Ella pouches and Hipp baby food

[nandossa]

I use these sometimes for my baby.

I feel there is a lot of judgement around this. Is it really so terrible to use these sometimes ?

We use them - not every day, but often enough, and especially out and about. I'm not fannying around making fruit purées at home, so I buy a variety of pouches and keep them in the cupboard until DD's a bit older. Otherwise, she eats pretty much what we do, within reason (not Domino's, say, but our home cooking or parts thereof).

She also has a wheat allergy, so we usually make sure we have a pouch or jar if we're going out - she comes up in big red hives if she has anything wheaty and we'd obviously prefer to avoid that for her if we can. We do adjust most home meals so that she can have some, but that's a process at the moment with a fussy pre-schooler, and the jars are the lesser evil there.

The fact that you know what your friends are feeding their kids 100% of the time would suggest that your friends are sanctimonious twats who have nothing better to talk about. You need new friends, not fewer pouches.

This 10,000%. No one else's business what you feed your kid, as long as you feed your kid. In the purée days I would not have made it through without Ella's - my PFB nerves around lumps and choking and fucking balanced baby diets had me in a chokehold. DD eats everything now - 19 months and both toddler meals from EK and HO as well as homemade meals are on the go here. So handy to heat up a hipporganic meal for a flask on a day out and know she's eaten a good filling meal. Also when I make something new she's not keen on I can just take one of the prepared meals out and boom, hot dinner she will definitely eat.

Not to mention those fruit pouches are so handy for an on the go snack and after breakfast.

Honestly, no one gives that much of a fuck - and if they do, they are the problem.

Also, hard agree with the fact that your 'friends' are a bunch of smug fuckers. I have no idea what my friends feed their kids. None of them seem to have scurvy, so I assume they're all doing okay 🤷🏻‍♀️

I never used them because I just mashed up whatever I was having, still give my little one a baby appropriate version of what I have.

That doesn't make me an organic hippy mum as some posters suggest, it just takes an extra 3 minutes out of my day and is a lot cheaper.

I dont judge anyone who uses the pouches or jars, I just don't think see how it would be any easier in my life personally

No....I felt pressure too with DD1 not to give her much 'shop bought processed babyfood' and whilst ive never really been into or skilled at cooking so I tried to often give her more 'raw foods' or make recipies cooked from scratch.But she still became the fussiest eater and prefers unhealthy stuff 🙄

With DD2 time constraints with having to split myself that much more, although she has still been EBF milk wise, she has had a much heavier diet of 'convenience babyfood'.Sometimes I've felt a glimmer of guilt about it, but she is fine and healthy so I let it go.

Meh...

Fed is best applies as much here as it does to breast / bottle feeding.

There are myriad reasons why someone might want / need to use pouches / jars / pots and myriad reasons why others might not.

Provided that the child is happy fed and healthy the rest is just noise.

That's fine. Honestly in 2 years, people who fed their kids only organic home cooked meals sprinkled with the dust of unicorn manes will be shoving haribo into their kids to keep them quiet at so they can drink their glass of wine in peace.

I think they are fine in moderation, like any other processed food. I used to offer them as snacks or puddings (the fruit/porridge based ones). And the prune pouches are amazing for a constipated baby. Never fed the meal ones because I'm cheap and they seem expensive over just offering whatever I am eating, but nothing wrong with them.

I never gave my baby purees so it never arose he just had a banana or a sandwich or whatever if we were out. They seem expensive and pointless to me but I'm sure they don't do any harm. I don't eat ready meals myself so I don't think it really occurred to me to give them to DS.

Full disclosure though, he chose himself a macaroni cheese ready meal in the shop recently (he's 9) and declared it the most delicious thing he'd ever eaten. I and my homemade only regime will go fuck ourselves I guess. 😒

“The fact that you know what your friends are feeding their kids 100% of the time would suggest that your friends are sanctimonious twats who have nothing better to talk about. You need new friends, not fewer pouches.”

@TerraNostra 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

@nandossa you need to work on having the courage of your convictions.

I know what you mean OP some People act like you’re giving your baby KFC mixed with crack cocaine !
My baby has ella’s pouches sometimes, and the kiddy licious biscuits, wafers, ella’s melts sticks etc. She’s tiny always been 4/5th centile but will give snacks and things a really good go so I encourage it ! No dirty secrets here ! I also choked as a baby to the point of having to go in an ambulance, I don’t remember it but my mum used to bang on about it and is very choking averse so for me some elements of BLW like my tiny baby basically being handed a piece of crusty bread , make me nervous, a personal thing I’m working on. She has some days where she has just a bit of what we are having, loves things like hummus, risotto etc. But also sometimes we want a Dominos so I give her an ella’s fish pie pouch or whatever !

I know kids raised on just jars/pouches, kids raised fully BLW like hardcore ribeye steak at 6 months old bone in like a tiny cave man (🤣), kids raised strict vegan homemade veg mush only, kids who didn’t even have fruit until 18 months as it creates a ‘sweet tooth’ … All of them had some fussiness as toddlers and they’re all just normal eaters now you literally could not tell who was weaned what way.

don’t feel bad for feeding your baby. If they eat you’re doing well!

Who cares really? I use them. I also boil and mash my own veg or blend whatever meal we've had for my baby. Just whatever I can be arsed with that particular day.

Some mums will compete over anything but it really doesn't matter. I would personally say a variety is good for the different flavours and textures but don't get conned into making fresh, organic intricate recipes everyday just because other people are saying that's what they're doing.

You should also remember, OP, that baby food has to meet certain minimum standards; it’s not ridiculously unhealthy or high in salt and sugar. You need to move away from the idea that it is somehow shameful. On the other hand, so-called “healthy” things like wholemeal bread contain a surprising amount of salt, but I bet that your friends think they are doing well to feed it to their children when they make a sandwich for themselves.

Personally, I was never ready to make/eat my own dinner at the time that DS would be eating his tea, I’d wait till he was asleep. We also eat quite salty and spicy food, which is not cooked in a way that allows it to be served to a child in unseasoned form and then spiced up for the adult portions. So I don’t identify with the lifestyle of people who just mash up a bit of what they are having.

I tended to make my own meals - typically took me 30 mins once on a Sunday while I was cooking dinner and then gave them fresh broken up fruit. This worked when I was on maternity leave and then they were in creche so seldom I needed them to be honest.

Honestly with the greatest of respect it is you who says you feel judged - that doesn't mean you are being. If they suit you and you are happy then use them openly and proudly.

My understanding is the advice is for parents to expose little ones to as many flavours and textures as possible, which is logical when you think about it.

I given these multiple times a day. Baby is still alive

I occasionally used them in emergencies when I was out , I didn’t even think about what others thought and I really wouldn’t have cared. Once you stop worrying about what others think you’ll feel much happier for it!

Used them all the time, no negative effects. Stop with the mum guilt ♥️

Oh man, I’ve had three babies over the space of 20 years and this comes up all the time.

One time with my first, I had a horrified family member tell me to steer clear as they were full of “chemicals” and sugar. I got a jar and told her to show me the chemicals and sugar.

There was only potato and sweetcorn in the ingredients. She then started saying they were dirty. She was so angry over them, it was almost funny.

Some people just don’t like them. I don’t know why, who cares who puréed the carrots that the baby will spit out.

All my children have eaten them, and home cooked food too, all have lived to tell the tale.

Occasionally fine, just like McDonald’s is also fine occasionally. They are highly processed and full of sugar, so much so that a report has been made lately about them.
Never used one myself as I just fed whatever food I had in the house, cheaper and healthier!

ihv.org.uk/news-and-views/voices/british-dental-association-research-on-baby-food-pouches/

When weaning I did a mix of homemade and pouches, pouches were convenient when we were out or sometimes when she’s been awake in the night a lot. Since DD started nursery she doesn’t eat anything homemade by me. I do try but I don’t go out of my way to make special meals for her anymore, I’ll save a bit of ours. I have packaged toddler food for when she refuses to eat it and when she’s at home she has a mix of those, scrambled eggs, sandwich or hummus. She eats well at nursery and it’s all homemade there so it’s obviously just my cooking (I thought I was a pretty good cook until I had a toddler).

I use them probably 80% of the time. Happy baby here. Couldn’t care what others think!! Xx

I would have judged you, im now 3dcs deep and realize we are all clinging on for dear life when it comes to the daily upbringing of kids.

PS, when my doorbell goes my youngest runs thinking ive ubered a mcdonalds for dinner

Also purées aren’t a necessity - never did any purée, just straight to proper food!

My daughter was weaned on these and I can't think of a single time I felt judged. Maybe I just live in the wrong area but I've never felt judgment from other mums.

The texture of many Ella’s pouches is very similar to that of a dal, or a slow-cooked stew, or thick soup- all foods enjoyed by adults the world over.

That was to the comment that “purées are not necessary”.