I’ve found recently that one of the most toxic phrases in my life is “You can just…”
It has floated around for the past year with the follow ups:
- “… throw what you’re eating in a food processor and feed it to them.”
- “… find 15 minutes to yourself while they’re sleeping.”
- “… put them down.”
- “… listen to audiobooks while you’re taking them out in the stroller.”
- “… put him in the play-yard and take a shower.”
I’ve been struggling to give myself space. Being a stay-at-home mom is significantly more difficult that I had anticipated. And perhaps that just me speaking from the trenches when my child is in the middle of a very clingy phase, but it’s hard to get anything done – even though they definitely like exploring at the moment. It’s just only right to explore when Mama is sitting right where she was left and not when Mama gets up to do something or isn’t paying attention. It’s a lot more exhausting to be trapped on the floor than I would have thought.
However, this also makes breakfast and lunch nigh-on-impossible to make.
Now, I admit – I am not great at feeding myself. Which makes feeding two of us even more difficult. But it also means that whatever quick meals I throw together for myself are often not healthy enough for the kiddo either. So here is where I am taking my stand – PRE-MADE TODDLER MEALS.
And no – I’m not talking Yumi or Little Spoon. I have been there. I have done that. Kiddo does not like half of the ones we have tried, and they’re fresh, which means that we have to go through them or they get thrown out. In addition, their toddler meals are $5-7 a container. Way too expensive for food that’s getting thrown out. (Not to mention the “recyclable ice packs” that you have to throw out because the gel inside is not recyclable or flush-able. Those ice packs drive us nuts!) So, we have opted in our family for the more shelf-stable and affordable Gerber, Happy Tot, and Sprout meals.
My spouse is very much the cook in our family, so our kid gets to try things at dinner time and on weekends that are homemade. But there’s enough stress going around that I don’t need to try cooking when I’m on my own to the background music of toddler screams and cries. But should I mention this out loud – or even mention that I am very much not much of a cook – the guilt trips start pouring in. “You could if you tried!” “Oh, cooking isn’t that hard!” “You should be able to leave him to his own devices long enough to make something.”
But the fact of the matter is, we are on Kiddo Time. And if Kiddo is having a bad day the very easy roasted blueberries that Kiddo (and Mama) like out of the Little Foodie cookbook are NOT HAPPENING – even though it’s just blueberries and cinnamon on a sheet tray. We just live day by day, and when I can do more we do, and if we can’t so be it. Our sanity is more important than home cooking, and it’s worth the kiddo’s health to have an affordable, quick and easy meal option.