Baby Gourmet Review

A couple of weeks ago, I received a sample of the Baby Gourmet baby vegetable and fruit purees for review.

About my little tester: 7 months old Naomi. Had only been fed breast milk and homemade purees up to that point. She can be a little fussy with the homemade purees and made it very clear to me that she would not eat just anything I provide in a spoon. Hehe...

The samples were wrapped in a box made of recycled material that looked like this:

Inside, was 9 pouches of food purees:

• 1 pouch of Stage 1 Orchard Apple, Carrot & Prune
• 1 pouch of Stage 1 Juicy Pear & Garden Greens
• 1 pouch of Stage 1 Harvest Pear, Pumpkin & Banana
• 1 pouch of Stage 2 Baby’s Sweet Potato Pie
• 1 pouch of Stage 2 Apple Sweet Potato Berry Swirl
• 1 pouch of Stage 2 Roasted Squash & Fruit Medley
• 1 pouch of Stage 3 Vanilla Banana berry Risotto
• 1 pouch of Stage 3 Tropical Banana Bliss
• 1 pouch of Stage 3 Old Fashioned Apple Crisp

The first thing that got my attention was the packaging. The pouches BPA-free and vacuum-sealed for 15 months of freshness on the shelf. They have bright colours with cute baby pictures and have an attractive look and feel.

I liked the fact that the puree was kept in a soft pouch because it was easy to squeeze it out and use only the quantity needed at a time. I was actually able to drop the puree directly onto the feeding spoon as Naomi was eating and twist the cap back on when she was done for a safe, uncontaminated storage in the fridge. This would not have been possible with a traditional food container in which the spoon is dipped. Not only did this allow me to reduce waste of whatever she is normally unable to finished, but I was thrilled that my usual feeding cup became obsolete and completely optional. I hate dirty dishes... especially carrying them in a diaper bag!

The food is excellent. "One spoon for Mommy, one spoon for Naomi" excellent... She liked every single flavour she had. The trick is simple but efficient: the taste of nasty vegetables is disguised with flavourful fruit combos. Oh and, did I mention her hatred of brocoli? I was yet to find a food combo that would make her accept brocoli (even the sweet potato did not work) until she tried the juicy pear & garden greens I did not think it would be possible. The garden greens are in fact organic brocoli and organic spinach with a zest of organic lemon juice. Yum! She gave me her complete approval.

Did I mention the purees are organic and without added sugar, salt or preservatives? I'm giving it my Mommy approval right there.

This is a review so I must also try to find the product's weaknesses...

I couldn't really find much to be honest... The product had to be ordered online when I first checked. Then I read it would soon be available from every Walmart in North America but I haven't seen it there yet. The website says it should only be a couple of days before it's available at Walmart but it seems the delay has been pushed a couple of times...

The price is affordable and competitive at $19.99 for a mix of 9 pouches (shipping is free) when you compare with other organic baby food on the market.  However, at this price, I don't know who would want to purchase the 12 pouches package for $33.99. I can't find a justification to account for the price difference. I would expect the 12 pouches package to retail around $26, if not less since you're buying more.

In the end, if you're looking for a convenient and healthy organic option to feed your baby when in a rush or on-the-go then I think this product is what you've been dreaming about.  If you're planning to use them for every meal, then you might find them costly if you went with the 12 pack purchase, but your baby will adore you! I wish it was already available at Walmart so I could stock a few before my long trip to New Caledonia next week!

A Birth Story

Friday, June 11th 2010

• 8:30 - Noticing my first real contractions. They are not painful but they last about 45-60 seconds and come back every 5-12 minutes. I charge my iPod touch and start carrying it around as I installed an application (Contraction Master) that let's me time and record my contractions. I'm excited about this as my due date is tomorrow. I'm going to have this baby soon!  Let's make sure these contractions are efficient: I make an appointment with an acupuncturist nearby in the early afternoon.
• 13:00 - First meeting ever with an acupuncturist. I'm a little bit impressed since needles have this tendency to make me light headed. Changes I notice with the treatment: I get waves of heat and cold sweat. More importantly, my contractions stop.
• 15:00 - Contractions are back and come back more rapidly. Still not painful though... I'm gonna see how long this will last...
• 23:59 - no change.

Saturday June 12th

• All day - no change.

Sunday June 13th

• 3:00 - I wake up. These contractions are starting to be more uncomfortable. I proceed to call my dad, who lives across the globe and is awake (mid day) to give him some news. I have a warm bath and wait about 30 minutes in there but the contractions don't slow down or weaken. I call my dad again and decide it's time to wake the daddy-to-be and get ready for the hospital.
• 7:00 - admission to the hospital. A nurse plugs me onto a fetal monitor for 30 minutes and then estimates I'm now 4 cm dilated. Meanwhile, my mom arrives at the hospital and the nurse suggests I should walk a little bit while they get my room cleaned up and ready and should come back in one hour.
• 7:20 - I walk to the car with my mom & the dad to be with the intention of driving to a nearby restaurant to grab a quick breakfast. Once at the car, I figure the idea is not the best: my contractions are feeling much stronger already and I don't feel comfortable sitting in a car driving away from the hospital.

• 8:00 - The room is ready. Another nurse has taken over and reevaluates my condition. I'm now 7 cm dilated!!! Things are moving really fast! Whenever the contractions were peaking, dad to be would push against my lower back to relieve some of the pain. It really helped a great deal. The hip rotations on the exercise ball are very comfortable too and I would have but to my greatest surprise I did not enjoy the bath. WHAT?! I'm a water-lover. A great swimmer. I was absolutely convinced that the comfort of a warm bath would be the perfect environment for me to go through my contractions. I was so wrong! The water made me comfortable, yes, during the contractions only. However, at the end of each contraction, my body would push and during that phase, feeling weight-less on my back in a tub full of water made me feel like I was losing control of my body and was falling back. That was a bit panicking every time until I changed position in the tub and ended up leaving it to return to my room.
• Sometime around 11:30? - Don't blame me for not remembering the timestamps at this point. My mind was busy with breathing :) I went to the bathroom and my water broke on the toilet. Yay. No mess. My cervix is now 8.5 cm dilated. I remember asking my boyfriend to find a nurse and get me an Advil or something mild for the pain at some point but when she came to see me, she laughed and said and Advil would not help with that strong pain and that it was almost over anyways.
• 12:30 - My doctor has arrived and the pushing really begins... It hurts. A lot. It burns but it's almost over. They see her hair and next thing I know I feel a strange sensation as if a monkey was drowning in Jello inside me but I know these are my babies legs and knees kicking inside while the new dad is pulling our baby out and putting her on my chest.

• 13:02 - Our little Naomi is born! 9 lbs 4 oz and 53 cm tall.

Still reading?

Wow! I'm impressed to see exactly the same number of followers from Blogger than the last time I checked about 3 weeks ago! Thanks for your patience and loyalty.

I'm taking advantage of a short baby nap to write the latest news.

You've guessed it - I have birth announcement to make - Sunday June 13th 2010 at 13h02, our baby girl was born weighting 9 lbs and 4 oz and with a head full of hair, after 9 hours of active labor.

Here's a picture of my little angel at the hospital.

Stay tuned for more info on the birth story soon!