Happy Half Birthday Parker!

Yes, it's true Parker is 6 months old... half way to ONE! Guess I better start planning that birthday party right?? No, I am serious I already have a board on Pinterest. So many changes for this little one, no surprise there as that is what each new month brings. Big changes and small ones each one making Parker the sweet little babe she is today.

Her personality is glowing and we simply cannot get enough of her. I watch her sleep so peacefully while her Daddy wants to put her in our bed every single night. She is full of life and loves to try new things each and every day. She sits up on her own without support ... until she tries to look to the left or right of course. She loves her sisters so very much and is always watching every thing they do. Giggles can be heard nearly every time they are playing with her. She has taken an intense interest in our dog Bella. She loves to grab at her and always has a big smile on her face whenever she catches a glimpse her.

As you guessed it Parker still loves to eat and is eating solids twice a day. She eats very well of course and gets extremely excited each time she sees her food or even a spoon. She's a bit of a chunk and we wouldn't want it any other way. 

Her Smile brightens any room, makes any tough day better, and is completely contagious. We simply do not know what we would do without her. Happy 6 months Parker!

I want to thank you all for your amazing support last month when I decided to share my heart regarding milestones on Parker's 5 month post. It means so much to me to know that we can come together as mothers and as parents to support each other on this crazy ride we call parenting. 

Parker Eats!

As you may remember (as mentioned here and here) Parker loves to eat! I am pretty sure she was preparing to eat while I was still pregnant with her. Baby girl was literally trying to nurse the second I was able to hold her, she wasn't waiting for anyone to give me the go ahead. Nursing was a bit of a struggle for us and I think I now know why, I just couldn't keep up with her demand, but that is okay and we have moved on. At her four month well check we were give the okay to start giving her some cereal. For me this was good news because she was still eating every 3 hours with 6 ounces each time! We started her on single grain oatmeal and she has done great! The first few times of course she was a little confused but now she is pretty much a pro not letting much of anything go to waste! We've been mixing it with a small amount of fruit puree because, well it's kinda bland plain.

We've been giving her the cereal for about three weeks and while she is still eating every three hours, six ounces each time she seems to be a bit more content during the night. Next week Parker turns 5 months so I am sure we will start to venture into giving her more purees. I'm glad to just let Parker guide us on what she wants so no rushing here. We've been there done that 4 times already! I'm not sure if I will make her baby food like I did for the twins (Baby food making), but if she keeps eating (food and formula) the way she is now I may need to!

I love how different all of the girls have been when it comes to their first time eating. It really reminds me to let them each go at their own pace regarding all things in life! It may have taken me 5 kids to figure that out but hey kudos to Parker!

Go to meals {Baby & Toddler}

Our second most popular request was go to meals for baby and toddler! Since I don't have a toddler or have had one in 7 years I have asked another twin mama with toddlers to contribute her go to meals! In this post I will share my go to "meals" for the babies and tomorrow we will have go to meals for toddlers!! 

For starters I have always made the girls baby food I find that it is the most cost effective. I started feeding the girls "solids" around 5 months and we started simple with oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and carrots. The didn't really care for the oatmeal - but a tip with oatmeal and rice cereal...I made it a little on the thick side only because my experience has been that they eat it better when it isn't so runny. 

 Ok so wow my table was pretty messy!! - Guess that is the point right... of this perfectly imperfect life??

This was their first time having oatmeal!!

When we started feeding them solids we started with once per day for about a month then moved to twice per day for about the same duration then onto three times per day. 

Charlotte eating her carrots! Look at that baldy!!

We used the bumbos pretty frequently during the beginning.. mostly because we didn't have highchairs yet!! But they did great in them and they were perfect for setting where ever was convenient for us. 

Now onto what our go to foods were and currently are.

When we (and by we I mean me) started making baby food I stuck to the standards- sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, squash (Summer and yellow). At first I was afraid to make fruit so I continued to buy pre made purees and stick with the veggies. 

They did great with all of the above foods. I was making the veggies around every 2-3 weeks just depending on my storage and how much they would eat. 

As they hit 7 months and were eating more regularly (3 times per day) I started to experiment with different combinations of foods and I ventured into fruits. I went to pinterest as well as another twin momma's blog Life moments with the Massey's (aka 3 Ladies and their Gent) Here to get some ideas. 

At first I kept with the tried and trues- (what they already had and liked). When starting with the fruits I had already had somewhat of an idea what they liked from the store bought baby food so I felt comfortable trying certain things. With the veggies I added a few new items as well as tried mixing some. 

Here is what I made:

Strawberry Applesauce

Peaches & Mangos

Spinach with Raspberries

Carrots & Avocados

Green Beans

Strawberries & Bannans

Broccoli & Rice

Mostly for the fruit I bought frozen with the exception of strawberries, bananas, and apples. I found it was much easier than cutting everything to go into the steamer. Also, for the veggies I buy the broccoli, green beans, and peas (when I make them) frozen. 

Everything was a hit "except" the broccoli and rice- they love broccoli but when mixed with the rice they weren't a big fan. I also found that after it set it was very much like the consistency of paste- yeah not a good combination. Also, I have found that the babes don't really care for bananas added to other foods (at least when I make them :). They really really loved the strawberry applesauce and I have to say so did it!! It was so amazing. 

This group lasted about 3 weeks so another shopping trip was to be had. Again we tried some new things and some oldies but goodies. 

Banana, blueberry, green beans (I guess I didn't learn with the bananas)

Spinach, Arugula, and Apple

Sweet Potato and Mango

Cantaloupe and bananas (again with the bananas)

Strawberries with peaches (and a touch of greek yogurt)

Apples and peas

Broccoli 

Butternut squash

So Clearly this time around I thought I would try the bananas again, but they still didn't work out as anticipated. Neither of the girls really cares for peas so I wanted to try and add something they really like to the mix so I added apples and they love it! YAY! win for mommy! I added some greek yogurt to the strawberries and peaches because the puree was a little too thin plus they love yogurt. The spinach and arugula was a pre mix bag. 

Total cost - $31!!!

Storage options then I will discuss some of my lessons learned!

One of the early pinterest posts I read recommend the use of small glad containers and I love them they are perfectly portioned for my hungry babes. I also like to use the ice cube trays - they are perfectly portioned and easy to pop in the microwave. The other containers shown are store bought and I feel are perfect for littles just starting out eating solids because they don't eat all that much. With the girls now I have to use two of them at a time. 

I put everything I make into the freezer and pull out what I need for one-two days. 

Now some lessons learned

1. My babies don't like bananas useless they are fresh or in store bought purees...Of course your littles may be different this is just my experience so give it a try you never know!

 2. I started out using the baby bullet (simply purees the food) to puree however I now use my food processor. I found that the baby bullet worked ok but it takes too long for my taste especially when I am making a boat load of baby food. My food processor works so much faster and now that I am making the purees a little thicker the food processor is perfect.

3. You will need to steam the frozen fruit- however only until it is slightly tender and no longer frozen. I made the mistake the first time steaming it until it was "soggy" and this really made the purees very runny.

4. Strawberries don't need to be steamed

5. Olivia always makes a face when I give her something new but then the second bite is a little less of that same face and by the third bite she is enjoying the new flavor. Give your littles a chance on new things. Like I mentioned with the peas I wanted them to get the benefits of the veggie but they do not like them at all so I tired to add something sweet and it worked!

6. I do give the girls yogurt - I started with the gerber yogurt in the baby food isle.. the loved it.. make sure you refrigerate. I recently bought some baby yogurt in the yogurt isle and a big hit as well. I am also willing to mix purees with plain greek yogurt. 

It has been a crazy few months making baby food but it has been very rewarding and I feel good about what I have done for my girls. We are venturing into new foods and letting them try some foods we are eating. So far they love... cottage cheese, pasta, bread, and mashed potatoes. They are growing and changing so fast I feel like its just going to quickly... please please slow down!!

Toddler go to meals up next!