To ask what is so wrong with pouches

[HenryIsHungry]

baby food pouches, I mean. Genuine question, not trying to cause a bunfight. I've just tried one of the Ella's Kitchen ones and it was delicious. Ingredients lists just organic fruit and a dash of lemon.

I've spend hours pureeing (combining purees with BLW at the moment and happy with that decision before we ignite that debate!), freezing, then defrosting, warming, washing up blah blah blah, and now wondering why I can't just give him pouches 50 per cent of the time. Surely these foods have the same goodness as my home-cooked creations (and it's not like the food I prepare is fresh, seeing as I freeze it)

I know there's the cost issue, but I'm self-employed, so time spent NOT preparing food, is time spent earning moment or just enjoying some time with DS, so it all balances out I reckon.

Is it because DS would get used to them, so wouldn't make the transition to eating home-cooked food with the family as easily? If so, I'm not sure I buy it. As a family we combine fresh food with convenience food all the time (eg I might make shepherds pie with ready-made mash, pasta with Lloyd Grossman sauce). That's life.

Please someone tell me if I'm missing the point about why they're so bad? Is there something they don't tell you on the packet??

I'm happy to be corrected.

Baby Led Weaning. Where you skip purée and spoon feeding and wean just with whatever you're eating (not mashed or anything). Probably better termed as Exclusive self feeding.

That was to RuleBritannia

Pouches are fine. We do search for ones with less fruit so he's not over reliant on sweeter food. He devoured an Organix one with cheese, sweet orb and courgette the other day.

OP You are right that in rl lots of people will disapprove or think you are not making enough effort. I am one of the few in my nct group who use them. Makes me laugh as I whip out a pouch when we are out and they are shocked as they feed a pre-heated Tupperware of food. They will come round.

I think the pouches taste foul, so I cook from scratch. My parents sometimes give DS pouches when they have him and it doesn't bother me (or him) in the least.

Sorbet, DS is 6 months and loves nothing more than to shovel big handfuls of grated cheese into his little grinning face : )

Wilson, yes it is - here - this is actually where I bought it from as well. I loved mine, the best bit is that it doesn't grate your fingers either and makes a reasonably fine fruit purée.

Oh. I really want a glass grater now. But mine are 10 and 8. I need an excuse that is not 'have a baby' (impractical)

I use pouches and jars oh the shame with my DTs. When they first started weaning, it suddenly dawned on me that I didn't know how to cook AT ALL. Like not even the basics! I was living off ready meals and takeaways and crisps So whilst I learned how to be an adult and cook properly, the twinnies had to have stuff that I couldn't ruin. I'm better now sort of, well, I'm getting there

I use the fruit ones, because peeling, chopping, cooking and blending 20 apples is right up there on the list of 'shit I can't be arsed to do'. Not keen on the savoury ones so am getting much better at cooking. I don't seen any harm in using them, although I do gag a bit when babies are being fed cold savoury pouches or jars of things like stew.

Stealthy and evangelical? Knitting baby slings out of yoghurt? ME?! Oh how little you know, Henry! I am merely an unforgivably lazy mother who will do anything for an easy life. I have two sons aged 4 and 8 and I absolutely hated the weaning process with both of them. The poking of skewers into the tiny holes of badly-designed highchairs, in a fruitless attempt to remove the rotting, stinking food therein. The relentless slime up the walls and in the carpet. The hours spent pureeing foods for my little darlings, only to watch them refuse everything. Aaarrrgghh! I never realised that there was an alternative - I just assumed you HAD to start them off on milky porridge and pureed fruit and vegetable. As I said, DD is supposed to be weaned next month (I've been putting it off until the last possible day - that's how much I'm dreading it). I can't be evangelical about BLW - I've never done it before. But I think I'm definitely going to give it a go this time!

(Or will I automatically change into a hair-shirted, hessian-underthing-wearing, evangelical pinko leftie hippy nutter if I dare to go ahead? Because that might put me off, you know...)

My DS lived off them and now loves broccoli, green beans and peas. He's 5 but stopped having them at around.... 2 ish, I think. I used to keep a few in my bag when we went out so that i could relax a bit if he didn 't eat entirely healthily: at least I knew he'd had some veggies. A godsend, say I :)

DS loves the fruit and veg Ella's Kitchen pouches (and I thought that the bits of puree I tasted from them tasted nice too).

He won't have them on a spoon though. He insists on grabbing the pouch and sucking the puree straight out of the pouch. Puree on spoons get refused at best, and flung on the floor at worst.

You can do puree and BLW. You can't do spoon feeding and BLW because then it isn't BLW.

does it matter all this BLw v puree and spoons just feed your baby how you want I am baffled with competative weaning

I to, am thankful that i had mine before this bollocks was spouted.

Go to any eating place and low and behold, all of the adults are eating using cutlery despite most being spoon fed pureed food (from 3 months old).

Innit birds why does everything have to have a name it is like a club people want to be in,

Thumbwitch what are the Australian ones called? I'm heading over there soonish so would be glad to know what to look out for. Can you buy them in Coles, Woolies etc.?

The fruit ones are fine
The 'meals' taste disgusting, like tinned soup. You don't have to cook just for baby, just mash up whatever you are having. Do a bit on batch cooking for those occasions when you are having a ready meal. My DTs live off our leftovers.

I was told that the pouches contain so much water that they don't satisfy appetite and can lead to more night wakings. The 'chicken casserole' is 33% stock so sounds about right.

Lamazeroo - you can buy them in Coles and Woollies, yes - amazingly they're not too exorbitant! There are a couple of different ones (and I do apologise for the names ) - Organic Bubs is one, Heinz, Rafferty's Garden... Rafferty's Garden was, I think, the first one I found and the others have appeared since I needed them.

If you're going to a big city, you'll probably even find Ella's Kitchen ones too. :)

The baby is not an astronaut. Use a spoon!

I think the Ella's kitchen pouches are great. And much nicer than the purees I made. All 3 of my babies agreed, wouldn't eat much of mine, loved Ella's...

Thanks Thumbwitch

I've always given my dd the odd pouch - if she likes them, why not

I now use them as a sauce and mix with a load of fusilli as a quick lunch for her to take to nursery. The 10 month plus pouches work particularly well for this.

OK... I think (vaguely) there is some concern among HVs etc. that a few parents are OVERUSING pouches.

Like, they are seeing babies who are basically just sucking down lots of (sweet, mostly fruit) pouches in the car seat/pushchair etc. and not actually sitting down for meals and getting used to sitting down, chewing, picking up food etc.

And then the same parents are sort of keeping on and on handing out the pouches of purees even to older babies and toddlers who are capable of chewing, because the pouches are convenient and can be kept in a handbag or car and given to kids to suck down on the run. Jars of puree do not tend to create the same issues because they are not so portable and have to be spoonfed, which is a lot of hassle.

I bought some of the pouch things now and again, esp. when we were travelling as they are so light (although I offered it on a spoon to Cecile, as she was only five months or so, she wouldn't have been able to drink it down by herself anyway), but I think if parents overuse these things and keep on giving them for a long time, there comes a point where it can start to look a bit like giving a child bottles of juice to drink down throughout the day.

I know this is an old thread but I was just checking thread searches to see if anyone has tried any of the new reusable ones now on the market. I'm just about to order the ones from www.littlegreenpouch.co.uk but someone told me about some others and a squeezy thing and not sure which is best? Anyone tried any?