starting old style- tips?

katiesmummy

update on my o/s mission!

i started my menu planning this week and only bought what i needed, more or less! a couple of extra things did slip into my basket but not as many as usual so a drastic improvement.
next week i'm gonna be stocking up on lentils to bulk out my spag bol and lasange etc, both of which are eaten all the time here.
i picked up my first freecycle item today- a whole bag of tupperware all different sizes, but mainly the chinese takeaway type boxes, perfect for freezing separate portions so i'm all set to do my bulk cooking now
i switched my ds milk last week- he seems to be much more content on the farleys and isnt drinking as much as he is now on solids and loving it. i have been giving him jars (yes i'm bad i know) but went and bought a blender today so i can make his food myself- have to change the blender in the morning tho cos the plug is smashed, but will be cooking up a storm tomorrow!
thats it for the moment, but at least i've started. i've been looking at the collections list and god its scary! i think it will take me a whole year to read it all, but am enjoying reading the tips etc

Dioritt

One thing I find useful is to have a list of everything that's in the freezer. It's so easy to forget what's in there and buy something you already have.

I have a ring-binder with plastic pouch type pages in (can't think what they're called) where I keep all sorts of hints and tips, recipies and things and that's where I also have my freezer and larder list. As I use something I either cross it off or mark it as part used. That way I know exactly what I have when I need to make an emergency meal or do the grocery shop. DD can also have a look to see what's available if she wants to make herself something to eat. Saves rummaging through it all.

Sharon J

Lydia.42

Hiya
My son is 9 months old, but i found that i was able to stock up on sma when boots/tesco had it on offer. They had one recently on farleys too. Keep your eyes peeled for them, then stock up if poss.

Re: wipes. Lots of people suggest making your own that you can wash, which can save lots. I'm afraid i didn't get on with this, but it may be worth trying. I now buy tesco's wipes. They do a box of 6 packs (80 wipes per pack) for under £6. Although recently i bought their really cheap ones, and am trialing them to compare (they are about 80p a pack i think).

Nappies i have tried all sorts. At the moment i use tesco's own, and they fit well. Although previously he has worn boots, and they were good too. I have tried sainsbury's, asda, huggies and pampers too. Most were awful and leaked. I think it is all down to your babies shape and size. Perhaps buy small packs of own brands and see if you get on with them.

Good luck on the food planner. I need to do this more. We are currently trying to cut back, and i am appalled at the food we waste!!!!!!

katiesmummy

so far this week i have:

made a fortnights worth of food for ds and put it in the freezer
bought 2 french sticks for 10p each, cut them in half and made garlic bread to freeze
cooked a weeks worth of my meals and bunged in freezer

can you tell i like my freezer?

also got a shedload of tupperware from freecycle for all my cooking etc

bought a breadmaker for a tenner on ebay, picking up on monday
started selling unwanted stuff on ebay to try and make a bit of money

phew...no wonder im exhausted!

oh and i bought a walker for ds from ebay for a fiver

katiesmummy

Dioritt wrote: »

One thing I find useful is to have a list of everything that's in the freezer. It's so easy to forget what's in there and buy something you already have.

I have a ring-binder with plastic pouch type pages in (can't think what they're called) where I keep all sorts of hints and tips, recipies and things and that's where I also have my freezer and larder list. As I use something I either cross it off or mark it as part used. That way I know exactly what I have when I need to make an emergency meal or do the grocery shop. DD can also have a look to see what's available if she wants to make herself something to eat. Saves rummaging through it all.

Sharon J

i know the things your talking about but i cant remember what they are called either!

i do want to make a ring binder, and am keeping my eyes peeled for a cheap printer, or one on freecycle so hopefully i will be able to do that soon

maypole

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

was just going to say

my little boy Ben was born weighing 9lb 7ozs and was on 6 ounce bottles when he came home and on 8 ounce bottles by the time he was 6weeks old, it seemed like i was forever feeding him. no matter what milk he was on i couldnt fill him up, i was on Cow and gate green , then blue, then purple. Then he hit a year old and i put him on full fat cows milk.

My nieces were both 6/7lb babies and ate 4/5ounces bottles up until about 4 months old. So maybe boys are hungrier.

Ben had his first taste of baby yoghurt at 3 and a half months, and his first meal of sloppy baby rice/sloppy rusk with baby milk at just under 4 months old (15weeks) and he has been fine, happy contented baby all the way through (and hes my first if that makes any difference) Hes now 3 and a half years old and taller than he should be, and perfectly proportioned.

Nappies - I tend to use tescos own in the nights as hes only in them then but he has been in them a while except for pampers when he was younger - up until about 4 months old.

Wipes - always used johnsons until he was about 6 months then switched to wilkos brand (the unperfumed ones)

baby food - always made myself unless was caught short when i was out with him

I heard that babies who have a heavy birth weight need to have more food. It would stand to reason.

kunekune

Sounds like you have a doctor who is more sensible than average. There is a lot of propaganda around about baby feeding and sleeping (I went to a conference that was partly about this back in May!). The WHO recommendation on weaning is very general, and it is designed to apply to babies in all countries.Therefore it is advised that they should stay on breastmilk for as long as possible (WHO does not like formula, again for reasons that are mostly to do with third world). I don't think it is really to do with what they can digest, it's to do with maximising the length of time babies are fully breastfed. If a baby doesn't want solid food, it will spit it out.

But the recommendations on everything come and go, and the science can be used to support almost anything. Go with what works for Conor. My son was hungry and suffered from reflux, which meant that thin formula came back. I thickened it for a while and then tried him on 'food' at 12 weeks (this was in 1999). I had to lie to the politically correct Plunket nurse (the hv in NZ) but he finally got happy. My daughter, on the other hand, did not show any interest in carefully prepared purees even at 6 months. They're all different.

sallyrsm

I think Asda own brand nappies are fine, I have also used Morrison's own brand. Much of a muchness, in my opinion...

katiesmummy

kunekune wrote: »

Sounds like you have a doctor who is more sensible than average. There is a lot of propaganda around about baby feeding and sleeping (I went to a conference that was partly about this back in May!). The WHO recommendation on weaning is very general, and it is designed to apply to babies in all countries.Therefore it is advised that they should stay on breastmilk for as long as possible (WHO does not like formula, again for reasons that are mostly to do with third world). I don't think it is really to do with what they can digest, it's to do with maximising the length of time babies are fully breastfed. If a baby doesn't want solid food, it will spit it out.

But the recommendations on everything come and go, and the science can be used to support almost anything. Go with what works for Conor. My son was hungry and suffered from reflux, which meant that thin formula came back. I thickened it for a while and then tried him on 'food' at 12 weeks (this was in 1999). I had to lie to the politically correct Plunket nurse (the hv in NZ) but he finally got happy. My daughter, on the other hand, did not show any interest in carefully prepared purees even at 6 months. They're all different.

i couldn't agree more! and yes my dr is fab.

my ds has been on solids for almost 3 weeks now and he is loving them. he is sleeping much better at night as well so i'm obviously doing something right

rosie-marie

Hi, just wanted to add a bit about nappies. We always used Morrisons own brand nappies. We found them to be as good as pampers and huggies as he got older they were a better fit too. We tried other supermarket own brand but were not as good.

Also re-mince. We stopped buying fresh mince and now use Morrisons veggi mince and cook it in the same way for lasagne, spag bol etc. 1 bag does us 3 meals (1.79 I think for bag). We prefer the taste, when we have gone back to fresh mince we don't like it. It's also fat free!