This Just In: Beaba Baby Food Products

Here at Cotton Babies, we love beautiful, practical and convenient items. New online this week, we have the Beaba Ergonomic Cutlery set. This great set includes a fork and spoon adapted to baby's grasp and a protective storage case for meals on the go. Beaba's Ergonomic Cutlery set is BPA-free and dishwasher safe.

A perfect size to toss into your diaper bag for those meals away from home. The bright colors also coordinate nicely with other great Beaba products you can find at Cotton Babies.

Beaba's Lunch Box is ideal for babies and toddlers on the go, including everything for a complete meal in the minimum amount of space. The Beaba Lunch Box includes a non-slip plate, a container with two large compartments, a "keep warm" type lid and an ergonomic spoon and fork set. All pieces in the lunch box set are microwave and dishwasher safe.

Bright and colorful, the lunchbox features an unique base to help prevent tips and spills. You'll find this feature on other great Beaba products like the soft cups, soft bowls and soft plates.

West County Grand Opening Schedule Of Events

Our grand opening celebration for our West St. Louis County Cotton Babies store is tomorrow, Saturday, January 22 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Special in-store only sales will be available all day in both St. Louis area stores, South County and West County.

Here is the official schedule of events so you can make your plans to attend:

10 a.m. - Store Opens

10:30 to 11 a.m. - Animal themed story time

11:15 a.m. - Kicky Pants and Babysoy kids clothing raffle*

11:45 a.m. - So Easy Baby Food and Better Life raffle*

Noon to 12:30 p.m. - Dr. Eller class previews: "How Mama Got Her Groove Back: Post-partum recovery" and "Home Remedies: Treating Common Ailments Naturally and at Home".

12:45 p.m. - New mama raffle* including items from Medela, Go Gaga, Earth Mama Angel Baby and Lamby.

1 to 1:30 p.m. - Swaddling demonstration with Aden & Anais.

1:45 p.m. - Baby wearing raffle* including items from TogetherBe, Moby and Ergo.

2 to 2:30 p.m. - Cloth diapering 101 class

2:30 p.m. - Cloth diaper packages raffle* including items from Thirsties, Bummis, Sustainablebabyish, Flip, bumGenius, Planet Detergent and Allens Detergent.

3 p.m. - Britax b-Nimble raffle*

3:30 to 4 p.m. - Winter themed story time

4:30 to 5 p.m. - Kids crafts

*Must be present to win raffles.

This Just In: Phil & Ted's Lobster High Chair

I'm sure I'm not the only parent who has ever cringed at the sight of the high chairs available at my local restaurants. Let's face it, a baby wipe is certainly not going to cut it when it comes to that level of dried food grime.

At Cotton Babies, we really love the Phil&Ted's Metoo high chair. It is great because it allows your child to sit at the table with the rest of the family and eliminates the need to use the often dirty high chairs in restaurants. But, we've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newest high chair in the Phil&Ted's line, the Lobster High Chair.

Amy, our Cotton Babies' buyer, was really excited as she shared with me the improvements that Phil&Ted's has added to their popular clamping high chair to make the Lobster better than ever.

The Lobster's upgrades include:

• A five-point harness for securing baby.
• Pincer-like clamps with rubber trim that protect the table while gripping it securely.
• Full size handle grips for tightening the clamps to the table.
• Dishwasher safe, removable food tray.
• A carry bag, to keep lobster in its shell when not in use.
• Padded seat, which is easy to wipe clean and machine washable.

Weighing just under 4 lbs, the lobster might be lighter than your diaper bag! It is extremely travel-friendly, making it convenient to take to restaurants, on family vacations or to grandma's house.

Curious about the ways you could use a Phil&Ted's Lobster high chair? Check out this fun video:

The Lobster is available in two color combinations for $79.99 with Cotton Babies' free economy shipping. While supplies last.

This Just In: Best Homemade Baby Food Book

A new addition to Cotton Babies this week is the book The Best Homemade Baby Food On The Planet.

"Full of recipes to suit every age and stage-from six months all the way to twenty-three months-The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet shows you how simple and easy it is to prepare food your baby will go absolutely ga-ga for. From quick purées like Mighty Tasty Blueberry and Pear Mash and No-Cook Prune Purée, to new and nourishing meals like Sweet Omelet Surprise and Finger-Lickin’ Good Lentils and Potato with Cheese, you’ll find it a breeze to prepare any and all of the recipes you and your little one fancy."

As I flipped through this book I was surprised to see it is more than just quick how-tos and recipes for baby food. While the recipes take up a majority of the book, I was drawn to the final chapters that include charts of vitamins and minerals that explain what each does for baby's body and which foods are good sources of each vitamin or mineral. Another chapter is entitled "Special Considerations" gives information about the differences between food intolerances and allergies as well as a list of "problem foods" which makes it a great resource for any parent.

The book is full of beautiful photographs that compliment the recipes and would be a great gift for any mom-to-be, especially if she is interested in making her own baby food. Pair it with the Beaba Babycook Multiportions Tray and spoons to make a great gift to get the new family off to a great start.

Have you made your own baby food? What is your favorite recipe for your little one?

Lunchtime! Part 2

An easy, healthy meal/snack idea for little ones.

Frozen mixed vegetables.

Served while frozen. Really!

Even the child whose nose often turns up at veggies will like them now because they don't taste like veggies, they just taste like ice.

Lily hates peas. She is the only one of my kids who doesn't like them. But she will happily sit in her high chair and eat frozen peas.

To round out and make a meal with some protein and carbs, you can add in some cheese or some browned ground meat of your choice. Rice or some favorite crackers round out the meal.

And a great teething aid: frozen asparagus!

Lunchtime! Part 1

Toddler Lunch of the Week:
Black beans
Mozzarella Cheese
All Bran Crackers (or other family favorite)

Once baby has tried out several kinds of foods and is getting to the "Me Do It!" stage, meals can get messier, but they can also be more fun.

In an effort to sneak in a little more protein for Lily I have been putting some beans on her high chair tray while we eat lunch. At the start of the week dumped out and rinsed a can of organic black beans and put them in an easy to reach container. Lunch could hardly be easier!

Her favorite menu right now is some sliced up (tiny pieces) of string cheese, about 20 black beans, and some bran crackers. It keeps her busy long enough for me to eat a sandwich in peace.

Remember that even if baby doesn't get all excited about a food item, he may just need a few more exposures to it to decide it is worth eating.

Baby Food Comparison

I wish I could give you scratch and sniff internet for this post because the difference would just blow you away! This is a little experiment you may just have to try at home to really get the full effect.

I purchased a jar of baby food peas and a bag of frozen peas. When I got home I microwaved a bowl of the frozen peas and then whirled it in the blender for a moment or two. Then I put the two kinds of peas side by side so you could see the difference.

Oh how I wish you could smell it too! The frozen peas smell so sweet and fresh and the baby food ones... well I can guess why so many kids hate their veggies if this is their experience with them. The jarred peas hardly smell like food at all.

The textures are pretty different as well, as you can clearly see. The jarred food has an almost gritty feel to it and the frozen ones are just what you would expect from some peas. There are still little pea-casings in the frozen peas, and you may find those in your child's diaper later on. But they are certainly nothing to worry about.

This experiment works with other veggies as well; carrots, squash, green beans, potatoes, you name it. Give it a whirl (in the blender) and see what you think!

Food Fun: A Photo Essay

Zucchini is getting cheap around here, summer must be right around the corner! I bought a bunch the other day and made some very yummy zucchini bread. I had some extra zucchini when I was done mixing so I figured I would just pop it into my Fresh Baby Tray and make good use of it.


When I have been making veggies for the family it has been easy to pop a little of the leftovers into the blender and put them in the tray as well. I have just made sure to cook the vegetables without butter or salt, but those can always be added at the table if you miss them. For my zucchini, I just packed the shredded zucchini down in the tray without any other preparation. By doing this a little at a time, I have not really spent any extra time on freezing baby food. Well, I have to rinse out the blender, but that is only like a minute.

Once they are good and frozen I just pop them out and put them into labeled bags and rinse the tray out so my tray is always ready to catch more leftovers. I use one tray for food and one for breastmilk.

To get the zucchini baby-ready I popped it into a little bowl and microwaved it for 30 seconds, then mashed it a little with a fork.


Then the real fun began! Lily was not too fond of the zucchini, or maybe the texture. But they say that a baby may need to try something up to 15 times before they like it. Since it is such a mild vegetable, I think we will keep trying. This has been her general reaction to most foods, so I am really not too surprised that she was reticent.


In order to give her a chance to really understand what she was getting, I spooned some of it directly into her hand so she could squish it and smell it and put it in her own mouth. Watching babies have new experiences is an amazing privilege of parents and caregivers!


She played with it for a few minutes before it was time for nap. I think we will try it again later on today, maybe it will keep her busy while I try to eat dinner! (Her bib with a pocket kept her nice and clean.)

Other ideas for making your own baby foods:

• Corn, peas, green beans, carrots... pretty much any vegetable that you would eat yourself. We gave Lily a broccoli stalk to chew on while we ate dinner the other day and it kept her busy. She got enough of it to produce evidence in her diaper, even if it didn't look like she ingested any!
• chopped up fruit
• chicken or beef, VERY finely chopped
• cooked beans, whether canned or cooked from died
• leftover breakfast oatmeal

Some combo ideas:

• Beans and rice: I combine some canned beans with a little leftover rice, swirl in the blender (it gets blended less and less as baby grows and gets more teeth) and pop into your freezer trays.
• Chicken and noodles
• sweet potatoes and chicken (this one is a big favorite with my kids!)
• Apples and additive free breakfast sausage

Really the list is endless! Think about what you feed your family already. Start your baby on individual parts of that, about one every 4-5 days. They don't have to have a lot of it for you to be able to tell if it disagrees with them. A lick, a chew, a spit, and their body has been exposed to the new substance. Before you know it they have sampled most of what you are eating yourself. Don't be opposed to letting them experience the food with all their senses and their hair. The whole world is new to them!

Food for Tot

I had hoped that the time would stand still. Breastfeeding is going so swimmingly with Lily, I hate to add the complication of other foods. But the clock never stops, nor does Lily stop growing into her own little person.

In the spare moments I scrape out of my day before falling asleep I have been reading Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter and I am finding it remarkably full of common sense. It is a breath of fresh air and gives me hope that the current problems I am having feeding my 3 year old healthy food (he would live on snacks and never eat at meals if I let him) can be solved for him and prevented with Lily.

When Lily presented me with every single item on the list of readiness for food, I couldn't deny her any longer... and she ate her first food today. And what can I say? She loved it!

But one of the things Ms. Satter mentions in her book is that it is best to mix breastmilk or formula with the rice cereal to keep the child's protein intake up. Mixing it with juice or water (oops, I have always done water... I guess none of my kids have died from it yet.) can increase their carbohydrates and reduce the protein they take in. There was a little more to it, which I will probably butcher if I try to write out, but it was the first time I have really heard a reason for taking the trouble to mix the cereal with breastmilk or formula.

Now it isn't strictly necessary to start solid food with rice cereal or at the same time *I* am doing, but this is one approach. As with all aspects of parenting, it is best to educate yourself and keep in touch with your pediatrician when you have questions or concerns. That said, one of the reasons the author cites for starting with rice cereal is that the child starts out learning how to make the transition from moving food straight down their throat (as with breastmilk or formula) to knowing how to hold the food in their mouth for a moment to manipulate or chew it. Starting with rice cereal diluted with the breastmilk or formula the baby is familiar with allows you to slowly thicken it as the child understands the idea of eating better.

Now all this was to say that I found myself slightly unprepared and really wishing I had anticipated my coming needs with THIS. Of course I could use a regular ice cube tray to store some breastmilk, or even those handy little breastmilk bags, but if I am just using a little at a time, those little bags will get used up fast, and with all the current worries about plastics... well I would just like to avoid that. This handy little ice-cube-tray-with-a-cover is, to quote Cotton Babies directly "FDA-approved food-safe plastic. #4 LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) and #2 HDPE (High Density Polyethylene). Contains no PVC, Bisphenol-A, or Plasticizer". I feel pretty safe about that. And I won't have to run upstairs to pump at the last minute when it seems like a good time for a snack for Lily.

Soon we will be stepping up to new foods and textures and breastmilk for mixing won't be a problem anymore. A tool like this tray will allow me to pull aside some food before seasoning or mixing from our regular meals and chop it up and freeze a little for later. This saves me both time and money. Remember, once the food is frozen, you can pop it out of the tray and store the cubes in another container so you always have room to freeze a little bit more.

And if you have any doubts about making your own baby food, I challenge you to mash up some cooked peas (from fresh or frozen) and compare them to the peas from jarred baby food.

Jarred baby food is nice on the run, but I want my kids to know how great veggies taste!

Oh, one more thing, this little Fresh Baby Food Tray Set costs less than 20 jars of baby food. Just so you know.

Phthalates & BPA - Two chemical compounds we should know more about

I am a cloth diapering mom, but I am also very concerned about the ingredients in other products my children use. One of my sons is very sensitive to detergents and is allergic to cinnamon. Our other son is allergic to corn and to dyes. We actually read the ingredient label now on every single piece of food that comes into our house and carefully watch all of our cleaners for ingredients that will cause reactions. I have been disappointed and surprised at the low levels to which some manufacturers will stoop to hide questionable ingredients. This issue was elevated again today when my husband, Jimmy, emailed me several articles about new research into BPA and Phthalates. The physical impact of these ingredients are often downplayed by United States product manufacturers and trade organizations, but the increasing media attention to this issue has raised the consumer awareness level and is producing an increased number of questions about the safety of products containing BPA and Phthalates.

We've been taught to be mostly concerned about soft plastic toys. However, MSNBC just published an article today about how researchers have found elevated levels of phthalates in the urine of babies just bathed, lotioned or powdered with baby products. The article mentions that artificial fragrances are a known source of phthalates. Unfortunately, my bathtub is currently full of fragranced baby products. I was very surprised to learn that the FDA does not require companies to disclose the exact ingredients in fragrance oils. This explains why we were unaware that phthalates were present in fragrance oils. As a parent, this makes me uncomfortable. As a product manufacturer, I have an ethical issue with hiding ingredients on a label.

This is an important issue for us at Cotton Babies because we recently developed and released bumGenius Bottom Cleaner, a cleansing product designed to be used in combination with reusable baby wipes and cloth diapers. The ingredient providing the fragrance in bumGenius Bottom Cleaner (for use with reusable baby wipes) is 100% natural Vanilla Planifolia. The product and the packaging are completely BPA and phthalate free.

In my travels through the issues related to plastics, I've also recently discovered that plastics can also leach bisphenol A (also known as BPA). Interestingly enough, except for bottles made by a few select manufacturers (including Born), BPA is common in polycarbonate baby bottles. Another report, published this weekend by Canada's leading national newspaper, Globe Life Health, states that boiling water in plastic containers spikes bisphenol A levels. Many parents will actually boil their baby's bottles to sterilize the bottle. Coffee drinkers to put very hot coffee in plastic travel mugs, then later microwave cold coffee in the same mug. Parents often microwave food for their child in a plastic bowl or plate. According to this article, this process can cause "a dramatic spike in the amount of bisphenol A, or BPA, leaching from containers into drinks... Bisphenol A is being reviewed because of health concerns that exposure to the hormone-like chemical could be a factor in recent health trends, such as increasing rates of prostate cancer, earlier onset of puberty in girls and declining sperm counts."

As the mother of two young boys, I find this rather concerning. I don't like to get all worked up about nothing, but found these two articles particularly concerning. We are now in the process of removing plastic sippy cups from our cupboard and moving to several non-leaching options available from SIGG and Foogo, by Thermos.

"Phthalates & BPA - Two chemical compounds we should know more about" is Copyright 2008, Cotton Babies, Inc.