Brilliant Baby Food, a review of Cutielunch Reusable Squeeze Pouch

Reusable Pouches might just be my new favorite thing!



Just starting with the legal bit: I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own.

Now for the fun part!  Ever thought to yourself it's so expensive to buy those baby food pouches at the store? And then, your baby turns into a toddler and wants the "fun" ones with the pudding which cost an extra dollar... well, solution found!   Cutielunch Reusable Squeeze Pouch to the rescue!

I always wanted to make my own baby food, but since we always qualified for WIC we got tons of baby food jars from them. I am very blessed to have received all this free baby food, trust me.  I always cry when the kids move up to "real" food!  It is great at home, but when we have to go anywhere it is such a mess taking the little container and trying to use a spoon with a wiggly kid.  Besides, I ALWAYS manage to spill on myself opening the foil top.. seriously, how hard does that have to be.

So, reusable pouches have been on my mind for quite a while.  They always scared me a little bit.  When I had the opportunity to review these and receive a set for free I jumped at the chance.  I wasn't going to spend hard earned money on something I just wasn't sure would work.  Boy, was I wrong.

First, cost.  This particular set of 4 pouches is normally $14.99 but right now is marked down to 10.99.  If you have amazon prime (which seriously is a lifesaver in our house) you get free shipping. That comes out to $3.75 a piece at full price or $2.75 a piece if you snatch them up on sale. You might be thinking "but the grocery store ones are only $1" .... and that brings me to the second point...

Second, YOU DON'T THROW THEM AWAY WHEN YOU ARE DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is a huge issue, the pre-filled pouches at the grocery store get tossed when you are done.  Hello, landfill.  These are sturdy, and meant to be used over and over again.  I love that they are reusable, I will be saving so much more money than buying pouches at the grocery store every week.  Even if I still bought baby food at the store the savings just keep going up. The little glass jars are always cheaper than the new plastic ones, and can be used for neat projects afterwards.  Or, instead of buying 15 little plastic boxes of apples I can buy the big applesauce in the fruit section and save cost and trash.  Huge win. Want to have Apple/Squash mix? They don't sell that... you can just grab two single flavors, throw them in a pouch (I added cinnamon to mine) mix and eat!  So awesome..

Lets talk about the practicality, the logistics if you will.  Because we all know it's no good if the food just pops out of the seal and we're no better off than before... guess what?! DOUBLE SEAL! BAM. The bottom has two zip-lock like seals, they are deeply ridged so they catch the other side really well.  After I made my first batch I opened it to check and could see that the cinnamon had gotten between the innermost seal but the outer seal was there to make sure nothing spilled.  It was my fault for using the shaker instead of a spoon to put the cinnamon into the pouch. Learn from my mistakes! Use a spoon if adding spices! But still, there was no leak.

Only for babies? NO WAY! Lucy thought the picture was so cute. She is very picky about which pouches she will get from the store (they have to be purple or pink lately) but with the fun fruits on these she is happily asking for them!  I can up the flavor level when making pouches for Lucy or keep it bland for the baby.  I am tempted to make some for myself!  I'm thinking a little peach and cinnamon with a splash of vanilla might taste just like cobbler!  Cutielunch Reusable Squeeze Pouch has changed the way I look at snacks on the go.  Want your own set? Click here!  (this is not an affiliate link, I'm not cool enough for one of those yet): Reusable Baby Food Pouch (4-pack) for Homemade Baby Food. Squeeze Pouch Is Great As a Food Container and for Food Storage.

I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own.

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Give a Little Gift

I was born 8 weeks early. I have spent my entire pregnancy praying my baby would not be premature. I have a friend, Janet, and her husband, Mike, who weren't as lucky as I have been.  They don't know I'm writing this post, and I really hope they don't mind. I'll show it to them when we're done here...

Janet and Mike are a sweet couple, smart, and funny. I enjoy their company.  I met them through a friend a few years ago.  

Janet and Mike got pregnant with twins after being married over a decade.  They delivered their babies early, 16 weeks early.  Which means their twins Jaina and Cade were born at 24 weeks. Sweet baby Jaina fought hard for a few days, but is now waiting in heaven for her family.  Cade spent about 4 months in the NICU surrounded by nurses and doctors who cared for him expertly.

I cannot imagine travelling back and forth every day like Janet and Mike.
I cannot imagine the pain of bringing Cade home without his sister.

Cade 4mo old and home!

Why am I telling you this story and showing you an adorable baby photo?  Janet is participating in the March Of Dimes walk and is raising money in honor of her beautiful son Cade, and in memory of her precious daughter Jaina. I'm hoping that by being a friend of TheCatholicLovebirds and all that we love, you might consider donating to this fight.  There are so many babies born early, March of Dimes is doing everything they can to prevent this. When it can't be prevented March of Dimes does what they can to support these babies and their families.  Think of all your friends, how many have been affected by miscarriage, early births, premature or preterm births, birth defects?  Then click the link below and donate.  Donate in honor of the babies that fight to become adults.   Could you give a dollar? One dollar isn't much of a sacrifice really when you think of it... You've probably got that much between the couch cushions.

I've committed to donate a dollar amount equivalent to the weeks at which Lucy is born. What will you commit to?  Pickel Family MOD page

MOD mission statement

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Motivated to be a great father

Today I spoke with my estranged father for the first time in two years.

The back story, briefly, involved dad feeling like my sister and I didn't appreciate him or respect him, and resulted in him telling us he didn't want us in his life anymore. I respected his decision and made no effort to talk to him, until this week, when it was discoverd that I had some savings bonds that needed his signature.

I called him last week, and explained it, and he agreed to meet me today at the bank to sign them. I had no idea how it would go. Would he back out at the last minute? Would he be an ass to me? Fortunately, my fears were soothed when we got into the bank and actually had a pleasant conversation. He asked me about my upcoming wedding, I asked him about his job situation. Nothing angry on either of our sides.

After we got done at the bank, we stood outside and talked for a few minutes. Then dad did something I never would have expected: he gave me his email address, gave me a hug and told me he loved me.

Two years ago, he wanted nothing to do with me. Today, he said he loved me.

I know it doesn't make up for the past, but damnit it felt so good hearing that. I know it will be a long road to reconciliation, but you have to start somewhere, right? Regardless, my father reminds me of Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars. A good man (dad pre-anger), then he turns to the dark side and becomes Darth Vader (dad during the two years we didn't speak), and now, he's close to being like Anakin after throwing Palpatine over the edge. I think Luke's line to Leia could really apply here: "There's still good in him, I know it."

However, this whole issue with my dad has really motivated me to become a great father. I remember all the fun I used to have with my dad: I got to go see his work office a ton of times (he was in the Navy, and big jets and ships are awesome!), he always used funny voices when reading books to us, and he could beat the last four levels of Super Mario Brothers with his eyes closed!

Dad was awesome. And that's the father and husband I hope to be someday: I want to be the Mike Faber of yesteryear! I have so many good memories of my dad (including matching tattoos!) that it would be impossible to be a dad without thinking of him and being inspired by him.

Kids scare me, they really do: the idea of someone looking to me to become a responsible contributer to the good of society is a sobering thought, but I imagine it will be amazing to do the things with my children that I loved so much about my own father.

I just hope he's around to see me use his good material.

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