The Mom Crowd

I have had really good experiences and one bad experience in the booster seat department, and decided to share these experiences with you!  To be fair, I have only “tested” three different seats, so there may be other great options available.  I invite you to share what you love/hate about your booster seat in the comment section!

Fisher Price Healthy Care Deluxe Booster Seat

• What do I love about this seat?  Almost everything!  The price is great – around $25.00, it’s available in stores so you don’t have to wait for it to be shipped, it is very durable, it’s somewhat easy to clean, the pieces all fit in the bottom rack of my dishwasher, it’s portable, the kids like it, and it’s very well made!
• What do I NOT love about this seat?  Food crumbs get under the seat and so I do have to VERY regularly (after every meal!) clean underneath and around the chair, and that’s about all I can say negatively about this booster!
• Bottom line? I definitely recommend this to parents looking for a booster seat for their child!  It’s affordable, does the job, and is best of all STURDY and well made!

BabySmart Cooshie Booster Seat

• What do I love about this seat? My child can climb into it by herself, it is INCREDIBLY easy to clean my chair without having to unbuckle straps, the booster itself cleans very easily, it’s a super cute color, it’s SIMPLE and does not have unnecessary gadgets, and it’s easily removed when I need the chair for a bigger person.
• What do I NOT love about this seat? The price.  After tax, I spent $40.00 on this seat and that’s just too pricey for my everyday shopping.  We used some birthday cash Darah received and I don’t know if I would have splurged otherwise. That being said, if I would have known how much I was going to love it, I may have splurged.
• Bottom line? It’s a little pricey for what it is, but if you have $40 just laying around, it is definitely worth it! If not, maybe ask Grandma for one for your child’s next birthday or Christmas!  I will say, that as much as I like the Fisher Price booster, this one is DEFINITELY much nicer!  This seat is not recommended for any child under the age of 2 1/2.

Safetly 1st Fold N Go Deluxe Care Booster

•  What do I love about this seat? Umm…it’s a booster seat, and it’s cheap (selling for $20.00).
• What do I NOT love about this seat?  Where do I start?  Like I said above, it’s CHEAP!  The back of our booster broke off within a few weeks, my daughter’s little teeny peanut size body was too big in it for her to be comfortable, the tray is ridiculously difficult to maneuver, and it lasted about a month before I said “forget it!”
• Bottom line? Don’t waste your money, time, or energy on this product!

I’d love to hear your experiences with booster seats!  Please leave a comment!

Snack time, my favorite. I don’t know about you, but my idea of a favorite snack is a piece of chocolate cake with a caramel machiato from Starbucks. If I ate that everyday I would be in big trouble since my clothes would not fit me anymore! Of course serving chocolate cake and a highly caffienated beverage is not really an option for my 3 children. So, this is more for my own inspiration because I need some new ideas. And because I thought that several heads working together to better snack time for all of our growing and energetic children would be a benefit to all of us!

My (just turned!) 5 year old and 3 year old don’t get snacks very often. If they do it is usually in the morning time between breakfast and lunch. I notice that they are hungrier if they don’t eat any protein for breakfast so I’ll give them a snack. I cut out an afternoon snack a little over a year ago because I noticed that they weren’t eating much of dinner– which was healthier and covered a broader spectrum of food groups. When I cut out the afternoon snack they would eat a healthier dinner. Now my 11 month old is needing a snack in the afternoon and I want to make sure I plan ahead about what kind of foods to offer him. I know that if my other 2 see the baby eating they will start drooling for some too. So, either I will need to decide on a very small portion of snackage for them or tell them they have to wait for dinner. If I plan ahead enough then I can have the same healthy snack available for them in the morning.

In my ideal world, snacks are made from whole grain, whole foods with NO high fructose corn syrup. (I am avoiding a temptation to go off on a ***HFCS tangent….I mean seriously, WHEN will companies stop putting that terrible for you filler in their foods?!) That means that homemade snacks are probably the best option but not always realistic when life gets busy. Grabbing Goldfish and Cheerios are so easy and aren’t bad for you either. But I get tired of serving Goldfish, Cheerios, and grapes for a snack.

When Ewan was little I was great at having a huge variety of snacks available for him so I am going back to my books and magazines and pulling out some of the good ideas.

For the finger food eater (10+ months):

• Avacado chunks
• Cheese chunks
• Soft cooked veges (I like using a mixed vege frozen mix)
• Tofu chunks
• Scrambled egg yolk (for younger than 12 months)
• Hard boiled egg chunks
• Beans, lentils
• Sweet potato chunks
• Whole wheat pasta in small pieces (mix with light ricotta cheese for a protein boost)
• Small pieces of fruit (I just got a giant bag of frozen fruit with cantaloupe, grapes, peaches etc. in it and am using that for snacks)
• Whole grain/wheat pieces of bread, bagels, pancakes, or crackers
• Cottage cheese (totally messy but finger-foodalicious)

For toddlers on up:

Toddlers can eat more complicated food textures and combinations. I used to make muffins, pancakes, and whole grain cornmeal pancakes and freeze them. Then I could pull out one at a time and serve it.

• Hummus with veggie strips or pretzels (cucumbers, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots)
• Homemade granola (with or without plain yogurt)
• Small piece of whole grain/wheat toast with almond butter and fresh berries
• Whole wheat blueberry pancake
• Whole wheat banana muffins
• Apple slices with Almond or Sunflower butter
• Yogurt parfait with plain yogurt, fresh fruit, and granola
• Apple-Oat Pancakes (recipe below)
• Banana johnnycakes (recipe below)

Good Whole Food Snack Sources:

Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron (Tons of great super healthy snacks and meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

Simply Natural Baby Food by Cathe Olson

Apple-Oat Pancakes from Simply Natural Baby Food

Soy, rice, or almond milk can be used if baby is not drinking cow’s milk.

• 1 3/4 c. rolled oats
• 1/4 c. almonds
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs (or 4 egg yolks if baby isn’t eating egg whites)
• 1 1/3 c. milk (dairy or non-dairy)
• 1 apple grated

Grind oats and nuts to powder in a blender or food processor. Pour oat mixture into a large mixing bowl an stir in baking powder and cinnamon. Beat eggs and milk together. Grate apple in food processor or by hand. Add the egg mixture and apple to oats. Stir until just mixed. Let batter sit 5 minutes while griddle heats. Bake pancakes on a lightly oiled griddle or skillet over med. heat. Use approx. 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook for 5 minutes. Turn when top is bubbly and edges are starting to dry. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Yield: 12 pancakes

Banana Johnnycakes from Simply Natural Baby Food

• 1 c. cornmeal
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 1/4 c. boiling water
• 2 tsp molasses or honey
• 1 banana, peeled and sliced

Place cornmeal and salt in heat-proofing mixing bowl. Whisk in boiling water and sweetener. Add bananas and stir gently. If batter is too thick, add a little water or milk. Bake cakes on a lightly oiled griddle or skillet over med. heat. Use approx 1/8 cup batter for each cake. Cook 5 minutes. Turn when edges begin to dry. Do not turn prematurely. Cook 3 to 5 more minutes. Remove from pan. Keep in warm oven until ready to serve. Yield: 10 pancakes

So, what yumm-i-o snacks do you feed your kids?

***We live by an incredibly busy railroad and we see train car after train car with the label High Fructose Corn Syrup on it. I mean a row of 25 of them! It is fascinating and gross at the same time. It makes me wonder how much of HFCS I have eaten over the course of my lifetime and how much of one of those cars it would fill. Blech!

I don’t know about you but when dinner time rolls around I usually want something quick, cheap, easy, and healthy. Oh yeah, and kid friendly. Well, sometimes what I cook is probably not considered “kid friendly” but my philosophy is to cook what is good and healthy and they can choose not to eat it. I don’t offer any other dinner choices for them but I usually try to have at least one vegetable or side I know they like. I thought I’d share a few recipes that I use regularly.

Hope it inspires you!

Easy Pesto Pasta

This is probably the EASIEST meal I ever make. And it is yummy. There is lots of room for variation too which I love. My friend Monica brought a version of this over when I had my first baby and I have adapted it a little over the years.

• 1 lb. Whole wheat pasta (whatever kind you like, spaghetti, penne, shells etc.)
• Parmesan Cheese
• Pesto (I usually use the jarred kind unless I happen to have some fresh on hand)
• Meat of some kind (Kielbasa sausage, chicken, shrimp–I just found some really delish chicken, tomato, and basil sausage from Costo that I will be using next time I make this)
• 1/2 to 1 Onion chopped (optional)
• 1 Bell Pepper chopped (optioinal)

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions.
2. Brown meat, onions, and peppers together in a little olive oil (unless cooking with Kielbasa sausage–you don’t need it then).
3. Drain pasta and add pesto to taste (I usually do 3-4 heaping spoonfuls).
4. Mix meat, peppers, and onions in with pasta.
5. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.

I usually serve this meal with a nice salad.

Thai Chicken Curry

I got this recipe from Sam The Cooking Guy. He has a cooking show on cable and a lot of his recipes look really yummy. I have added this recipe and another one into our regular dinner rotations. I have adjusted this one to add more vegetables into our diet. It works great with leftover grilled or baked chicken.

• 1 Tbsp. Oil
• 1 Small onion, diced
• 1 Clove garlic, crushed (I use 2 and chop them)
• 1 Tbsp. Flour
• 2 Tbsp. Curry Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne (optional–I have never added it because I don’t want to burn my kids’ mouths)
• 1 14 oz. Can coconut milk
• 2 Cups Cooked, diced chicken
• 1-2 Cups Normandy frozen vegetable mix
• 2 Tbsp. Apricot jam

Instructions:

1. Cook onion and garlic in oil until softened–but not too soft.
2. Mix flour and curry powder together, and add to onion mixture.
3. If you want it spicy, this is when you add the cayenne.
4. Stir well for a minute and begin to add about 3/4 can of coconut milk (add all if you like, it will just be a little thinner)
5. Stir in the apricot jam.
6. Add chicken and vegetables and allow to warm all the way through. Salt to taste.
7. Serve on brown rice.

Vegetable Chili STOUP with Baked Quesadillas

This is a Rachael Ray recipe. I know it looks like a lot of ingredients but most of it is things I keep on hand. The thing I love about this is that it is very tasty, super healthy, and easy-peasy.

• 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 Carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 Large red or green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 Large jalepeno pepper
• 2 Cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Small zucchini
• 1 Tbsp. Ground cumin
• 2 Tbsp. Chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. Cayenne pepper sauce, like Frank’s Red Hot Salt, to taste (Tobasco works fine and you can use less if you are concerned about heat for kids)
• 1 14 oz. Can Crushed tomatoes
• 4 Cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 Can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 Can Dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 Whole wheat flour tortillas
• 2+1/2 Cups Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (one 10 oz. package)
• 2 Scallions, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 400

To Make the Stoup:

1. Preheat a soup pot over medium-high.
2. Add oil, onions, carrot, bell pepper, jalepeno, garlic, and zucchini. Saute for 10 minutes.
3. Add cumin, chili powder, cayenne sauce, and salt; stir.
4. Add tomatoes, stock, and beans. Bring soup to a boil. Lower heat and simmer another 10 minutes. DONE!

To Make Quesadillas:

Get out 2 cookie sheets and place 2 tortillas next to each other on each cookie sheet. Cover each tortilla with 1/2 cup of cheese and a few pieces of chopped scallions (optional), then place a tortilla on top of each. Bake 5 minutes to melt cheese and crisp tortillas. Cut quesadillas into 4 wedges each to make a total of 4 quesadilla rounds, 4 wedges per person. Use the wedges to dip in the soup.

I love new recipes and tips for making dinner time less of a hassle so please share them if you’ve got them!

My daughter, Darah was tube fed for the first two years of her life. Most people had absolutely no idea what her feeding tube was and I got a lot of stares or quick “look aways” and a lot of questions about what those tubes were for. Darah was born with a very serious heart defect. This heart defect made her incredibly tired. In addition to her heart defect, she also has low muscle tone, because she had Down syndrome. The combination of low muscle tone and her exhaustion from her heart defect made her suck/swallow/breathe coordination impossible. From day one, we had to sustain her life by using a feeding tube.

The first feeding tube we used was an Oral Gastric (OG) tube and after about a month, Darah graduated to a Naso Gastric (NG) tube. The OG tube is a feeding tube that is inserted in the mouth, down the esophagus, into the stomach. The NG tube is inserted through the nostril, down the esophagus, and into the stomach. With a syringe (or pump), we were able to pour my breastmilk or formula into Darah’s stomach. Darah’s open heart surgery was not until she was three months old, so she received all of her nourishment through her feeding tube. The NG Tube made her very sensitive to anything coming near her face or mouth. This oral aversion led to a surgically placed feeding tube when she was five months old. This G-tube allowed us to give Darah her necessary calories and fluids and attempt to work on feeding. She started off with a Peg Tube, which is a feeding tube in the tummy that has a permanent extension tube attached to it. After that healed, 6 weeks later, we switched that out for a Mic-key button. The best way to describe this is it’s just like a beach ball plug. It snaps shut when you’re not using it, and when you’re ready to access it you can unplug it and attach a tube extension to it.

Fast forward to Darah at 16 months old. She had made very minimal progress with oral feedings and we decided to attend a six-week inpatient, intensive feeding program in Dallas, Texas. This program (Our Children’s House at Baylor) was the best thing we ever did. When we completed our 6 week stay, Darah was taking all of her caloric needs orally. She still struggled with drinking, however she was taking all of her fluids orally by her second birthday. Her feeding tube was removed a few days before her second birthday! She now loves to eat and drink! (I never thought I’d be able to say that!)

If you are dealing with a feeding tube, or severe feeding issues, I strongly encourage you to do a few things:

• Find support from other moms who have been there/done that! I found this great yahoo group that was always there for my questions and concerns.
• Don’t go it alone! Ask close friends or family to learn how to feed your child. By training a few people, you can get those much needed breaks from the whole feeding process. Most people will be happy to learn and to help.
• Ask questions! If you aren’t comfortable with your doctor’s advice, get a second opinion. G-tube surgeries are done a lot, however it is still major surgery. So, ask questions! Remember that this is YOUR baby! It’s so easy to forget that when you have a child with multiple health issues.
• Get lots of “extras!” Every time you’re in the hospital or doctor’s office, make sure you pick up a spare g-tube, extensions, and syringes!
• Find an EXCELLENT Speech Pathologist and Occupational Therapist. Don’t be afraid to “shop around.” Find a therapist who is a researcher and not afraid to think outside the box.
• Don’t be easily offended. A lot of people stared at Darah’s tube because they just didn’t know what it was. If anyone asked me about it, I happily educated them on it. People don’t mean to offend when they stare (or quickly look away), they just don’t know what it is and don’t know how to respond.

I love answering questions about feeding tubes and would love for anyone to take the opportunity to share their tube-feeding story, experience, or question!

Here’s some more resources for you:

Tummy Tunnels

New Visions-Children with Feeding Tubes

Kids with Tubes

Little Bites Support Group

My goal is to breastfeed my daughter until she is one year old. Once she turns one she can switch to cow’s milk. Ace turns 1 in less than three weeks. Lately I have been thinking about my goal to nurse for a year and the decision to wean. I have already begun the weaning process. She only nurses about twice a day and can use a sippy cup if she needs to. I have never really pumped. I never expected the decision to wean to be so emotional.

All my personal reasons to stop nursing aren’t a factor anymore. I wear underwire bras again. I occasionally drink a glass of wine after Ace is down for the night. It doesn’t take Ace long to nurse. It only happens two or three times a day. I am not nervous about nursing in public anymore. The only personal reason that I have left is so I can take antihistamines and certain antibiotics if I get sick.

The convenience of nursing is awesome. I hate doing dishes. I don’t have to go downstairs first thing in the morning to make a cup of milk. My husband usually gets up with me, changes Ace’s diaper and then brings her to me in bed. Right now the convenience outweighs the alternative for me.

My daughter is small for her age as she is normally in the 20th percentile for height and weight. I like that she is still small, so it doesn’t seem weird to me to nurse her. Although when she sits up and nurses it’s a little bit weird. Sometimes I feel like a soda fountain at a buffet.

Nursing has definitely given me a bond with my daughter that I didn’t expect. I had heard about nursing creating a bond between you and your baby, but I didn’t understand what my friends meant. Now I feel like I know. When she nurses we have a connection that I don’t think I would have if I hadn’t nursed.

Ace is increasingly getting more adventurous and doesn’t want to be held as much. My little baby is turning into a toddler. I am not ready to fully wean her, because I am not ready for her to grow up. I didn’t think the first year would go by so quickly. Especially not in her second month when I wasn’t getting any sleep and nursing around the clock. But now she is almost one year old and I need to make a decision.

I know Ace may wean herself any day. My friend Kristin’s son just stopped nursing two weeks before his one-year birthday. There have been two nights where Ace didn’t want to nurse, because she was too full from dinner. It actually made me a little sad.

Right now I am going to continue to nurse past the first year until I have a peace about stopping or Ace isn’t interested anymore. I am happy with this unexpected decision.

I would love to hear your stories! When did you stop nursing? Did your baby wean themselves or did you wean them? How did you make your decision?