Todays Mini Moment - Tommee Tippee Aeroplane Spoons

 

These spoons are a fun alternative for meal times. Both boys loved these with BoyG eating a bit more of his food than normal as he thinks he is super cool to have a spoon that is also a jet plane! BabyG always eats his meals but lately myself and DaddyG are not allowed to feed him. He is getting independent already and refuses to let even his big brother feed him anymore. Everything has to be put onto his tray for him to use his hands. This is good for his development and we don't really mind but it can get a tad messy! These spoons were great though as BabyG thought it was amusing that we were making silly noises whilst trying to feed him. He does let us feed him with the aeroplane spoons as long as he has something to feed himself with as well.

 

These are marketed as 4+ months and are ideally meant for weaning but as I said, BoyG loves them and he has just turned 4 years old so they will last for a long time!

The Aeroplane spoon has added some fun to dinner time in our house. And if the boys are happy to eat their food then I am a happy mummy indeed!!

 

The spoons come in a pack of 2 in either blue or pink and are available from a range of stockists including Asda, Tesco and Babies R Us. You can find a list of stockists on the Tommee Tippee website.

These spoons were sent to us to review from Tommee Tippee.

Tommee Tippee Steri-Bottles - Fuss free, mess free travelling!

I have been sent some steri-bottles from Tommee Tippee to try out. The bottles come sterile and ready to use. You unwrap one bottle, fill it with milk and it is ready to use. Then you just dispose of the bottle afterwards. No washing up, no sterilising, no mess and no fuss.

These seemed such a good idea as having our family spread out, I travel regularly with the boys. And with this gorgeous summer sunshine I am doing a lot of park visits and days out.

It was BoyG's Birthday on Sunday and after his party, his Nanny took him home with her and Grandad to have a mini holiday at her house for a couple of days. DaddyG and I took BabyG and went to collect BoyG on Tuesday. We decided to make a day of it so we arrived at lunch time to surprise the boy and have lunch out in the local garden centre. Once back at Nanny's house it was time for BabyG to have his milk, and this gave us the perfect opportunity to test the sterile bottles.

We got two bottles in the box but you can get larger packs. The teats are wrapped seperatly to the containers, and both are wrapped in a way that means the other bottle stays sterile until you need to use it. I was impressed to find the bottles even had the little cap to keep the teats clean once you have used the bottles.

The only thing that would have been better for us would have been a different teat size. The bottles come with 3+ months size teat but BoyG is 11 months old so he had to work for his milk. This wouldn't stop me buying them in the future though as they are handy to have for a spare for those 'just in case' moments.

Avent combined steamer and blender - the ultimate in home cooked baby food

I like to make my own baby food for BabyG. He prefers home cooked food to jars, it's healthier, and I believe it helps get children used to a wider variety of flavours. BoyG didn't really eat home cooked food as a baby and he is a very fussy eater now! I do try to get healthy food into him and he will eat lots of fruit, but dinners really have to be pasta, or sausages for him to clear his plate. This has made me even more determined to give BabyG food that I have prepared rather than a bland jar of baby food.



My sous chef



I have been putting aside a few bits from our dinners and blending it up to make food for BabyG. This is OK, but it is very hard to blend small amounts of food and I have found myself getting lazy and just buying boxes or jars of branded food.

I have been sent the Philips Avent combined steamer and blender. As I described it in the title of this post, it really is the ultimate in home cooked baby food! I only wish I had bought one of these when BoyG was weaning. I thought I would give it a go today to see how it worked, how easy it is to use, and how long it takes to prepare meals for a hungry baby. I even had a little help putting the food in to steam by BoyG as he loves to be my little helper in the kitchen.



Apple, cinnamon and raisin



It is very simple to use (even DaddyG can use it!!) and easy to wash up afterwards. Included in the box is the steamer and blender, full instructions, quick start instructions for eager people like myself, a measuring jug, a spatula, and a recipe book.

I had been thinking of some recipes to try out before the steamer and blender arrived, but the recipe book included is easy to follow. The meals are quick to prepare, and there are recipes for each stage of weaning.

I have tried out a few recipes. Some my own, some from the book and some that are from the book but I have adapted them to suit the ingredients I had in the fridge.

This is pork, carrot, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, served with mashed potato.

I tried the sweet pepper sauce from the recipe book. I am going to freeze it in small pots and make some baby pasta shapes to go with it when I am ready to use it for a quick supper.



Carrot, mushroom and butternut squash



This has been so much fun to use that I kept going until I ran out of storage pots! My fridge and freezer are now very well stocked! Hopefully dinner time will be a little bit less stressful now that I have one less meal to prepare or think about.

I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone who is looking to make their own healthy and tasty baby food. It makes the world of difference!

I was sent this by Philips Avent, but you can purchase this in Avent stockists or on their website.

A walk in the park - feeding the ducks and playing on the toys

I like to take the boys out of the house but we always seem to end up in the soft play areas which are fine, but it can get expensive and I think BoyG gets bored of them fairly quickly if he goes too often. So I'm always looking for different ideas.

We have started going to the park to feed the ducks once a week. I go and buy a reduced or supermarkets own brand loaf of bread and we head over to Chantry Park. We feed the ducks some of the bread. I can get the bread that is reduced as it needs to be eaten that day but i can't take mouldy bread as a lot of it ends up in BoyG!!

There is a nice playground there which BoyG loves to run about in. He has a go on everything and if we haven't arranged to meet any of his friends there, then he quickly makes some new friends with the other children.

BabyG is still too small for playing in the park and it is still a little cold for him but he is wrapped up warm and all cosy in the buggy so he usually just has a snooze while I watch BoyG have all the fun. I'm sure it won't be too long before BabyG is joining in too!!