The Breakdown of Baby Snacks

I have been writing this post in my head for the last couple days. I am going to try to find some coupon deals and sales, too. Please comment and let everyone here know what you think of these snacks or suggest others.

We haven't tried a lot of the Gerber snacks because they're a little pricey and Maryn is really happy with graham crackers and Cheerios right now. But if you've tried some of the Gerber Graduates stuff (yogurt melts, those fruit roll up things) please let me know what you thought of them! That way I know if they'll be worth the money or not. Cuz as you will see here, some of these snacks really aren't worth it. I hope this post might save some people some money and from some messes....

Graham Crackers *****5 Mommy Stars***** JJJJJ5 Maryn SmilesJJJJJ

Travel Ease and Messiness Factor: These are super easy to travel with, keep a baby busy for a while, and the crumbs can’t really hurt anyone. They don’t usually make a mushy mess like some baby snacks. They can be easily broken in a diaper bag but not so much that it’ll ruin your day…plus, if any crackers get absolutely crushed, at least they were cheap.

Cost: CHEAP! Loving it! These often go BOGO at Publix (don’t know about Kroger yet), and Kroger has a super cheap version, so stock up on coupons if you can and go at it.

American Cheese or Shredded Cheese ***3 Mommy Stars*** JJJJJ5 Maryn SmilesJJJJJ

Travel Ease and Messiness Factor: Obviously, cheese just isn’t something I would take on a trip. Anywhere. This is the only reason I’m giving it three stars. And it can be a little pricey.

Cost: Eh. When you’re child is a human garbage disposal like mine, it can be costly.

I like cheese because Maryn loves it and it keeps her busy while I finish making the pizza or whatever else I’m making with shredded cheese. Most stores have a store brand that is significantly cheaper than Kraft, even with coupons. Plus it’s a good snack all kids of all ages love (including me).

Cheerios *****5 Mommy Stars***** JJJJJ5 Maryn SmilesJJJJJ

Travel Ease and Messiness Factor: What mess? These are my life saver lately. And I’m pretty sure this is how the nursery workers at church entertain Maryn. High chair + Cheerios=Happy Baby

Cost: Awesome. Especially with coupons and sales. These things are always on sale and a box lasts forever.

These are healthier than a lot of other snacks, and can keep a kid busy for a while. They take longer to chew or dissolve than “Puffs” and are basically the best thing ever invented.

Gerber Graduates Puffs ****4 Mommy Stars**** JJJJJ5 Maryn SmilesJJJJJ

Travel Ease and Messiness: Puffs were a lifesaver for me on car and plane trips before Maryn was able to eat Cheerios, but now that she’s almost one, they just melt so quickly in her mouth that she can’t shove them in her mouth fast enough. They don’t make a big mess in the car. We always kept a container of Puffs in the car, in her diaper bag, in the house…everywhere! But now she and I both love Cheerios more.

Cost: Yikes. Target has an off brand and you may be better off trying some puffed cereal. Check your organic cereal section for a puffed rice type of thing. It’ll still be cheaper than buying Puffs, and is probably healthier. Target also has coupons for Puffs all the time, as well as the Publix Baby Club (make sure you join the Publix baby club if you live anywhere near a Publix. You can join online and it’s free. If you’re adopting/have adopted, too!).

Beech Nut Let’s Grow Yogurt Nibbles ***3 Mommy Stars*** JJJ3 Maryn SmilesJJJ

Travel Ease and Messiness: These are about as easy as Cheerios or Puffs but the packages are small and expensive, so as I feed these things to Maryn I constantly think about how much they cost. Not something I want to worry about on trips.

Cost: Yikes again. But these OFTEN go on sale in stores and we ALWAYS find BOGO coupons. So it does work out to be a pretty sweet deal (we paid about $2.00 for 2 bags last week). This was our first time buying them, and I don’t think we’ll be shelling out even $2 for them because Maryn liked them, but she’d pretty much rather have anything else. They are worth a shot to change things up a bit, I think.

Beech Nut Let’s Grow Cookies Banana Flavor *1 Mommy Star* J1 Maryn SmilesJ

Travel Ease and Messiness: Ugh. These make a huge mess. They turn to mush in babies’ mouths, and the mush gets all over their hands and all over everything else. Clothes, carpet, walls…everything gets mushy. Unless you enjoy throwing your car seat cover in the washer, do not travel with these things.

Cost: Yikes. But these are the same type of deal as the Yogurt Nibbles—always on sale, always have BOGO coupons.

Maryn doesn’t like these at all. Today she threw them on the floor in protest and ate peas instead. I suppose they were made to be sucked on, but Maryn wants to bite, so she bites it and ends up with this huge cookie in her mouth. They are really thick! I do not recommend these.

Hot Kid Baby Mum Mum Rice Rusks****4 Mommy Stars**** JJJJJ5 Maryn SmilesJJJJJ

These are amazing, right up there with Cheerios. The only reason I gave them four stars is because they are very expensive and the packages don’t come with many in them…and the packaging is really strange…and they get crushed easily. Also, they dissolve pretty quickly in babies’ mouths, so they go too quickly for Maryn now at 12 months. Graham crackers are a better option for her right now. One thing I liked is that they’re rice rusks and not too filling. So she could eat four of them and not ruin her lunch when our flight got canceled and I had to stand in line for an hour. But anyway…

Traveling Ease and Messiness: These were a huge lifesaver, and a must for all moms traveling far with a baby over 6 months. Mum Mums take a 6-8 month old a while to eat, and they love them, and they make virtually zero mess. The only problem is that they crush and can be completely destroyed quite easily, so if they’re in a diaper bag or carry on, I suggest storing them in a plastic container.

Cost: Whew! Pricey! Never on sale and never a coupon, that I can find. And they’re usually only in stores like Whole Foods or stores with really good organic sections. So while they’re great for travel, if your baby drops one on the airport floor, YOU WILL pick it up and give it right back to her! Not that I speak from experience or anything…

Laundry, Eating, and Recreation

Laundry

We do not yet have a washer and dryer, so we have been taking our laundry to the laundromat. But today I took our laundry to the laundry room here in our neighborhood. Here are the prices:

1 washer load in the laundry room: $1.50 Yearly Cost: $312
1 dryer load in the laundry room: $1.50 Yearly Cost: $312

1 washer load at the laundromat: $1.75 Yearly Cost: $364
1 dryer load at the laundromat: $.50 Yearly Cost: $104

Factor in having to buy disposable diapers and wipes, since we cannot wash them here. Add $350, conservatively.

Since we only have one car and John works when he's not in school, I decided I'd do the laundry bit by bit here in the laundry room. I load up the wagon with Maryn, the diaper bag, my purse, a book to read, toys, water bottles, the laundry and detergent, and we walk there. It only takes 30 minutes or so to wash the clothes. Then I load everything back up and hang it on the clothesline outside our house. So our yearly cost is only about $312-350. That's really not too bad. I don't know what on earth I am going to do if I start babysitting more kids, though! There's a playground right next to the laundry room, so maybe we'll be able to keep it up.

Remember, I got used to doing laundry outside our home while at camp this summer. Thank you God, for preparing me! Now it doesn't seem to be nearly the hassle.


Recreation

I have been a bit curious about Gymboree and all the cool things they must be hiding in there, so I looked up their info. $60/month for a membership! I guess they don't just let you come whenever you want. Needless to say, we won't be doing that.

But I just found out there's an indoor baby pool at the seminary, which is free for us. A Mommy and Me power walking class, AND I decided to make our own really cool play gym right here in the house. Maryn had a blast. I stacked up the pillows and cushions, layed out some fun textured things (non-slip cupboard liners, mats, rugs), and connected our long tunnel (that my mom purchased at Goodwill) to all of it.

This is what Maryn did for a majority of the time:
climb on and off the ottoman. Up and down. Up and down.

Eating

Maryn is at that stage where she's eating more than most four year olds would. And she's been eating off of a plate! No more messy table or trays! At least until she finds out how to throw the plate. One trick with her is to give her the least favorite food first. So today for lunch, I put only peas on her plate first. She ate almost all of them. I was shocked because I really gave her a lot. Then I gave her strawberries and peaches. Then...LAST I gave her macaroni and cheese. I thought for sure she wouldn't be able to eat all of the macaroni, but of course, she did. It was probably a cup and a half of macaroni and cheese! Really, sometimes she eats more than I do.

Baby Food Update

I love strawberries!

Some blueberries, strawberries, honeydew and peaches
I steamed for Maryn, nice and soft...and messy!

Since I have a baby food topic here on my blog now, I figured I'd write a special post about Maryn's eating habits lately. Not that most of you care, but I've had a few new moms with younger babies ask me about food, so here we go.

Breakfast Foods:

Maryn's typical breakfast is baby oatmeal mixed with Yobaby yogurt and hot water. She's been eating this concoction since she was about 6 months old. She usually has a banana to go with it. But since we're financially challenged now, we will be switching to some off brand yogurt, or something like that. :)

Snack Foods:

Maryn has a couple of snacks each day, and it's usually something grainy (graham crackers, crackers, Puffs, Rice Krispies, Beech Nut "Let's Grow" cookies when I get them BOGO, toast, peanut butter toast, etc.) and something dairy (cheese slice, shredded cheese, cottage cheese).

Lunch:

Maryn and I typically share something, and we eat lots of leftovers. Plus I make sure she gets a vegetable and a fruit. She doesn't eat my Ramen noodles, you know. She's really into french cut green beans right now. I try to keep some frozen veggies steamed and ready for her, because we sometimes forget to eat vegetables ourselves. :) We'll have to change our eating habits soon as she begins to realize Mommy and Daddy don't eat THEIR veggies. But vegetables have been the tough thing for me to feed Maryn, because they are often so difficult to get soft enough for her. Thankfully, she's finally gotten the hang of peas. She really struggled with pea skin for the longest time. She loves red peppers, green beans, onions, carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms. I hope we can keep that up.

Dinner:

We try to give Maryn whatever we are eating, plus we make sure she has a protein and a vegetable, which is what we are often lacking. Healthy, I know. I just try to keep hard boiled eggs, tuna, and cottage cheese on hand for proteins if we need some.

Maryn's Favorites:

Maryn is a really good eater. She has discovered the yummiest foods, however, and usually chooses at each meal which food she is going to eat. Some of those favorites are:

Macaroni and Cheese
Spaghetti
Bananas
Rice
Green Beans
Anything cheesy or any kind of cheese
Eggs

Maryn's Least Favorites, the few foods she has nearly refused to eat:

Green and yellow peppers

It's an adventure. Our goal for the next few months is to eat healthier ourselves and try to save lots of money while we do it. Otherwise our children will be raised on Ramen noodles and Totino's pizza. Not good!

Yay for an internet connection! Finally!

This is where Maryn has been eating: In her Bumbo, between the couch and
the ottoman. Because there isn't room for our table yet. We have two piles of
boxes in our dining area. One pile to store at my mom's and one pile to give away.

Anyway, the above picture is of Maryn eating her VERY FIRST plain piece of
American cheese. Later she had a grilled cheese sandwich and she loved
that, too. She is a very cheesy girl. She also had Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
for the first time the other night. She is still a good eater, but now that
she knows what cheese and graham crackers taste like, she isn't too psyched
about peas and peaches.

Here she is eating her lunch today. Pureed fruit, cottage cheese, tuna and peas.
Yum yum! Don't YOU wish I could cook for you, too???

I took some pictures of our apartment today but have decided not to put them up because they make it look like I've been doing NOTHING, when that is far from the truth. Maryn has been quite cooperative and plays wherever I'm unpacking. She even tries to help by handing me things. It's so cute!

Since we've had no internet and since I, for some reason, do not have service on my phone, I've been able to get A LOT done. Mostly, I've been unpacking and sorting books. And throwing away papers and papers and papers from teaching. I don't know why I used to print everything.

Who are you and what have you done with my child?

Allow me to introduce you to our new baby girl, who is not so very much like a baby anymore, with her four teeth, weighing a whopping (haha) 17 pounds, eating grilled cheese sandwiches, and tearing into anything and everything within sight. I can hardly get a picture of her. Nevertheless, I have posted a few pictures of her here, throwing things about and yelling. She definitely does understand "No," or perhaps just my tone of voice while saying "No," and "Maryn Louise..." She will crawl away from whatever danger when she hears me use this tone, only to turn around and get right back into it again.

She hasn't been too happy with her pureed foods anymore and is wanting, of course, to feed herself all the time. So I've done a bit of asking around and we're trying to find ways to feed her nutritionally without spending a fortune. Our latest bright discovery is wheat toast with anything on it--melted cheese, hummus, jam.

While feeding a ten month old really isn't that difficult, it is a bit harder at camp, since we don't always know exactly what will be for lunch and dinner, and I would be in the way if I went back to the kitchen to cook every meal. And neither John or I has time for that, for sure. So, I guess we'll just work on using up the rest of our purees that have been frozen, and slowly move into finger foods. I think we will also try veggie burgers broken into little bits. I have heard that is a good option, as well as some soft little pastas. She had some steamed zucchini the other night and she loved that. But of course, her favorite is bananas. Bananas, bananas, bananas!

Today we went to Peterborough, which is such an adorable little town. But a lot of the people dress like hippies, which seems odd to me. I kind of think that dreadlocks on a white person is gross. White people's hair just wasn't made for that sort of thing, for sure.

Work Ethic

I feel quite tired. Today Donna and I went to the grocery store and got a ton of stuff to make Maryn's food for...well, it just might be enough for the whole summer. So far, we have made (okay, Donna pretty much made) avocado + banana, strawberries and bananas, mango, pears, peaches, chicken, and carrots. And it's only 2:15! That is quite an accomplishment. For me anyway. Donna shows no signs of stopping. Some day, maybe this Erdman work ethic thing will rub off on me.

:)

Catch a Tiger by the...

Tail!

I wish I had a video of Maryn riding her tiger.
It's the cutest thing. She can do it pretty
much all on her own, but she falls off sometimes.
So getting this picture was a little risky!

Yes, that is Maryn eating a graham cracker. Thank God for friends suggesting things to us. I have no idea what to give this child except baby food and puffs. Yesterday, we visited lots of friends, and Maryn ate graham crackers, deli sliced chicken, and veggie sticks. I think I will definitely be buying some organic kind of deli meat, since getting that chicken and stuff into her baby food has been a bit too challenging for me. Or maybe some really cut up rotisserie chicken. What do you all think? I am totally up for suggestions.

We haven't bought a high chair since we're moving--but with all this self-feeding stuff--ummm, yeah. We NEED to buy one as soon as we arrive in Louisville. Maryn is making an incredible mess!

Penny Savers

Yep. I have a bag on my head. :)

I have decided to start slowly putting some meat into Maryn's diet. This week we will try chicken. Here is a picture of the stew I am cooking right now. It includes green beans, carrots, apples, a tiny bit of green pepper, a tiny bit of onion, and chicken breast. I really hope it turns out all right because I'm making it without a recipe. When it's done, it will be pureed (yummy!), poured into a Ziploc, squeezed into ice cube trays, frozen, and then the cubes will be kept in a Ziploc (okay, it's really not Ziploc--it's the off brand) freezer bag.

I like making our own baby food, but it is getting a little harder now that Maryn is eating a large variety of foods. And I still love using our cloth diapers and wipes, though it is a lot less stressful when I know I have disposables to fall back on if I need to. Right now, I think using cloth diapers is easier than making baby food. I guess that's sort of surprising to me.

Making baby food is great for two reasons. 1.) It saves us a little bit of money. 2.) I'd like to think I'm getting Maryn used to the taste and texture of fresh vegetables.

However, by the time Maryn is a year old, I think all we'll be able to afford is canned vegetables anyway! That's all right, though. God will take care of us, whether our food comes canned, frozen, or fresh.

I find it interesting to see how other families save money and in what areas they splurge. For example, John and I work hard to make most of our own meals, our own baby food, we use cloth diapers, and we do a lot of things to try to save money on groceries. But we still try to go out to eat once every week. It would probably save us a good bit of money if we stopped eating out, but it's important to us. I know some women, even though times are tough, still really treasure their once-a-month mommy day that may include a pedicure, or something "splurgy" like that. I, however, don't really enjoy things like that. So I don't spend money on them.

In these economically difficult times, I think it's easy to fall into jealousy. Especially when we women see our sisters spending money on things we consider wasteful. God's teaching me to be more loving and sensitive. He knows that I spend money on things that many would consider extreme luxuries. I can be happy for others, even when I don't feel like it. Because God blesses us all in different ways.

So I am curious to know, in what areas does your family work hard to save? And in what areas do you still try to find ways to splurge?

Back to Childhood

Now that John and I are super thrifty (we were already pretty thrifty before), we planned some very cheap meals this week. Guess where I got my ideas?

I thought back to my childhood...what did my mom feed me when she and my dad had a little kid? What did my aunt Cathy fix for dinner when she and Kent had just had their first baby? And so here is our menu for the week:

Soup and Grilled Cheese
I chose the Mrs. Grass chicken noodle soup that comes in a box and probably has tons of MSG. But it was very cheap and it's one of my childhood favorites. No one makes grilled cheese like my mom. What in the world does she do to make it so good? I've never figured it out. We have to make our grilled cheese with wheat bread, which is definitely not nearly the same. But it'll do. And we don't use butter or Country Crock like she does. It's Smart Balance spread instead. We may need to eat cheap like our parents did, but we can make some healthier choices.

Spaghetti
My mom and grandmother got off really easy with this one, because it was always my favorite thing for dinner and practically the cheapest thing in the world to eat. We make it with no meat but get multigrain noodles with extra protein. Score.

Tater Tot Casserole and French Cut Green Beans
This was my favorite thing that Cathy made, and my uncle Kent would trick me into eating gallons of green beans. Since I have been pregnant, I suddenly can't stand fresh or frozen vegetables and can only muster eating vegetables from a can, which is repulsive to John and kind of makes me feel guilty now that I know how bad canned vegetables are. But, it's either canned veggies or none at all. I finally found a recipe for tator tot casserole because Cathy insists she doesn't really have a recipe. I need recipes. I can't just guess.

Totino's Pizza
Not a childhood favorite, but John's favorite cheap meal. These frozen pizzas cost $1.00. They were on sale this week for that price, but usually they're only 1.20 or something. Great deal. They taste like elephant ears with pizza toppings. Not the healthiest choice, but we're going for cheap here, folks. It may be a good idea for those of you that have starving teenage boys at home. :)

MY FAVORITE!
John hates tuna and is kind of appalled by my "Let's eat macaroni and cheese everyday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!" attitude lately. So, for lunch this week I am eating My Favorite. That's the title. I ate it for lunch all the time when I was little. It's Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with a can of mushroom soup and a can of tuna. It's good hot or cold or lukewarm and it's good for any meal, any snack, at any time of the day or night. It's the best food in the world.

If you have cheap meal suggestions for next week, please send them my way!