BABY FIRSTS: PUREES & SNACKS

watching eliott's eating mature has been so fun. messy, but fun. he's come a long way since my last post & learning his likes & dislikes has been quite the adventure. sharing an update today on our favs when it comes to feeding & food for our almost one-year-old baby boy!

spoon. in my last post, i revealed i spent a cool ten minutes researching spoons. we bought the numnum gootensil back then & still use it to this day. we are slowly starting to train eliott to "dip" & put food in his mouth. not quite there yet, but the fact that the gootensil is flat on both sides gives him a better chance to actually get more food in his mouth than on his tray. & i love that there is no wrong way to hold it. i prefer the flexible material of this spoon over the hard plastic or metal handle ones. its gentler & we use it as a teether too.

bowl. i've been a numnum fan since we bought the gootensils 6 months ago & was thrilled when they recently asked me to check out their beginner bowl. the unique sloped shape makes it easy to dip into & easy to clean. bowl capacity size is perfect as we started practicing with chunkier jar purees that are usually around 3.5 oz too. it doesn't have a suction bottom however it does have a no-slip gripped lining, making it pretty stable. we've had no tip overs or spills yet, woohoo! also, who doesn't like a clean, sleek look? i love the modern feel to it.

bib. who knew how bad baby food stains clothes? lol. with eliott becoming more independent, i love encouarging him by letting him get a little messy when eating. soft silicone bibs have saved many onesies for us. at home, we use these baby bjorn bibs. you'd be surprised how much food it catches. i love that i can just rinse it and throw it in a bucket of warm soapy water to clean it. for on the go, we use these oxo bibs because they are easy to roll up & fit in my diaper backpack. both get the job done & save me a load or two of extra laundry!

highchair. we still use the joovy nook. we really do love this highchair & have recommended it to so many friends. we've taken advantage of the portable use & have taken it by the pool, to the park & to our relative's house this past thanksgiving. it's easy to clean (the tray comes off for quick cleaning), easy to fold, is aesthetically pleasing & not very clunky.

floor mat. ok this was one helpful find. i had been looking for quite some time on something to cover our floor under the highchair....but all i found were mats with bright colors & random designs. i just wanted something simple & clear. so here it is, the nuby clear floor mat. lays flat under your highchair, protects the ground from spills & helps make clean up easier.

purees - pouches. the stories of moms finding mold in their children's pouches still makes me cringe. i am very adament on purchasing purees that i can actually see. so for pouches on the go, i love the happy baby clearly crafted products! eliott does too. recently, plum organics came out with "eat your colors" pouches where they have a clear circle on their pouches. not fully clear, but better than an underexposed pouch.

purees - jars. the nice thing about jars, you usually have 3 days to finish them unlike pouches where you only have 24 hours. we usually take pouches on the go & have jars at home where we can store in the fridge afterwards. earth's best & beechnut are our favorite jars. we've found a good amount of variety in flavors between the two.

snacks. this kid loves to eat with his hands. aside from fruits, string cheese, turkey slices, & whole wheat toast (he loves his deconstructed sandwich lol), some of our favorite grab & go are plum organics super puffs, babymum mum's & happy baby yogi's. i carry all of our small snacks in this cute snack container by skip hop, perfect for bringing along multiple snacks & helping me organized.

special thank you to numnum for sending the gootensils & beginner bowl in exhange for my honest review. i love a company that values giving back. check out their "bite for bite" movement on their website.