Strollers & First Foods?

[CurlyQ284]

1. We have 2. I have a big one with big tires on it so it can go anywhere. It was part of the travel system we registered for. I love it. I got an umbrella stroller when we were driving to Memphis this summer, we couldn't fit the big one plus all our luggage. I use that one more because its small enough to2. stay in my trunk for whatever.

2. We never gave rice cereal. I gave him oatmeal at 5 months. He got really stopped up so I quit oatmeal and gave him sweet potatoes I think. We added oatmeal back in later with no issue.

3. Polly Magic. It folds up really skinny if we need it to. I like it.

[thatgirl2478]

1. We have 3 officially - one is just the stroller frame that our car seat clipped to, one is the main stroller we use (City Mini), and the other is a cheap folding umbrella stroller we bought for my parents to keep at their house.

2. We did rice cereal for a few days, but she hated it. So then we mixed it with fruit puree and she enjoyed that for several months (breakfast).  We started around 6mo.  ETA - I *think* we stayed with veggies for a while - I know she loved sweet potato & peas and was less thrilled about green beans.  But I took the lazy way out and bought the tubs .

3. We have an older BabyTrend - but it has all the same features of the new ones - folds, height adjusts, reclines.

[softspot]

1. We have a contours jogger that was given to us by the couple I used to nanny for. I really liked it in the beginning because the bassinet could face in and out. We're getting a BOB soon because if I want to run the kid has to come with me & he's outgrown the contours.

Eta: I don't mind bringing hitherto big stroller places so won't be getting an umbrella stroller anytime soon. 

2. We skipped rice cereal completely. I did some purée & some finger foods cut into wedges. Just whatever I felt like. He loved (and still does) the squeeze pouches. I try to find the ones with at least 2g of protein (lol) because it makes me feel better for some reason.

3. The stroller gifters also gifted us their Chicco highchair and I hate it. We kept it for a few months & bought a space saver one that hooked to our dining chairs. I really like the simple ikea high chair or the keekaroo.

[Gato]

1. How many strollers do you have... and if you have more than one, which ones and why? 

We have two.  One, our Zippy Inglesina, is our everyday stroller with all the bells and whistles.  I wouldn't recommend this particular stroller, though.  We had one from 2008-2010 that was so awesome, but we got in a car wreck and it, along with the car was totaled.  The replacement we bought had been redesigned and is just not as good.  Glad we didn't pay for it!

Anywho, we also have a Chicco travel stroller, which works really well for travel but actually from 8 months on DD2 really loved for everyday use, too.  It's so easy to maneuver, fold up, and carry.

Oh, yeah, we also had a snap base for our Graco car seat when she was an infant.  So I guess we have three.

2. At what age did you start solids, what foods did you start with and why? I was thinking of starting at 6 months. Did anyone else skip rice cereal and start with something else?

We started at 6 months.  We did rice cereal with DD1 but I thought it was pointless so we started with mild purees and oat cereal with DD2.  We started baby led weaning pretty quickly after that, around 7-8 months, I think?  It went really well and I'm glad I didn't bother much with purees. 

3. Which highchair do you have? Love it or hate it? I am looking at the boon flair and the oxo sprout---any thoughts on those or recommend one you love?

No high chair with either child.  We strapped a Fisher Price Healthy Care booster seat to a dining room chair.  We really loved this solution with both girls because it didn't take up any extra space.  That seat is super easy to transport; we bring it along when traveling so the baby always has a comfortable, familiar place to eat.

[thinkofthesoldiers]

Oct 27, 2013 19:46:46 GMT -5 @theycalledherkate said:

I have a couple of baby-related questions:

1. How many strollers do you have... and if you have more than one, which ones and why? I am curious because I noticed a lot of people seem to have quite a stroller collection and I'm wondering what needs I may not be thinking about (we do want to eventually get an umbrella stroller that's smaller/easier for travel).

We had two. One with rubber tires that we could get through the snow/ice easier. And a city mini to keep in the car for running.

2.  At what age did you start solids, what foods did you start with and why? I was thinking of starting at 6 months. Did anyone else skip rice cereal and start with something else?

We went traditional with our first and just started feeding fruits/veggies with the second. I used oatmeal to thicken it up to get him used to moving more solid food in his mouth as he got older.

3. Which highchair do you have? Love it or hate it? I am looking at the boon flair and the oxo sprout---any thoughts on those or recommend one you love?

Fisher Price space saver for both. Loved it both times. Would buy again if I ever had the need.

TIA!

[speckledfrog]

I have a city mini. I love it. I can push it easily with one hand and it folds like a breeze. I've heard urban moms say they don't like the way it folds (it fold in half so the middle of the stroller is pointing up and the handle bends down to the wheels). I think it's perfect for a suburban mom because it's easy to yank it out of the car and open it in one motion.

We started with sweet potato. We did BLW and started around 6 months.

[starlily]

Oct 27, 2013 19:46:46 GMT -5 @theycalledherkate said:

1. How many strollers do you have... and if you have more than one, which ones and why? I am curious because I noticed a lot of people seem to have quite a stroller collection and I'm wondering what needs I may not be thinking about (we do want to eventually get an umbrella stroller that's smaller/easier for travel). 

We have an Uppa Baby Vista & a cheap umbrella from BRU that we used for travel. I never felt like I needed anything more. Neither one of us jogs and the UBV was easy to use for most of the places we went like shops, parks, restaurants. etc.


2.  At what age did you start solids, what foods did you start with and why? I was thinking of starting at 6 months. Did anyone else skip rice cereal and start with something else?

Our pedi gave the greenlight for rice cereal at 4mos. We tried it and she wasn't interested in solids whatsoever, so we waited until 6mos to try again. We started with rice cereal, because we had it on hand. Then we started veggies, meat, and fruit, in that order because that's what the pedi recommended. We did purees rather than baby led weaning, because DD wasn't interested in BLW but loved to eat purees.

3. Which highchair do you have? Love it or hate it? I am looking at the boon flair and the oxo sprout---any thoughts on those or recommend one you love?

We have the Keekaroo. In theory I love it because it's highly functional and doesn't take up a lot of space. In reality, I feel like we barely used it because we didn't start using it until 9mos or so and DD ditched high chairs and boosters altogether by 17-18mos old. She just wanted to sit in a regular chair.

[cereal K]

Oct 27, 2013 19:46:46 GMT -5 @theycalledherkate said:

I have a couple of baby-related questions:

1. How many strollers do you have... and if you have more than one, which ones and why? I am curious because I noticed a lot of people seem to have quite a stroller collection and I'm wondering what needs I may not be thinking about (we do want to eventually get an umbrella stroller that's smaller/easier for travel). 

2.  At what age did you start solids, what foods did you start with and why? I was thinking of starting at 6 months. Did anyone else skip rice cereal and start with something else?

3. Which highchair do you have? Love it or hate it? I am looking at the boon flair and the oxo sprout---any thoughts on those or recommend one you love?

TIA!

1. We have three - a travel system stroller (hated it, too bulky), a City Mini (the fav, our main stroller), and a cheapie umbrella stroller bought one day when we forgot the CM and needed something. I could have done the whole thing with only the CM.

2. She was 7 months. We should have started at 6 months. We did half cereal half squash for a week, then moved on to straight puréed squash. Skipping the cereal would have been fine. In fact, with the next, we'll probably try BLW.

3. We have a Graco model. I don't know which exactly, but I'm sure it's pretty middle of the road. We liked it. The seat cover came off easily for washing (a must) and the tray and frame were plastic. Good for hosing down. I have no opinion on high chairs.

[starlily]

Oct 27, 2013 20:04:51 GMT -5 @theycalledherkate said:

Oct 27, 2013 20:02:35 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

We had a little booklet that came with our baby bullet that I loosely used as a reference. We also had the baby and toddler cookbook. I really don't follow recipes, so I used it mainly for reference too. It's pretty, lol.

do you love the baby bullet? I am needing to buy a baby food cooker too... I read the babea one or whatever it's called is really small

You don't need a specialty cooker. A pot, possibly a steamer basket, and a food processor/blender is all you need. 

[fryjack2]

Oct 27, 2013 19:46:46 GMT -5 @theycalledherkate said:

I have a couple of baby-related questions:

1. How many strollers do you have... and if you have more than one, which ones and why? I am curious because I noticed a lot of people seem to have quite a stroller collection and I'm wondering what needs I may not be thinking about (we do want to eventually get an umbrella stroller that's smaller/easier for travel). 

2.  At what age did you start solids, what foods did you start with and why? I was thinking of starting at 6 months. Did anyone else skip rice cereal and start with something else?

3. Which highchair do you have? Love it or hate it? I am looking at the boon flair and the oxo sprout---any thoughts on those or recommend one you love?

TIA!

1. I have 3.  A bugaboo donkey because I have twins and I liked all the options it has for configuring.  Its not my favorite.  A bumbleride Indie Twin that I have used every day and LOVE. I jog with it, I never have to think about what I am pushing over-the ride is so easy and smooth,it fits in every doorway, LOVE it.  I also have an Orbit travel system.  I use that one when we travel. I have the travel bag and a kickboard for when the boys are older.  Right now I take it and an Ergo. One rides and one is worn.

2. We started between 6-7 months.  First food was a banana.  We never did rice cereal.  Just straight to pureed foods.

3.I have 2 boon flairs.  I HATE the straps.  I don't even strap the boys in the shoulder part anymore. They are annoying to clean (like all nylon straps) and the trays come with a cover thing.  I don;t know why because food ends up trapped between the tray and the cover.  The brake has never worked on either of the chairs no matter how many times we tried to figure out what we did wrong in assembling it.    If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten the Tripp Trapp Stokke  or the Bloom Fresco.

[bornbaker]

1. We just have one, it's kinda big. I'm starting to think I should just get a small umbrella type stroller. But, we don't really use it that much.

2. Started rice cereal at 4 months - she was eating SO much, 40oz a day! Seemed to be wanting more. We called our pedi to double check. Started veggies at 5 months (green beans!!).

3. We just have a regular Graco highchair. The "chair" part comes off to attach to a regular chair. I'm not sure if I like it, it's a PITA to clean.

[frlcb]

1. Bugaboo Cameleon, Maclaren for travel and City Mini Double

2. 6 months with both kids, did baby led weaning. We never did cereal with either (or purees at all)

3. We have the Tripp Trapp and love it because it pulls up to the table.

[fryjack2]

I had a beabacook. It was dumb, but I used it almost every day. Then I started boiling/steaming larger pots of veggies and mashing them by hand or using a regular blender.

I had a couple babyfood cookbooks. Like I had time to be all fancy with parsnip and cinnamon carrots or whatever The boys got some veggies and some fruit and breastmilk. I did mix some veggies and fruits sometimes.

Sweet potatoes, pumpkin, butternut squash, avocado, banana and apples were a huge hit.

[frlcb]

Oct 27, 2013 20:19:19 GMT -5 @theycalledherkate said:

Oct 27, 2013 20:12:00 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

1. I have 3.  A bugaboo donkey because I have twins and I liked all the options it has for configuring.  Its not my favorite.  A bumbleride Indie Twin that I have used every day and LOVE. I jog with it, I never have to think about what I am pushing over-the ride is so easy and smooth,it fits in every doorway, LOVE it.  I also have an Orbit travel system.  I use that one when we travel. I have the travel bag and a kickboard for when the boys are older.  Right now I take it and an Ergo. One rides and one is worn.

2. We started between 6-7 months.  First food was a banana.  We never did rice cereal.  Just straight to pureed foods.

3.I have 2 boon flairs.  I HATE the straps.  I don't even strap the boys in the shoulder part anymore. They are annoying to clean (like all nylon straps) and the trays come with a cover thing.  I don;t know why because food ends up trapped between the tray and the cover.  The brake has never worked on either of the chairs no matter how many times we tried to figure out what we did wrong in assembling it.    If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten the Tripp Trapp Stokke  or the Bloom Fresco.

We also LOVE our Ergo! Best carrier ever.

Okay-regarding the highchair, thanks for that feedback I actually considered the trapp stokke but have you read the amazon reviews? Several people took their babies to the ER for head injuries because their kids would "push away" from the table and the chair would fall backwards. Enough people posted about it that it eliminated it as an option since I never saw that feedback for other highchairs. I saw the Bloom Fresco but for some reason can't yet bring myself to a place where I'd spend $500 on it...but I do like the design.

Our son would push on it so we placed a 10 lb weight on the bottom (like a hand weight) and it kept it from moving at all. Our daughter has never pushed on it.

[janiejones]

Stroller- City Mini. No reason to get an alternate.
Foods- ~6 monthswe did Baby Led Weaning (see book & cookbook by that name)
High Chair- A friend got us one by Avalon. It has a cute print, and a nice basket for bibs underneath, but the straps suck. I wish I was fancy enough for a Stokke of something.

[Deleted]

I have a Graco Metrolite. It's lightweight, easy to fold & was part of my travel system.

I was gifted a City Mini but it was stolen. I loved it, & I think I will buy a double when I have another baby & just get the adapter bar for the infant seat.

I have a couple of 20.00 umbrella strollers that I was gifted. There fine for mall trips but impossible to steer one handed.

[fryjack2]

@theycalledherkate That's why I bought the Boons instead BUT I HATE highchairs. We fed the boys in their Bebepod chairs for the longest time. I really didn't want high chairs, but H did. We are thinking of getting rid of them and getting what I think @tambcat posted. The inlaws have simple Fisher Price boosters at their house that were sooo easy to clean. And the boys could sit on a chair at the table with us. I think they would have liked to be eating like that from the beginning. I guess you can lower the seat on the Flair and not use a tray, but we haven't tried that.

[AHappierHour]

I have 3. BJCS, double jogger and a snap n go. I will more then likely get a single jogger too.

I started at 6 months with avocado. I introduced all the veggies first then the fruits.

I have some graco high chair sorry I don't remember them name.

[underwaterrhymes]

1. We have 2 and are going to get a 3rd. One is the one the Chicco keyfit snaps into (love love love). And the other is the Bob (love love love). We want something that he can sit in facing out like the Bob, but that takes up less real estate.

2. We started 10 days before his 6 month birthday. He was sitting up on his own and VERY interested in our eating. We started with avocado and moved to sweet potato and then banana. He's had all kinds of stuff now. We've done purees, more lumpy mashed up foods, and also some baby led weaning type foods (sweet potato fries, whole banana, avocado spears, toast and hummus (will be holding off on more wheat although our pedi approved it because he got a rash), and - most recently - chicken (he was not a fan).

3. We have the Graco Blossom and love it. It's not cheap, but it's awesome.

[daisybuchannan]

I have the ubv (everyday stroller) and the bob revolution (for running and the beach mostly). I've never seen a need for an umbrella stroller.

We did oatmeal first and then onto sweet potatoes and steamed apples. I'd skip the race cereal.

[janiejones]

Oct 27, 2013 20:24:26 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

I still don't understand why baby led weaning is called baby led weaning.

Because the baby weans on his/her own schedule.  They supplement their milk with foods they free-feed themselves until they are ready to fully wean.

Does that make more sense?

[lindsaymg]

Strollers-- we had a ton but could have done with the BOB Revolution and the City Mini. The city mini is a one stop shop.

i saw you nixed the stokee trip trap but I love it and we still use it and my kid is 5. It truly is the grow with you chair. Never had a tipping problem. It matches my table perfectly and he has always sat up to the table with us which I prefer. Hip hip for one less giant plastic contraption in my house!

[janetplanet20]

We started solids right at 4 months and skipped rice cereal. He'll be 5 months on Friday and has has had avocado, bananas, apples, mangos and pumpkin.

[janiejones]

Oct 27, 2013 20:45:00 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Oct 27, 2013 20:44:02 GMT -5 janiejones said:

Because the baby weans on his/her own schedule.  They supplement their milk with foods they free-feed themselves until they are ready to fully wean.

Does that make more sense?

Not really. The adult still provides the food. It's not really baby led.

But you aren't putting it in their mouth, they control the amount of solid food they actually eat.

[janiejones]

Also, I was totally confused by it at first.

[mcfelix]

Oct 27, 2013 20:34:57 GMT -5 daisybuchannan said:

I have the ubv (everyday stroller) and the bob revolution (for running and the beach mostly). I've never seen a need for an umbrella stroller.

We did oatmeal first and then onto sweet potatoes and steamed apples. I'd skip the race cereal.

We have the same two strollers. UBV is perfect for everyday/running errands because the basket is so big. It's also easy to steer with one hand, which is important for me because I always have a drink of some sort when I'm out. I love the BOB for running with DS, and for using int the grass, gravel, etc like at the pumpkin patch we went to yesterday. 

DS is only 3 months so we have started solids yet, but we adore our pediatrician and he said he will be talking to us at his 4 month appt about introducing solids. 

We don't have a high chair yet, so thanks for asking this because I am paying attention to the responses!  

[daisybuchannan]

Oct 27, 2013 20:45:00 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Oct 27, 2013 20:44:02 GMT -5 janiejones said:

Because the baby weans on his/her own schedule.  They supplement their milk with foods they free-feed themselves until they are ready to fully wean.

Does that make more sense?

Not really. The adult still provides the food. It's not really baby led. eta: as far as weaning on their own schedule, you can do that with purees. It doesn't really matter, the term just doesn't make sense as it is used!

Lol, yes!

The first time someone explained it to me I was thinking, it's not like the baby is going to wander into the pantry and find some food to supplement when the milk isn't enough.

I'm all about throwing food down and letting him eat what he wants, so I don't think it's totally out there.

[frlcb]

Oct 27, 2013 20:48:03 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Well you just offer with purees! It's not like force feeding lol

Except they are actually feeding themselves. You have no hand in feeding them. You put the food in front of them, and they pick up what they want. 

[Deleted]

Just one good umbrella stroller should get you through Houston until you have two kids.

6 months is pretty standard for solids and I always skipped oatmeal and cereal because it was harder to make than just popping a top off of a jar, or handing baby something off of your own plate.

A cheap high chair is best, IMO. They will destroy it. I always got a space saver high chair and ripped all of the pads off so I could wipe the whole thing down in three seconds.

[frlcb]

Oct 27, 2013 20:58:49 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Well, having done purees and finger foods, it just doesn't feel like that much of a difference to me.

The biggest difference is that you skip purees. Most people who do BLW believe purees aren't necessary. We did both with my son but strictly BLW with my daughter.