Lazy Snack/Meal Fillers

Just an FYI I started this post about a month ago but things became a little crazy and blogging took a backseat.

I don't know about everyone else but I have lazy days and well sometimes those days turn into a lazy week. It was never a real big deal before we had Jackson. We would just eat random crap around the house for meals, example: string cheese, peanut butter, cereal and potato chips. Since Jackson has started to eat meals with us it has become more of a priority to get our crap together and have 3 meals a day instead of just 1-2.  We still have those lazy days/weeks and for that reason I usually have the following items in my house so when I'm lazy Jackson still gets a decent meal.

Brothers-ALL-Natural Fruit Crisps
I found these at the Commissary I do most of our grocery shopping at.  They are fantastic for meals & snacks and they are less than $1.00 a piece!! Each package contains a ton of fruit...I think the apple one contains about 1 1/2 apples. There is usually at least 1 package in the diaper bag at all times!

Single-Serve Frozen Vegetables
I usually buy Steam Work Organic Single Serve Corn, Broccoli and Green Beans. I couldn't find a website for them so here is something similar. These are awesome because I can pop a bag in the microwave for 3 minutes and I have some good veggies for the little man. Especially veggies that I won't eat like green beans. The single serve bags are perfect because we usually have enough for two different meals.

Gerber Graduates Yogurt Melts
Jackson LOVES these! and I may like the strawberry ones I try to buy the organic line of them but the Commissary I shop at doesn't sell them so we usually have the regular in our house. These are fantastic for snacks in the living room or on the go. This is something we usually grab for the diaper bag when we go anywhere.

Earth's Best Organic Sesame Street Yogurt Rice Crisp Bars
This one can get a little messy but its an easy addition to any meal or to have as a snack.

Organic Just Strawberries
These are a little pricey but they are yummy! There are a ton of different varieties to choose from if you don't want strawberries. We usually have about 3 different kinds at our house and I try not to always buy the same kinds. They also have veggie kinds too if you are looking to add more veggies to the diet.

Now granted these aren't the only snacks and things that Jackson eats, we usually have fresh fruits and veggies to cut up for him, cheese slices, oatmeal, eggs, and bagels w/cream cheese or apple spread. We also have a couple bags of frozen berries, these are super messy and he only gets them on days I know he is getting a bath after breakfast, but its super easy to throw some frozen berries on his highchair while we are cooking breakfast.

Pinterest Friday

I absolutely love pinterest!! I can almost say that it has been a life changing site. I have been meaning to do weekly/monthly oh heck who am I trying to kid, every now and then pinterest recipe/idea posts. And by that I mean crap I got off of pinterest for myself to use, not stuff that people would actually want to pin & repin because I am a creative genius and can explain 100 different ways to use the cardboard from a toilet paper roll. In all reality I have very few uses for the cardboard from a toilet paper roll and am in no way a creative genius!

Anywho back to the point....tonight I was scrolling around on pinterest and came across this pin which then led me to this website which in turn took me to Amazon to buy this cookbook!

I am always looking for ways to prepare different foods for Jackson that are healthy and incorporate fruit and veggies that I wouldn't normally ever buy except for the fact that I am doing almost everything in my power to make sure my son is not a super picky eater like me. I am hoping this cookbook doesn't let me down.  It had great reviews and the recipes that I saw on the website seemed pretty easy which is fantastic since I am not an expert chef...just in case I had some of you fooled :)

The Start of our BLW Journey

Last week Monday the Man and I decided that we thought Jackson was ready to start eating food. He sits up on his own pretty well and tries to eat EVERYTHING within his site/reach.

Since we started this Monday morning at breakfast the first food we gave Jackson to try was toast with cream cheese spread on top, cut into 4 strips.  We took the bread and put it in the toaster on the bagel setting so it only toasted it on the one side.  Which made it not super hard but yet not like normal bread that would get stuck on the roof of his mouth. At first Jackson was just picking it up and kind of playing with it. Then he saw the Man and I eating our toast, so he started putting it in his mouth! Overall I think he really liked it.  He made a complete mess but that comes with the Baby Led Weaning, BLW, territory and he didn't 'really' eat any of it....which is also expected. If I didn't mention it yet probably not slightly extremely scatterbrained lately! with the BLW process/method Jackson will still get all of his nutrients from his formula and it will probably continue to be this way until he is around a year. We gave him a few different foods that day for lunch & supper but stuck to those same 3 foods for the next couple of days to watch for allergic reactions.  In the past week Jackson has had the following foods sometimes prepared a different way than the first time he had them: toast w/cream cheese, toast w/apple spread, apples, bananas, plums, red peppers, green beans, carrots, peas in pod, homemade pumpkin cinnamon pancake, sweet potato and hamburger. Wow by this list he has really tried a lot of foods already!! The only one he really didn't seem too fond of was the banana....the rest of them he seemed to really like, some more than others.

Here are some photos from his first week of trying food!

The 3 above are all from the 1st food we gave him: toast w/cream cheese spread

I can't wait to see him continue to eat and try new foods!  This week he even swallowed parts of some of the foods....the gagging part is probably the hardest part for me.  But gagging is a good thing, it teaches him how much he can put in his mouth and if he is gagging he is still breathing :)  Actually the gagging does not seem to bother him at all.  He will gag and cough a piece of food up that went a little to far back and then he just smiles and puts some more in his mouth!!  

I am hoping to do more individual posts about the foods he tries and how he reacts to them and the different ways they are prepared. 

18 Weeks!!

Wow I can't believe we are already at 18 weeks...we are almost half way done!!

The Scoop:

Weeks Pregnant ~ 18 weeks, Day 1

Size of Baby ~ 5.6 in, the size of a sweet potato or bell pepper

Baby's Weight ~ 6.7 oz.

Baby Names ~ Since we are now 95% sure on the sex of the baby it is just between the two names.  You will find the sex out soon!

What's New ~  I actually had something to put in this spot earlier today but I have forgot it now!  Oh wait...I have now gained as much weight as the entire first trimester in these few weeks of the second trimester.  I still eat about 6 different meals/snacks a day but now the portion sizes are increasing.

What I Should Have Previously Posted But Forgot ~ hmmm...so far I don't think I forgot anything last week

Food That Makes Me Happy ~ Anything that is not healthy!  Laffy Taffy, Sweetarts, dill pickle chips, oh and lets not forget caramel.

Bump Pic ~

Have you noticed that I am wearing leggings or tights in every picture? I couldn't live without them!!

Week 17

The Scoop:

Weeks Pregnant ~ 17 weeks, Day 2

Size of Baby ~ 5.1 in, the size of an onion

Baby's Weight ~ 5.9 oz.

Baby Prediction ~ I have had a few people tell me they think it is a girl...so as of right now there are more votes for a girl than there is for a boy.  Hopefully we can find out soon!!

Baby Names ~ the Man and I haven't talked further about names, so they are still the same.  I am sure once we know the sex of the baby we will have more talks about the names we have picked out so far.

What's New ~ There really isn't anything 'new' from last week.  Belly is getting bigger, pants are still not fitting...I am very thankful that leggings are in style at the moment. Still feeling the baby move on a daily basis.

What I Should Have Previously Posted But Forgot ~ Last week I had my first experience with someone other than myself or my doctor touching my belly.  I am not sure how I felt about it...not going to lie it was a little weird and creepy.  At least it wasn't a stranger and I knew the person....I don't think I could handle a random person just coming up to me and touching my belly!

Food That Makes Me Happy ~ Right now I think Nicki runs to Burger King to get a caramel sundae at least 3 times a week....those things are AMAZING!!

Bump Pic ~

Again not the best picture, I just woke up from a 2 hour nap

Week 16

The Scoop:

Weeks Pregnant ~ 16 weeks, day 3

Size of Baby ~ 4.6 in, about the size of an avocado

Baby's Weight ~ 3.5 oz.

Baby Prediction ~ The same as last week...I think girl, the Man thinks boy

Baby Names ~  Again the same as last week

What's New ~ So I have decided that I was probably lying to myself last week and even the week before. I kept telling my self that I hadn't popped yet and that the baby bump was not very noticeable....I have now had a reality check...I have popped and the baby bump is much more noticeable than what I thought in my mind.  So now I have to break down and probably buy some jeans and dress pants, since most of mine do not fit anymore.

What I Should Have Posted Previously But Forgot ~ So I had to make this section because I am pretty sure I will always forget to post something.  Anyways I have been able to feel the baby move since week 11.  At first it was not very often or for very long periods of time.  Well this week I started to feel the baby move daily, if not multiple times a day and for longer periods.

Food That Makes Me Happy ~ Candy, Caramel, Taco Bell

Bump Pic ~

Sorry for the not so great photo but I was running late for work this morning

15 weeks and counting

The Scoop:

Weeks Pregnant ~ 15 weeks, day 3

Size of Baby ~ 4 inches, about the size of an orange or an avocado

Baby's Weight ~ 2.5 oz.

Baby Prediction ~ I think it is a girl. Nicki things it's a boy. The Man thought it was a girl until 13 weeks, so now he is on the boy bandwagon

Baby Girl Names ~ Last week the list would have looked like this: Harper Marjorie, Scout Marjorie, Madalynn Marjorie, or Kennedy Marjorie.  Well this week the list looks like this: Harper Marjorie or Scout Marjorie still love the other two names, but I guess we have to start cutting them down sooner or later since our baby can not have 4 different first names I should say that the middle name is after both of my Grandma's both amazing women

Baby Boy Names ~ The list has been the same since August: Jackson Henry or Josiah David.  Jackson would be after one of my Grandpa's it is actually kind of confusing as to how that works since his name is actually John and I called him Grandpa Jake but just trust me on this one and the middle name Henry is after the Man's dad.  The other name well is pretty obvious that it would be after the Man.

What's New ~ This week I had to go out and buy some more leggings and shirts to wear with them...belly is growing but I don't think it has 'popped' yet, so waiting to buy dress pants and jeans till then.  I still sleep anywhere from 10-14 hours a day, that includes a mandatory nap. I was a horrible speller before I got pregnant and now it seems I am even worse. I ask Nicki all the time how to spell the simplest of words, even there it took me 5 different tries to spell 'simplest'  If I don't write it down I will not remember it, even if it is 5 min. later.

Food That Makes Me Happy ~ Caramel....I love everything about caramel. Cheese balls are amazing you know like the fake Cheetos. I prefer beef foods over chicken.  I will eat chicken but it normally does not taste very good unless ALL of the fat is cut off of it. Claussen pickles are also a favorite...well they were before I was pregnant too

Bump Pic ~