To give a pouch of baby food

Even in the documentary they stressed they were fine for occasional use so you don't need to get your knickers in a twist! She'll be grand.

My 3yo has innocent smoothies quite often because of how quick fruit goes off and how often she changes her tastes on what fruit she actually wants. These sit in the fridge and she thinks they're a treat 🤷

Is this a joke question 😂
Omg get a grip

I love this! By baby number 5 I am trying to stop her from licking the bus windows and eating my shoes.

That's really unkind. OP is an actual parent and is, I'm sure, coping just fine. It's perfectly normal for first time parents in particular to feel anxious about certain aspects of parenting and feel under pressure to always do the "right" thing.

ETA: To answer your question OP, I go with an everything in moderation approach. One pouch isn't going to do any harm.

I must be a terrible mother according to some posters.... my 8 and 6 year old still have fruit pouches from Aldi occassionly as fresh fruit goes off so quickly.....

It's fine as a one-off.
I used jars occasionally (as they were back in the day) and would probably use the odd pouch now if I had a baby, although it wouldn't form the basis of their nutrition. One or two a week won't do any harm.
I try to avoid UPFs now, but really if you're giving your baby 90% homecooked, etc. that's fine.

Here is the problem with all the UPF stuff. Should we be aware of the risks and not solely base our diets on them? Of course we all should.

We should not spend our whole lives fretting over them to the point we lose sight of how life really is. Sometimes you will find there are no alternatives and on those rare occasions, fed is best.

In fact, I used to make extra and freeze it so there was always something for them if our meals weren’t suitable.

Posts like these make me feel so sad for new parents who can’t do right for doing wrong and vice versa. It reminds me of the mums who struggled to breast feed because of poor supply/latch and almost starved their babies because they were convinced formula milk was the food of the devil. Give her a pouch and relax OP- food is food. She’ll survive having a pouch or two in her lifetime. Wait till she grows up and develops a taste for UPF.

My two teens had a shop-bought lasagne last night, microwaved 😂🤷‍♀️

I do plenty of meals from scratch but sometimes you’re just knackered and hot.

Lots of us resort to the occasional easy option - including baby pouches. Actually, I damaged my oesophagus the other month while sleeping 🤦🏻‍♀️ so I ate baby food for a few days 😂😂

Occasional is fine OP. It’s a good attitude to have or else you’ll tie yourself in knots trying to be the very best during every waking moment.

My daughter loved this and with butter

Wow, there’s no need to be mean! She’s only asking a question

Boil a potato, drain and mash with some finely grated cheese……my babies loved it and it was so easy to prep.

Frozen peas - the food of the gods!

First job - giver her the pouch.

Next job - delete social media.

I bought some while travelling so I’d have a back up to the usual homemade fare. DD wouldn’t touch them 🤦🏼‍♀️

Mashed avocado and banana went down well at that age as a cold food alternative when it was boiling hot. Cold pasta with some chopped tomatoes and cucumber. You could add a little bacon(but salty), or chicken/tuna , or cheese ?

@JustSaying10

that sounds gross

I'll also add I always have pouches in the cupboard for emergencies or if little one is ill and hasn't had an appetite. He gets tonsillitis a lot, if he's not eaten anything proper for a while, I give him that as its better than nothing. It tends to restart his appetite and we move forward with it from there.

My 8 month old is currently working her way through a handful of frozen peas. As in the peas are still frozen. She'll probably have a nice fridge-cold pouch of something sometime today, along with a lick of her sister's ice lolly. It's ok to make it easy for yourself sometimes, especially in this heat, and baby will learn different things from all varieties of food they are offered. When I'm feeling guilty about this stuff I look for what benefit it's bringing her besides nutrition: fine motor skills, for example, a new flavour, or a social experience. As part of that big picture I really think pouches are fine here and there. Please don't beat yourself up. You're doing great.

Can’t you just nip out to a farmers market or the like OP and pick up some fresh produce to prepare a meal for this evening?

Our household is crazy busy some days which means occassionally we have microwave meals from the shop or a pizza and the youngest has a pouch of food. Everyone is fed, everyone is happy. Every now and then isn't going to hurt us. If anything, an already mega stressed and exhausted mum with even more to do will have more of a negative impact on the family as a whole than a bit of processed food. We're all doing our best! Don't stress yourself....it's far too hot for that 😅

I completely second this comment

Mashed potato with some stewed apple? You could boil or do a single potato and apple in the microwave.

DD had a few of them thrown in with mostly "real" food. She's fine, she eats well.

Today she's mostly living on fruit, cheese and ice lollies because she doesn't want anything else. Nor do I tbh.

In the same way it's fine for the odd takeaway or bit of junk for us, a pouch here and there will do no harm.