Essentials 2/10

I remember reading a list such as this when I was pregnant. It helped me a bit and also made me conscientious, during Ev’s first year, of our needs. Without further ado (since it’s 3 months late anyway. Who am I to make my readers wait?)… I present the ten things we could NOT live without for our first year of parenthood. I’ll post them one at a time because they’ve turned into quite lengthy little guys!

2. Baby Cubes. Many people told me that you could just use ice cube trays to store the baby food but I was confused about “popping them in a Ziploc if you want to go somewhere.” I kept thinking, “But once you’re there, you have to try to get thawed, gooey baby food out of the baggie and into a receptacle to feed babe.” I Googled baby food storage and a million things popped up. You know new moms will buy anything. I spotted these “Baby Cubes” on Amazon and thought they looked easy and reasonable priced (I’m going to stop saying I’m cheap. People will start to believe me.) The reviews were mostly positive. I remember the only negative was that they “popped open on occasion.” The only time mine popped open was if the food was too hot or the cube was too full. I got the 2 oz. 8 packs and, as I made more food (see Essential 7 & 9), ended up with about 8 trays. I tried mini Tupperwares and they just didn’t stack as tightly as I wanted. With the BC, I would stick a couple frozen ones in his diaper bag and, when we got to the restaurant, ask the waiter for a mug of hot water. I’d stick the cubes in and they’d be thawed and hot within minutes and ready to be eaten. The main thing I liked was that you could pack 1-2 if you were just going to be away for a little while but when we went to Florida, I just popped a few of the 8-pack trays in a cooler and he was fed for the week. Anyway, the Baby Cubes worked great. Also, I now use them for his snacks. I fill three up with raisins, blueberries, yogurt puffs, etc. and stick them in his diaper bag. I sometimes even pack them in my lunch for salad dressing or M & M’s (salad dressing and M & M’s??? What a bipolar choice of an example. Am I healthy or no? Keeps you on your feet.)