UK coffee week 4-10 May

Before I got pregnant I was a big fan of coffee. My work colleagues and I used to go to a cafe during our lunch time and enjoy a big cup of cappuccino with different syrups. Everything changed when I got pregnant, I couldn't stand the smell, the one I used to love so much!

I thought that I should share a British coffee chronicle infographic as my tribute to coffee.

UK Coffee Week is a nationwide fundraising initiative where coffee operators, trade professionals and their customers join together to celebrate the vibrancy of British coffee culture while raising valuable funds for the communities which grow coffee.

Do you like tea or coffee?

Little L is 10 months

Oh my, L changed so much this month! 

Teeth: she has 4 top and 4 bottom teeth, the last 2 months were hard as she was teething and having cold most of the time

Behaviour: she is a proper little madam. If she doesn't like something she will tilled her had back and start crying or would go for the same thing over and over again. L is advanced crawler now and our house looks like a mess as she pulls everything-CDs and DVDs from TV stand, everything from the sofa, everything underneath the coffee table, on a walker, on a chair etc and she bites!

L is a very musical baby few times now she was singing to a song (in her own way of course) and she loves dancing-she holds 2 hands together and either goes from side to side or locked hands go up and down, very cute to watch!

Also L likes new clothes, I bought her a tutu skirt for her first birthday party and she likes to look at it and touch it and will be always excited if sees new item of clothing, proper girl!

Development/milestones: she has Lamaze soft stacking rings which she likes a lot and we go through colours every time and I have also started to ask her to give me rings or other toys, which sometimes she does when I ask her or when she just wants to share a toy. 

No walking here yet, but she likes to stand and to walk around coffee table whilst holding on to it. I have also tried to hold her hands to she if she can walk but it looks a bit clumsy. 

Sleep: we were struggling quite a bit with sleep as teething messed the sleeping route. I was left with no choice but to try controlled crying again, I still try to rub her tummy to make it less stressful, she seems to be getting used. Last week we were away in Wales and L slept quite good at night, but since we are back home every night is a bit of a struggle, again! She wakes up all the time, the only thing that can calm her down is my boob. I know health visitors and sleeping experts say that I need to drop night feeds but it's the only thing that works for us!

Clothing: L is still wearing 6-9 outfits as 9-12 are a little bit too long for her.

Feeding: I am breastfeeding and not planning to drop any of the feeds on top of that she has 3 meals and is very fussy. We have tried different meaty pouches and pots but she is very specific with what she will eat. L eats bananas now as she is not constipated anymore, yay! Likes rice, fluffy potatoes, spaghetti and mango! 

Oh, forgot the most important bit, L changed a lot in the last 2 weeks. I was told that at 9 months babies like to be more independent, no way! She is so clingy, I used to leave her in the travel cot in the morning whilst I was preparing my breakfast now she won't stay there! She wants me and me only!

L eats- Organix baby food

At Organix we don’t just make tasty, organic food for children; we aim to help educate parents and children too. Staying true to our word and beliefs is top priority here at Organix and we are committed to never adding anything unnecessary and to setting standards with our food. It's called our No Junk Promise, runs across all of our foods and always will, meaning parents can make an informed choice.

Our weaning journey started not the way I have planned but since I have discovered Organix L thoroughly enjoys her porridge, rice cakes and fruit pots. 
We have started from Stage 1 which is suitable for babies from 4-6 months and mixed with products from Stage 2 for babies from 7 months. So far we have tried:  

Fruit pots:

Apple, banana &plum/apple& vanilla pots 

(£1.89)

I was very excited when L had her first spoonful of apple, banana and plum puree as that's my favoutire flavour.It tastes sweet but not too much and just the right combination of fruits.

Ingredients:
apple puree 72%
banana puree 14%
plum puree 14%

Apple and vanilla ones tastes nice as well but L wasn't so keen on this flavour at first, to be honest with you I wasn't sure myself if I should give her vanilla.

Ingredients:
apple puree 99%
vanilla <1%

The texture of both purees is smooth, without any bits inside. L has started by having a half a pot a day followed by a pot a day.

Pear, apple and raspberry pots

 (£1.89)

Apple, pear and raspberry pots were finished by L without hesitation. She liked overpowering pear flavour and the smoothness of the puree itself. 

Ingredients:
applee puree 65%
pear puree 30%
raspberry puree 5%

Apple& cherry/ apple& banana 4+ months

Apple and cherry is another delicious, smooth puree which L likes. The taste of cherry is overpowering apple but not in a bad way, it tastes very nice and light.

Ingredients:

apple puree 86%

cherry puree 14%

In apple & banana pot banana has a very overpowering taste but it is not too sweet and just right.

Ingredients:

apple puree 65%

banana puree 35%

lemon juice concentrate <1%

Apple& raspberry with pieces 7+months 

(£1.99)

This puree is thicker than the puree from Stage 1 and had visible bits inside. L is not a big fan of big bits or lumpy food as only enjoyed the puree when spat the big bits.

The only minor negative with all fruit pots would be that the picture on the seal has nothing to do with the ingredients of each pot which may look a little bit misleading/confusing.

Ingredients:

apple puree 73%

apple pieces 20%

raspberry puree 7%

Red pepper hearts (£0.75)

Since I have received the packet to review I offered L one pepper heart every day just to see if she likes the new texture. The texture itself is very close to puffs crisps and complete new to L. I can't say that she didn't like them but can't say that she likes them either. She will only have half of the pepper heart and always leaves the other half. 

Ingredients:
corn 79%
sunflower oil 12%
red pepper powder (contains rice flour) 7%
carrot powder 2%
Thiamin (Vitamin B1) <1%

Porridge (£2.19):

baby rice 4+ months

fruity apple porridge 4+ months

banana & mango porridge 4+

As L had problems with constipation until 9 months baby rice wasn't our first choice of a porridge. I have introduced apple porridge and banana& mango porridge first, and only after L started taking lactolose I have introduced baby rice. My favourite porridge would be apple one, where as L didn't mind either. 
Instructions on the box recommend to use 1 tbsp of baby rice and 2 tbsp for apple and banana & mango porridge mixed with milk. I started with 5 tbsp and increased the the portion till 10-15 tbsp mixing it with cooled water and breastfed afterwards. 
At first porridge looks a bit lumpy but if you add a little bit more milk or water in my case, it becomes creamy and thickens if left too cool. If porridge looks thick I would add a little bit more water, my only recommendation would be not to use hot/warm water as the porridge would be very lumpy and it makes it harder to mix dry and wet powder.

Banana& plum porridge 7+ months (£2.49)

Multigrain porridge 7+ months (£2.49)

Banana, peach& apple porridge 10+ months (£2.69)

Texture of Stage 2 porridge differ slightly from Stage 1, it has small crispy pieces and tiny fruit chunks which softens when you add milk/water and the texture itself thickens when leave to cool. I used 15-20 tbsp every day for breakfast which means that a box lasts 1 week. 

When I first introduced Stage 2 porridges to L she liked them straightaway! Knowing how fussy she is with lumpy food or food she never tried before these porridges are a success!

Rice cakes (£1.19):

carrot&tomato rice cake

strawberry rice cakes 

raspberry& blueberry rice cakes

Out of 3 packs we have L likes carrot & tomato more than other 2, she won't mind having strawberry or raspberry flavour but won't finish the rice cake. I was a little bit worried that L might choke but when she had just couple of teeth she was just sucking on them and when they were soft enough she ate it, now when she has top and bottom teeth she does the same but she bites small piece and leaves in a mouth till soft. There is only one minor negative- rice cakes are quite messy, they leave stains on clothes so a big all over bib will be in order.

Banana baby biscuits & baby biscuits (£1.19)

Baby biscuits- delicious organic finger biscuits made from wheat and grape juice. 

Banana baby biscuits- delicious organic finger biscuits made from wheat and banana juice.

These soft biscuits are melting in baby's mouth, no need to worry if baby will choke. L can play with it until it's divided into small pieces or just just bite a small piece and suck it till it's melted. Biscuits are quite messy thought and you would need a muslin square or a all over bib.

Organix baby food is a part of L's every day life, she eats porridge for breakfast, fruit pots as a part of her lunch and rice cakes or biscuits when snacking during the walks or when playing. 

We are big fans of Organix baby food and I am happy with each and every product and I thoroughly recommend buying their products!

Disclaimer: I was sent some of the items mentioned above for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.