Each stage with a baby seems to get easier and harder at the same time!  Now that AB is one, she is eating regular table food and drinking from sippy cups and while that means no pumps, formula, bottles and puree to lug around, feeding a toddler comes with its own learning curve.  There have been a few gadgets along the way that have made meal times a little easier around our house!

Suction Plate

Picking out what AB is going to eat every night has been a trial and error process. And while there really hasn’t been anything she refuses to eat, she definitely has let us know her favorites (carrots and peas are a big hit!).  So most nights I like to start with what we are planning to eat for the night and maybe change out an item or two if it’s not quite right for her. Say if we are having spaghetti and salad, she may get plain spaghetti noodles, meatballs and peas instead of salad.  And now that she is eating little meals instead of purees I wanted her to have her own little plate for the table. This adorable little divided plate is perfect to keep all her random foods seperated and the suction is a lifesaver; many a meals that would have ended up entirely on the floor have been saved thanks to that little suction pad!  

Squeeze Pouch Toppers

AB is a big fan of her squeeze pouches with fruit and veggies and I am a big fan for their convenience.  These are perfect to stash in AB’s bag for when we are out and about and sitting down to eat a snack isn’t convenient.  My only downside to the pouches were that I still needed to help AB with them so that she wouldn’t squeeze all the contents out at once, and even at her little age, she is already pretty in to doing things herself.  Then my friend told me about these squeeze pouch toppers that have been a game changer. They pop right on to a squeeze pouch and act as a stopper from a squeeze mess! The child just needs to suck on them to get the ingredients out.  And the ones I found on amazon even come with a little carry case so they wouldn’t be lost in the bottom of a giant diaper bag. AB loves these things so much and it has given me a an extra hand during a quick snack break on the go!

A New Use for Bakeware

While it is easier to have a toddler that can eat regular table food (compared to an infant that needs purees), I still find myself taking the time to prep little meals to go for AB when we are headed out of the house.  I always so like to be prepared. For packing up those little meals on the go, I have found using silicone cupcake liners to be the perfect trick. I started using these for my own little snack containers and find they are the perfect size for meals for AB.  I will take a larger tupperware container and use the baking cups to divide up the container. Then I can fit one little toddler approved meal in a handy container and step out of the house!

Kitchen Scissors

I learned about this meal time tip one day while I was dropping off at daycare one morning.  Her sweet teacher was prepping the breakfast for the little ones and she wiped out a pair of scissors to cut up their pancakes… genius!  She said it was much easier (and faster) than using a knife and fork to cut them all up.  And oh man, was she right!   I definitely find cutting up a peanut butter sandwich in to bite size pieces with scissors is so much simpler and less messy than trying to using a knife.   So now at our house we have a pair of dedicated ‘kitchen scissors’ that we use to cut up AB’s meals.

I would love to hear what works for everyone else!  Any tips and tricks you have for making life with a toddler simplified?