To give my baby some sauce from a jar?

[crazypenguinlady]

I was supposed to be making salmon with sweet potato and broccoli for dinner but I've come down with an awful cold which is affecting my asthma slightly and DS also seems to be sniffly and looks like his first tooth is coming through. He's actually in a happy mood but we've also been hit with baaaad seperation anxiety and gets cross if I so much as turn my back. I had planned on using his nap to make food but I still need to put shopping away, the house is a mess and need to sort laundry, which I will now need to do once he's asleep.

I'm already struggling as I feel so rotten. I now cannot be bothered to cook the meal I originally planned so was thinking of throwing together some pasta with a sauce from a jar. Can I give some to DS? I'm worried about the salt content.

For context, today he's not eaten much - half a slice of toast with banana, small handful of Cheerios, yoghurt with mixed berries, tiny bit of jacket potato with tuna mayo. Normally, nearly everything is homemade, even chips so only traces amount of salt.

So, AIBU to give him a tiny bit of a ready made jar of sauce for dinner? He's a few days shy of 9 months.

Oh and sorry for the novel, I also needed to vent

What is the salt content?
Depends on the sauce, but once likely won't hurt

Just give him plain pasta or with a bit of cheese.

I absolutely would and have done recently in very similar circumstances.

It's not going to do any harm as a one off. DD absolutely devoured it as well

Hope you feel better soon!

It won't kill him but would it not be just as easy to make pasta and put a bit of tinned tomato (or chopped fresh tomato) and Parmesan on it? No need for a jar, just tomato is fine. Or cream and frozen peas?

I would give it but not make it a regular thing. Make sure he has plenty of water to drink.

User Because cheese isn't full of salt either!?

Yes it will be fine and he will be fine.

Perspective and commen sense is essential not just now but through your parenting journey which lasts until you die so yes he will be fine and survive the sauce

Bit of grated cheese probably has less than sauce from a jar. Or maybe it doesn't...

God of course you can.

My 19 month old ate pom bears and McDonald's chips yesterday. That was it.

Its fine. I would. I would also be very lazy and give cheese or beans on toast or a ham sandwich and some cherry tomatoes. Don't make it harder than you need to.

Oh my goodness, go on. Don't overthink it.

'Perspective and commen sense is essential not just now but through your parenting journey which lasts until you die so yes he will be fine and survive the sauce'

This ^

I was really funny about salt with dd till she was well over a year but looking back I never hesitated to give her tastes of things in restaurants (she's currently licking a hula-hoop she caught me eating a pack of at 2 now)

Maybe you could give him a little bit mixed well but add a little more olive oil to his portion so it thins out more.

Btw cook do some really lovely frozen toddler meals you could keep on standby.

Just wait until they're 7 and live on Haribos and school dinners!
You're fine OP. Do what's easiest on you. Hope you feel better soon.

I think that’s one of the sweetest ops I’ve read here for ages You sound so earnest, he’s very lucky to have you.
Give him the sauce though you big crazy.

Or just keep simple with plain pasta with butter and some grated cheese. If the Tom sauce is a regular adult one I'm not sure I'd use it. I know cheese is salted but it's a common ingredient for babies and toddlers. You don't need a lot of it anyway.

He'll be fine.
But also you could do a scrambled egg if he's ok with egg - fastest food ever!

Always good to have some Ella's pouches or similar tucked in the cupboard.

The jar will be fine but while you're feeling unwell do the bare minimum around the house and have a rest at nap time

I would have been the same as you when weaning DS! Honestly a bit of sauce from a jar is not the devil and it'll be such a small portion for him it won't matter. Perspective is key as commented above,majority of lovely meals from scratch is great, a little bit of short cutting is just what life is like with kids. I am very sick and nauseous in early pregnancy with DC2, so DS1 is getting a few thrown together dinners, sandwiches etc at the moment. He has a big hot meal at nursery so it hardly matters as long as he's fed! I'm eyeing up the fish fingers and ready made mash already for when I go and get him :)

It’s not a diet-staple, they’ll be fine! I caught mine eating cat litter earlier on so I’m sure your pasta sauce will be more nutritious than that

Hope you’re feeling better soon!

Is baby PFB by any chance?

As a one off (or even slightly more often) I'm sure the sauce will be fine.

Jarred sauce is fine. It will do no harm.

I can't get worked up over small amounts of salt especially when it's a one off meal.

Is he your PFB?

I can't see the issue. It's food. I'm sure he'll survive.

Ahh, I remember the days of lovingly buying "baby stock cubes" from Boots because of the salt content. I can't remember if I finished the pack because they were so bland as to be totally pointless.

DS2, I was just grateful that his face didn't turn red and swell up when I tried new foods with him. By then the common sense that the size of portion he could eat massively restricted the amount of salt he could consume anyway, so I gave up worrying about perfectly normal foods like a jar of sauce on pasta

Of course you could, and he'd be fine.

Personally - I wouldn't as it's unnecessary. And nothing to do with 'PFB' as I'm currently on ds3!

At that age I'd just give scrambled egg/plain pasta with grated cheese/veg sticks