Baby Archives - Persevering Momma

Yumi Baby Food Review – Is It Worth It For Your Family?

September 5, 2020 by Ashley Leave a Comment

My Yumi Baby Food Review

Is fresh, organic baby food worth it?

Yumi baby food is a prepared meal service dedicated to infants and toddlers. They offer new seasonal flavors every week. The reason for the seasonal flavors is because they order their produce weekly from farms and make everything fresh for you. Their food is packaged, sealed, and dated for your convenience. It can even be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Why I Tried Yumi

As a mom of two kids I find my free time to be very limited. I had dreams of making baby food at home to save a little money, but then Covid-19 hit and I just didn’t know what to do. We try to go to the store once every 2 weeks which means I don’t have as much produce in the home and what I do have I try to keep for the 4 year old to eat. I’ve also found it to be hard to find the time to make enough food for the baby with his current appetite and just needed a little help to get us by.

If you don’t know we fought hard with Gideon to get him to eat and gain weight. He had to have timed feeds and we had to give him a higher calorie formula. (He actually still eats the higher calorie formula.) When he turned 6 months old we started to add solids to his diet and that caused a bunch more issues. Once we solved his gastrointestinal issues we learned that he loved solids.

Our now 9 month old baby eats 16-20 ounces of pureed food a day. This means he eats 4-5 jars of baby food a day. I just wasn’t keeping up on making enough food for him that also offered him some variety to expand his palate and dietary needs.

About Yumi

Yumi was started by two women who wanted to be able to provide their children with proper nutrition. Store brand pre-packaged baby foods tend to be filled with added ingredients that make it shelf stable. This means added preservatives and often added sugars to make it more appealing to babies. Babies just don’t need these things and they wanted to provide a service to families that also wanted to offer highly nutritious options for their children.

The Yumi Baby Food Menu

The Yumi Menu consists of a variety of different types of baby food options for each stage of your child’s development. This means they offer foods starting at Stage 1 and going all the way up to Bites and Puffs. Each stage is a little different and offers the recommended options for a variety of different ages.

Stage 1

Stage 1 Foods are made of single ingredient purees. These are smooth and without any real textures to them. They are recommended for ages 5 months or as a first food when you start them with your little one. For instance we used Stage 1 foods starting at 6 months with our son.

Stage 2

Stage 2 foods are a multi-ingredient puree that is also smooth, but often has a little more texture to the food. This option is a little denser and gives the baby a mixed flavor. It is recommended for babies ages 7+ months. I personally prefer these Stage 2 foods over store bought ones as these have a little more added texture and that is a great early introduction to textures when sensory processing issues run in your family like they do in mine.

Stage 3

Stage 3 foods are purees that are multi-ingredient with seeds or grains mixed into them. These foods are recommended for babies age 9+ months old. I just love the cute names of these foods too!

Stage 4

Stage 4 foods are now no longer pureed, but a chunky mix of multiple ingredients that make for a new texture for your baby. This stage helps prep your baby for moving onto finger foods as they get older. This stage is recommended for age 10+ months.

Bites

Bites are cute little bite sized finger foods that are nutrient dense foods for your little ones. Many store bough finger foods offer empty calories with little to no nutritional value to them. These are recommended for ages 11+ months.

Puffs

Puffs are often given as a first finger food to babies because they dissolve/melt in the baby’s mouth and help them to learn to pick up food and to help them work their pinching skills. Options at the store aren’t vast and these puffs offer more variety.

Yumi Packaging

My Yumi packages arrive safely and cold each and every time. They arrive packaged in a box with insultation and two freezer packs. The freezer packs are almost always still completely frozen when they arrive. I was amazed by this the first time I got my box because it shipped from California and arrived in perfect condition.

Each jar is sealed tight with an airtight plastic seal and the seal is dated with a Best By date on it. One of my favorite features is the resealable lid that has a spot for you to write when you opened the jar of food. This is helpful when sampling new foods because you want to have your baby eat the jar within 24 hours of opening the jar.

Yumi Baby Food Taste Test

We jumped into the game with Yumi a little late, but started with some Stage 1 purees at age 9 months because he was a little behind and still trying out many different foods.

Yumi Baby Food Staged Green Beans and Cauliflower

Gideon is a sweet little guy that has had nothing but issues with feeding since birth. At 9 months old we are still packing as many calories as possible into this little guy just so that he stays on his growth curve. We started as simple as possible until we got the okay from his pediatrician, nutritionist, and speech therapist to start introducing the mixed foods.

Gideon has been enjoying his journey into Yumi foods. We are starting to introduce the mixed flavors and will hopefully be trying the Yumi Baby Led Weaning foods and Finger Foods soon. In the meantime Gideon does prefer the less textured foods, but he is slowly adjusting to the more textured foods like the Green Beans. I was actually able to feed a jar to him without a chaser food today! So much progress with this little guy.

The Verdict

The verdict! We are loving everything that is Yumi food. Gideon is enjoying foods that he wouldn’t normally get to try and he is enjoying having fun exploring with them. As you can see in this picture he is even getting a little messy sometimes. This is something I love to see as a mom to children with sensory processing issues. I highly recommend Yumi for you and your little one. Be on the watch for a second post all about the Baby Led Weaning Foods and the Finger Foods.

Get your Yumi Box!

Head on over to Hello Yumi to get your box now. Purchase through my link and get 5 jars for free! I will get points to aid in me getting discounts on their products as well.

Don’t Shame Moms For How They Feed Their Babies

July 13, 2020 by Ashley Leave a Comment

I rarely got backlash when feeding my first son. I nursed him for 26 months and often did it in public without a nursing cover. I’m thankful that I never got told to cover up or stop even when I was nursing him when he was two years old, but I can’t say it has been the same with my second son.

Anyone who knows me knows that I had all the plans to nurse Gideon for just as long as Raiden, however things didn’t go as planned this time around.

I fought. I struggled. I cried. I bled.

And yet I just couldn’t nurse my son. He got a lip tie revision. He got a tongue tie revision. We went to two different lactation consultants for two months. Week after week. I tried pumping. I tried power pumping. I tried every type of milk boosting tip I could find. But I couldn’t get my supply up.

I was going crazy. I had a starving baby.

Yes, he got formula, too. That wasn’t even working.

I felt like I had failed my son and he was only 2 months old.

I felt like I had failed him because people were still pushing me to nurse him. I wanted to nurse him oh so desperately. I just couldn’t do it. I was stressed. I barely slept. I cried the days away. I would try to tell everyone I was done nursing and pumping to only get told to keep trying because my baby needed my milk. I knew this and people just didn’t want to listen.

Then Covid-19 hit and as odd as it sounds it was a blessing in disguise. I didn’t have to hear everyone tell me to nurse. Doctor appointments became fewer and more spread out.

Gideon started to really thrive. I was able to breathe again.

Things aren’t perfect now, but at least he is doing so much better. He has gotten the help he needs and now I can show people that he is doing so much better without my milk.

He is growing and thriving on his medicine and his special formula. He is thriving and hitting milestones because his has his momma back. I’m no longer beating myself up for something that was out of my control. Instead I am happy and helping him to keep growing in our own way.

Getting The Car Ready For a Newborn with a Little Car Seat Safety

June 29, 2020 by Ashley Leave a Comment

This post about infant car seat safety is sponsored by Chicco.

If you are expecting a newborn then there are a few things you might want to do to prepare for baby’s arrival when it comes to car seat safety. I know that I am in nesting mode right now. I have about 10 weeks left until baby arrives and that means I want to make sure everything will be ready and will work for baby when he arrives.

The first thing I like to do is to clean both cars. This allows me to know that I will have a clean area to work with while we play with where the car seat will go in our cars. If you have any other children then you will want to think about whether or not you will need to rearrange any of the seats. We know that we will be moving our forward-facing son to be behind the driver’s side of both cars so that we still have enough legroom for the driver.

One thing to note is that you should not use any aftermarket items with your car seats. This means no seat covers or pads under the car seats unless the manual states that you can use a towel or a product that’s sold by that manufacturer. We personally don’t use anything under our seats.

The second thing you will want to do in the case of using something like the Chicco Bravo Quick-fold Trio Travel System is to take the base for the car seat and try installing it in any vehicles that might use the base when baby arrives. This particular base has a very simple way to level the seat. There are two bubble level guides to check and offers an easy spring loaded leveling system that makes it easy for anyone to level.

Once you have the base installed you can click in the car seat to make sure that there is enough space for the seat to fit comfortably. Without pressure from the seat in front of it. After checking this you may want to practice installing the car seat carrier into the car without the base in case you choose to put baby into a car that does not have a base installed in it.

Prepping For Breastfeeding a New Baby

March 20, 2020 by Ashley Leave a Comment

Prepping to breastfeed your new baby can mean a variety of different things to different moms. New moms often feel lost and overwhelmed by everything that is out there. Even seasoned moms can feel overwhelmed by everything that is out on the market for nursing moms. It has been 3 years since I have shopped for breastfeeding supplies and I have done a lot of research as to what I will need this time around.

A Good Breast Pump

A good breast pump is a must have item for any new mom that plans to be away from their baby for an extended period of time. Most US health insurance plans offer a variety of different breast pump options for free. If you are low income and are on WIC this is also another way you can try to get a breast pump. I would recommend picking one with a closed system as those are easier to clean. In addition to an electric breast pump you might want to look into a manual hand pump or something like the Haakkaa breast milk collector. This works great to catch milk off of the free boob while the baby nurses on the other side.

Milk Storage Bags

If you are pumping then you will want to look into milk storage bags. I liked the Kiinde Twist bags when I had my son 3 years ago because they stand up nicely. If you aren’t planning on having a big milk stash in the freezer then I would recommend these because you can pump directly into the bags with ease. However, if you plan on having a freezer stash I suggest you choose bags that freeze flat to help conserve space in your deep freezer. There are a lot of different breast milk storage bags on the market so you will want to do your research to see which ones work best for you. I liked the Lansinoh bags. For freezing your milk flat you will also want to look into the MAMMaway Freeze It Flat. I would recommend splurging and getting the double version so that you can freeze two at a time. If you will be pumping a lot then you might even want to invest in more than one of these to help speed up the freezing process.

Baby Bottles

Most people think of baby bottles for formula fed babies, but these are important to have if you plan to be away from baby at any time. We tried a million different baby bottles with my son and this time around we are going to try some different ones again. The Comotomo bottles are highly rated as great bottles for nursing children as they help to mimic the shape of the boob. We will also be trying the Evenflo Feeding Proflo Venting Balance bottles.

Nursing Pillow

A good nursing pillow is ideal for at home nursing because a nursing baby gets heavy after a few minutes. So, if you plan to nurse sitting up I recommend getting a nursing pillow. There is quite the variety of nursing pillows out there. I used the Boppy Nursing Pillow with my son, but I am looking into a couple of other options this time around. The Boppy was a little snug on me last time so I want to see if there is something that will fit around my plus sized curves better this time around.

Having Options To Unbuckle Your Child With Physical Limitations

October 4, 2019 by Ashley Leave a Comment

Becoming a mom is terrifying for most if not all women, but for me it was even more terrifying. I had extra fears and apprehensions about becoming a mom. I knew from the get go that it was going to be a daunting task, but the day when reality set in was the hardest. That was the day that I realized I physically would not be able to unbuckle the car seat straps without help!

I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was about 6 months pregnant and we had decided it was time to look into what car seats we wanted to get for our son. We had done tons of research, but ultimately we knew that it had to be a car seat that I was able to use. We walked into Babies R Us and walked straight over to their display of car seats. This where things went wrong.

I walked up and down the aisles trying to push the harness release buttons. There wasn’t a single one in the store that I could remotely push. At this point I didn’t know about the regulations stating how much psi was required for these buttons. If I had known I never would have tried because I have never had that much strength in my hands.

That day I walked out of the store feeling defeated. I was a mess of tears convinced I’d never be able to go anywhere alone with my son because I couldn’t get him out of his car seat. I felt like a failure as a mom and for a moment I had given up.

I thought I would never be able to go anywhere with my son alone. At least not until he was out of car seats. This was devastating news to me.

Then I found the solution I was searching for!

It was just a normal day when I came across the Bucklebopper of Amazon. I started to do research and found that many other devices were starting to pop up in the market for moms and grandparents who needed assistance to press the release buttons on car seats and other Baby related items.

The Bucklebopper

The Bucklebopper was the first device that I tried using with my son. This device fits into the palm of your hand. You place one hand behind the buckle on the car seat and with your other hand you press the post that’s on the Bucklebopper into the button to allow it to release.

For me there was a learning curve with this device because my hands are pretty awkward to hold things and it took me awhile to find the way that felt the most comfortable and actually got the buckle to release. Thankfully it worked well for me for a year before the rubber was worn away and it was no longer working well for me.

The Bucklebee

I was finding that traveling with the Bucklebee was becoming problematic because I liked leaving it in my car, but still needed a way to get my son in and out of his car seat when I wasn’t using my personal car. It was then that I began looking online again and found the Bucklebee.

The Bucklebee is different from the Bucklebopper because this one stays attached to the car seat. The bottom of the device clips around the tongue of the car seat buckle and will hang loosely from the tongue at all times. Again with this device you place one hand behind the car seat buckle and with the other hand you press the device/lever into the button to get it to release.

This one worked very well when my son was in his infant car seat. We didn’t feel comfortable putting it on his convertible car seat, however, due to the fact that he had begun getting curious and we didn’t want him attempting to unbuckle himself while driving. I will also admit that we did also have issues with it coming off of the buckle tongue which was an issue for me because my hands are not strong enough to get the device in place.

This particular device is something that we are interested in reintroducing when our son is old enough to understand that he needs to be buckled in safely into his car seat. I know as he gets older he will want to be more independent and this device would help him to unbuckle himself when we get to our destinations. I will admit that it might not work with all car seats due to the padding on some of the buckles. It will be a trial and error test with some buckles to see if it can reach to unbuckle the straps or not.

The UnbuckleMe

This device I watched a million videos about for almost a year before I finally took the plunge and tried it. Watching the videos I was really unsure that my hands would grip this device well and thought it would not be something that would work well for me.

I was wrong! The UnbuckleMe is my current favorite car seat assistive device. I have found that it is easy to slide the back piece behind my son’s buckle and then press down with the palm of my hand while I pull the buckles free at the same time with my other hand. I feel like this device takes less time and is more comfortable for me to use in my hands.

I also like that I can put the device onto a key chain so that it is easier to find and grab from my bag when I need it.

The Car Seat Key

The Car Seat Key is designed similarly to the UnbuckleMe, however, this device is much smaller and is made from a much firmer plastic. This device is perfect to keep on a key chain with your keys all the time because it is so small.

I personally do not recommend this device to other people with muscle wasting in their hands because the plastic is so hard that it actually hurts to press it into the car seat release. I wince every time I try to use The Car Seat Key because of this. I do not really have any meat to my hands so the device is pressing into fleshy tissue and bones. There is nothing to pad my hand from it.

I do however feel like it works really well for many people and would be a great option for women who get their nails done. When you have long nails it’s nearly impossible to press buttons without breaking them so if you have a device like this you can use your palm instead of your fingertips to press the release button.

If you are looking for something small and don’t have hand strength issues this would work for you. I have seen it work great for women with long nails who struggle to press the button without breaking their nails.

There are finally options to help unbuckle car seat straps!

As you can see there is quite the variety of options for people with weak hands to help them unbuckle car seats. We no longer have to rely on others to help get our children out of their car seats! These devices give us independence that we aren’t ready to lose.