I mean, I love the stuff. It tastes dang good.  I’d like to have it again. And I like having treats sometimes. But that’s the key word. Sometimes. Right now, I am working hard to get myself to a place where I can view it as that – a treat and not a necessity. We have a cottage weekend coming up and my plan was to take a few to indulge in on vacation but I’m not so sure. I kind of feel like continuing in this little competition with myself. I guess we’ll see.

To be honest, though, it hasn’t been nearly as hard as I expected it to be. Definitely not as hard as other times I’ve tried to “quit” or “cut back”. Maybe because this time I was serious about making a change? The last time I had a Pepsi, I didn’t even know that it would be my last. I wasn’t really planning on stopping but after a very unsuccessful evening of trying on clothes that ended in tears and some major self evaluation, I decided some things have got to change around here. And by around here, I mostly mean around my waist line. It’s time to become a healthier version of myself.

Eleven months? What?

Dear Baby Girl,

Baby girl? Can I even call you that anymore? In so many ways, you aren’t a baby anymore. You have become such a big girl right before my eyes. But I don’t care, you’re still my baby. I am finding myself in shock that this is the very last letter I’ll write to you until we get to your big first birthday. I am so excited to celebrate this milestone with you.

For now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Sweet girl, just like always, you are the light of my life. My absolute joy. Your personality shines more and more with each passing day. You are stubborn, determined, and hot-tempered just like your father (okay, and maybe your Mama, too). You get your mind set on something and when you do – it has to be done. I’m hoping Daddy and I can figure out how to channel this fierce determination into a positive trait!

Your hair and your tan have certainly transformed your looks into those of a toddler. Here’s how you’ve looked this month:

You’ve been up to so much this month but the biggest progress has been in your motor skills and your words.

You took your very first unassisted steps on August 4th. I saw you take three steps on two separate occasions. And then, you didn’t walk again for exactly two weeks. Then, last Thursday, you took seven unassisted steps to your Auntie Marcia. That night and the next day you continued to take a few steps here and there. Most of the time, it’s only when we coax and encourage you, but sometimes, you stand up and walk on your own. For the past month or so, you have loved to walk around holding our hands, and quite frankly, you don’t need to be holding anything. Your confidence has been building and you have been getting braver and braver. Not too long and you’ll be running. I’m trying not to pressure you to walk fully too much because I know you’ll do it when you’re ready. For now, you’re mostly happy to crawl and scoot. And can I blame you? Why would you want to walk all wobbly like and fall down when you can get what you want in 3.2 seconds when crawling?

You have been picking up new words at a rapid speed. Right now your favourites are: Dada (or Dad), Nika (Ka), Chicken (CheeChin), Up, Cup (Up itch), Papa, Nananana, Mama (but you mostly only say it to cookies) Uh Oh, Ta Da, Puppy (Pa Pee) and All Done. You are starting to try to mimic and repeat our words. You sign eat (by smacking your lips together), all done, puppy and more. You love to clap your hands, wave and blow kisses and point your finger.

Speaking of kisses, your hugs and kisses have been the funniest thing lately. You are a fan of the open mouth kiss and are willing to kiss just about anyone. You love to kiss Nika as well as your dolls and stuffed animals and the faces of babies or animals in your books. One day, I saw you playing with Daddy’s hunting magazines and you kissed each deer on the face and then signed “Puppy”. And a few weeks later, you were kissing Auntie Julia’s coach purse. You got good taste, girl. You also love to give hugs. For a while, I was the only recipient but you’ve started to be a little more generous with the hugs lately. You lay your head down on the shoulder of the person you are hugging, pat their back and say “Awwww”. Every time you crawl onto my lap to give me a spontaneous hug, it melts my heart into a puddle of mush.

You are a little monkey and love to get into things. The other day, I caught you sitting on the door of the dishwasher. Then a few hours later, you were in the blanket box. You love to play on the bed and couch. You flop like a fishy out of water and love pillow fights. You love your Baby Doll. You love to make whisper sounds in my ear. It makes you laugh like crazy. You love to play “how big”, skype with your Nana and be tickled. You love to be outside, especially if you are watching the chickens. You also love to play fall down – where I say “Eva fall down and go boom” and you fall on your butt.

You still nurse 4-5 times a day but also love your solid food and your sippy of water. You’ve started having little tastes of cow’s milk here and there. Early in the month you started sharing your food with everyone. You always hold out your hand with your food and expect whoever is feeding you to “take a bite”. What a sweet girl you are to share your slobbery mush with everyone.

We’ve been enjoying our summer by spending time at the park, the beach and in the pool. You went camping for the first time this month and had a blast! I can’t wait to enjoy the last stretch of summer with you as we make our way to the big one year.

I love you my sweet baby,

Mama.

Curbing the Cravings

During undergrad, one course I took was called "The Psychology of Stress". Going into the course I thought it was going to be completely bogus but as it progressed, I found myself learning an awful lot. You see, I get stressed out easily. And often. The course allowed me to understand what is going on both psychologically and physiologically during those times. I'll admit I've forgotten pretty much every thing I learned in that class but one thing that has stuck with me was the section of the course that focused on stress leading to emotional eating.

I will be the first to tell you that I am an emotional eater. When I am stressed, the first thing I do is start eating crap. Well, not literally crap .. but well, you know what I mean. I get intense cravings for different types of foods at different times. I'm learning how to control and satisfy those cravings without overindulging. In the course I took, the professor gave us a list of alternative options for when you are getting an unhealthy craving. I remember some of them, but not all. Below are some of the ones I remember ...

Salty Cravings
Drink a large glass of water - salty cravings are often a result of dehydration
Eat a pickle instead of potato chips

Sweet Cravings
Eat fruit with natural sugars such as apples, pears, berries

Ice Cream Cravings
Eat a frozen banana
Low-fat frozen yogurt

Chocolate Cravings
Eat one piece of dark, pure chocolate

I remember him also talking about different things to eat if you are craving fast food but I can't remember what they were. I should remember, though, since Fast Food is high on my craving list.

Do you have any healthier options that help you get rid of cravings?