Persevering Momma

Taking The Day One Spoon At a Time

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

by Leave a Comment

My Yumi Baby Food Review

Is fresh, organic baby food worth it? 

Yumi Baby Food Display

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.

Yumi Baby Food Menu

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.

Yumi Baby Food Green Beans

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

Yumi Baby Food Messy Baby

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.

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

by 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.

Finding Gifts For Those Long Distance Birthdays Thanks to Wicked Uncle

by Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post in which I was compensated in product from Wicked Uncle for my honest opinion of their service and products.

As a parent I know that it isn’t always feasible to make it to everyone’s birthday parties, but I often feel bad when I am unable to show up especially if it is for close family or friends. That is where Wicked Uncle comes into play. They offer high quality gifts that are easy to navigate on their website so that you can find the best gift for that someone who resides a long distance away from you.

When shopping at Wicked Uncle you have the option to gift wrap the items that you are purchasing. You can choose to have one wrapped or multiple items. They allow you to select your paper choice for each item and also allow you to label who each package is for. This is a great feature if you are sending multiple gifts to one address, but they are for multiple people.

I chose to use the alphabet wrapping paper for my son because he is obsessed with animals and we are working on letter recognition right now. It wasn’t any special occasion so I told my son that these gifts were something special for him from his new baby brother that willing be joining us in November.

He was just thrilled to get something special while so much is changing here in the home. When I was picking out toys I looked at products under both the 3 year old boy and the 4 year old boy categories for ideas on what to get him since he is 3 1/2 years old right now. I think I did a pretty good job because he instantly fell in love with all 3 items I got for him.

I have a feeling that I will be using Wicked Uncle’s services to get gifts to a few of my nephews that live far away. We generally can’t make it to their birthday parties due to the distance and timing of their parties so this will give me a chance to get gifts to them without worrying about mailing them after I purchase them.

Going Green While Menstruating – Using Cloth Pads

by Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post about cloth pads, thanks to the Pink Lemonade Shop.

I have been reading about and learning about different options for women when it comes to their menstrual cycle for awhile, but haven’t been brave enough to try any of them yet. Going to MommyCon Chicago has taught me a lot about Menstrual Cups and really put me on the train of finding a more eco-friendly, green option with menstrual products. However, I did not feel like a cup would work for me. My fingers just don’t work well. I instead gave my sister my Diva Cups that I got from MommyCon 2017 and 2018 that she adores and loves.

I have poor dexterity in my hands and over the years have found that there are days when I cannot use a tampon because my fingers just won’t grip the string well enough for me to pull it out. Those days end in tears while I feel ashamed by the fact that I cannot get it out. I know that there have been times when I was stuck in the bathroom for over 10 minutes just trying to get a tampon out.

While Menstruating - Using Cloth Pads

Finding a game changer with Pink Lemonade Shop’s Cloth Pads

Pink Lemonade Shop heard the struggle I was having and sent me 4 different pads to try out. I asked for a variety of different sizes so that I could sample them on days when I had a light flow, medium flow, heavy, and overnight. I will start this off by saying that you cannot get through a full week with just four pads unless you wash them at the end of each day. I personally do not have the time to wash them every day. I did however rinse them out after each use.

Caring for your cloth pads.

Caring for your cloth pads really isn’t difficult. My first cycle using the cloth pads I used one a day and supplemented with disposable pads that were already in my closet from years ago (I hadn’t had a cycle since getting pregnant with my son 3+ years ago). I chose to only wear them at home the first time because I did not know what to expect. The Pink Lemonade Cloth Pads feature wings with plastic snaps on them. I will admit that I had to break the snaps in before wearing the pads because the snaps were a but too stiff at first. I didn’t want to risk getting blood everywhere when I went to take them off.

After breaking in the snaps I had no real problems. When at home I can easily set the pad into the sink while I change it out and then rinse it and hang it to dry. I love just how easy it is to use and just how absorbent the pads really are. The pads are super easy to wash and care for. You can wash them on cool or warm and tumble dry in the dryer. You just don’t want to use bleach or fabric softener in the laundry with the cloth pads.

Building my cloth pad stash.

These four Pink Lemonade Shop cloth pads will be the start to my newly found love for cloth pads. They recommend between 20-15 pads for your stash though each person will know just how many pads they need to get them through their cycle. If you aren’t picky on fabric patterns then you can easily grab one or more of their cloth pad sets to help quickly build your cloth stash.

Surprise Giveaway!

Pink Lemonade Shop Giveaway

Journaling Into The New Year – Ellie Claire Art Journals

by Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post and I received three Ellie Claire Art Journals for this review.

It is the end of the year and that means many people are starting to think about the new year and they are starting to weigh their options on how to change and/or improve their lives in the upcoming year. This does mean resolutions and one thing that I always consider is journaling. I love the idea of journaling, but as an adult I have never gotten into it on a regular basis. As a pre-teen and teenager I journaled on a regular basis and really found that it helped me to feel connected with myself in a new way. This is something I am hoping to finally bring back into my life which is why I am reviewing three different Art Journals today.

I am quite analytical and I am always unsure on what option is the best one for me. The only way I could really figure out what the best option was for me was to look closely at multiple options. In this post I will talk about the in’s and out’s of all three of these journals. Each journal is unique in it’s own way and will be better suited for different people. I hope that this break down review will be helpful to others as it was helpful for me. Now let’s see what these art journals are all about.

Art Style

Faith & Lettering

The art style in Faith & Lettering is definitely one that is of modern design. While there are aspects that remind me of calligraphy it is something that you would find in most modern stores and appeals to a wide audience. I love that the artwork looks like something that isn’t over the top and is something you would see in many people’s homes. This art style is done this way because it is something that people can learn to draw and express themselves with.

The Illustrated Word

This journal is special and unique in its own way and follows the adult coloring trend that has been going on for the past few years. Within this journal is forty illustrations that appear in full color as well as blank for you to color. These illustrations come from the archives of the Museum of the Bible. Each piece tells a story and leaves you thinking about your own devotion to God. You can choose to color your pictures to match the original or to make it your own and showcase your own creativity.

Illuminate Your Story

The art style in this journal represents an ancient art, a historical art, that we don’t want to die with age. Instead this journal teaches the history and process of creating Illuminated Letters. This journal uses this art as a way to create your own story and your own expression through something beautiful and though provoking. The pages within this journal are for artwork and to write about your process and experiences while learning a new form of expression. Each piece helps you to create unique pieces of art that will express your own unique voice.

Inspirational Quotes

Faith & Lettering

The words in this journal are meant to be thought provoking and while many would say they are inspirational while I mainly find them to be thought provoking and to make me question different aspects of my life. This is not a bad thing. For me this is a good thing. I want to be challenged and I want to push my boundaries. Each quote is meant to be journaled about and with that I am pleased.

The Illustrated Word

I have to say of all three journals this one is the least about the quotes. In this journal the quotes lie within the artwork. Not all illustrations have quotes, but the ones that do stand out and are quotes that will help to uplift you and keep your faith in God strong.

Illuminate Your Story

The quotes in this journal feel especially inspirational to me. Maybe it is because the quotes come from a variety of different sources and not just from the bible. A quote that really stuck with me was “Joy cannot be pursued. It comes from within. It is a state of being. It does not depend on circumstances, but triumphs over circumstances. It produces a gentleness of spirit and a magnetic personality. Billy Graham”

Special Features

Faith & Lettering

This journal features a gorgeous hardcover with an attached pen holder on the upper portion of the spine. The pen-holder is made of sturdy elastic that will hold your pen in place thanks to its thick elastic and strong hold. This journal is called Faith & Lettering because it is all about learning how to do lettering on your own. The journal is built around the idea of working on a new lettering project each day and to then have pages to write down your thoughts and devotionals. For example, the first day of journaling says forgiveness and has a lettering activity where it quotes “Draw near to God & he will draw near to you. James 4:8.” This passage goes with the beginning thought helping you to focus and think about the passage and what it means to you while you practice your lettering art. This journaling style is definitely one suited for a crafty soul that wants to have a daily devotional.

The Illustrated Word

While this journal doesn’t boast any extra amenities it does feature a stunning cover full of colorful art that just beckons you inside. This journal is the biggest of all three journals and gives you the most space to color in the full page images that are strewn through the pages. It is one of a kind in its own way because it tailors itself to the creative people. It doesn’t need a pen-holder because with this book you will be wanting a whole pencil case to hold all of your colors.

Illuminate Your Story

This journal features a pen-holder along the top spine like the Faith & Lettering journal; however it also features an elastic closure on the book that can be used to hold it closed or used to hold your pages in place when you are using the book. I always love these elastic closures on my journals because I feel like it is more secure than just being laid down. On top of these additions this journal also features a built in ribbon bookmark and a keepsakes envelope in the back of the book. Each of these features make the journal a more versatile journal. With the elastic closure you can know that your keepsakes will stay inside the pocket even if dropped and you will always know where you left off in the journal thanks to the ribbon bookmark.

Picking a Journal

Picking a journal is still not an easy task. I intend to get a feel of these journals more and see what I think of them. I will be open and honest and admit that I am not a devotional type of girl and don’t find these to be ones that fit my personality perfectly; however, I already have a list of people that I believe would be suited for each of these stunning journals. They are meant for certain people with creative souls.

Do any of these art journals speak to you?