u/negativepace33

One of the most challenging things about solids has been figuring out how to make non-fruit foods tasty and appetizing for baby without just defaulting to seasoning with salt. I am not really a good cook and don't have a good grasp of how to use other seasonings. I do enjoy the occasional well-cooked meal out at restaurants, but in my own meals at home, I prefer either lightly seasoned with salt or just plain.

As we are starting to get baby used to finger foods, she seems to gravitate towards fruits because those naturally have sugar. She has not been as interested in our offerings of unseasoned/lightly seasoned veggies and meat. I see Solid Starts suggests that babies like big flavors, but I don't know how to do that? I know that there are recipes I could look up, but it feels overwhelming to have to use a recipe for every meal.

Any tips on basic seasoning combos or ways to flavor baby's savory foods that are manageable for a non-cook?

Baby is 9 mo, so at the point where we are trying to feed her more meals per day and the cleanup is slowly killing me.

We use sleeved bibs to keep the mess off baby as much as possible, but since I have been handwashing these and hanging to dry after each meal, they are still wet for the next meal. Thankfully we have two bibs, so we cycle between them as they are drying. But handwashing takes time and I want to know if there's a better way. What's everyone else doing? Also washing bibs after each meal? Or do you have one bib per meal that you just throw in the washing machine? (And if you do this, how do you afford so many sleeved bibs?? They are pricey! ~$15-20/each. Plus, I imagine they start getting gross after a day or two while waiting to be washed?)

8mo postpartum mom in my late 30s. Baby has just started sleeping through the night on a more consistent basis and I am thrilled to be getting more rest. But the past year of stress and bad sleep (including pregnancy) has wrecked my skin. In photos I look way more leathery and my pores can be seen from space. I understand a certain amount of physical change is inevitable, but I don't want to look like I'm 50 just yet.

I'm breastfeeding, so I'm drinking a ton of water already. My diet is decent but could be better. Not currently exercising, unless you count carrying baby around and being on my feet constantly doing housework. Should I try microneedling? Tretinoin after weaning? Help 🫠

Our LO is 6 months old and ever since she "woke up" to the world at around 3 months, she often gets overwhelmed whenever we leave the house, even when fed and well-rested. At home she's a playful and pretty easy baby. But it's like her whole personality changes once we step out our front door. Her eyes go big and she enters high alert mode. None of our usual funny faces or antics make her smile. In both the carrier and stroller, she will quietly look around until she hits her tipping point and then - with no warning - she'll burst into tears, only willing to be consoled for short periods of time until we get back home.

My guess is that she gets overwhelmed by all the sensory input from being outside (traffic noise, bright light, strange smells, etc.), as she almost never cries like that at home. In the stroller, we've figured out that bringing her favorite toy can usually distract her and keep her happy enough for us to do what we need to do outside. But other than that, we aren't sure how else we can ease the overwhelm for her other than constantly talking to her and checking in with her while we're walking.

Since her first big meltdown at the beach park at 3 months, we've tried to take her for short walks a few times a week to acclimate her to being outside. We'd love to start taking her out more and doing things farther from home, but given that each outing has a 50-50 chance of ending in a meltdown, going out makes us anxious and feels exhausting. If there are any other parents who've experienced this with their babies, was there anything you did that helped or did they just outgrow it eventually? And if your child was a sensitive baby, what are they like now?