Guest Member Blog - Penny

Before you become a mother, you are likely to have heard your mum friends talk about how much of a pain in the ass it is to feed their kids. As you sit there sipping on your $20 cocktail bought with your vast disposable income you think “Really? Is it that hard to feed a small human?” well now I have joined 'club mum' I can tell you, yes. Yes it really is.

It starts right at the beginning too. You sit there in your hospital bed, recovering from having a watermelon ripped from your abdomen (or your hoo haa... respect ‘au naturale’ mamas) fumbling with the giant milk udder you have attached to your chest trying to shove it into a tiny screaming mouth. Then, when you finally think you have it down and you are the breast feeding master, that sweet little bundle of sleep stealing joy decides NOPE and you are back to square one, about to lose it while the midwife chants BREAST IS BEST at you.

Then come the bottles, where of course your kid doesn’t like the teats you happened to have selected after standing in the chemist agonising for an hour and a half over the many brands to choose from. Finally they figure out the bottle, However; the formula you have selected also, after many hours of deliberation isn’t the one for them and you head back to Coles buying a couple tins of each, weathering the dirty stares of other shoppers who assume you are part of some elaborate Chinese black market formula trade.

Right! So the little bugger is finally drinking his milk like a champ – nailing it mum. Now it’s time for solids. Ohhh what an exciting time. “ What shall we feed him first?!” you ask your partner excitedly as you have images of your perfect offspring getting the exact right amount of omega 3s and B vitamins; because, after all, you have done your research and you are going to feed your way to a genius. Cue 'First Food Day', and your kid spits it all back up and cries after tasting your lovingly prepared pile of crap. Awesome. “Try farex!” chimes in your mum, but no, you won’t be beaten (plus you heard on 60 minutes or Today Tonight or wherever that baby cereals were the devils baby food or something...). So you try, and you try and you try, sadly watching one carefully nutritionally balanced meal after another tossed aside; meanwhile, a rusk stick is consumed like it is the best thing since sliced bread. Then finally, more food gets consumed than it does get thrown on the cat. Most days. Hallelujah. Your little one is exploring new textures and flavours, growing like a weed and all is right with the world. Then it hits. After 3 months of loving bananas he decides “No. I HATE bananas and quite frankly I should be calling CPS on you for trying to feed me those yellow hell fruits!”

So after two days of your kid eating nothing but cruskits and milk and you feel all hope is lost, enter Kids' Favourite Dinners; and the light at the end of the tunnel appears. Feeding children is exhausting. It is stressful.  And it doesn’t stop (hell, my mum and dad still have to feed me occasionally). That’s why it is so great to have support. Rest assured that while your kid is mortified that you dared to serve her lasagne for dinner (even though she told you it was her favourite yesterday), so many others are having this same conversation at their dinner table across the country. That’s why Hayley’s philosophy at Kids’ Favourite Dinners’ is so great.  It is mums sharing tips with other mums (and Dads too of course... what’s up fellas!) at how they trick their kids into eating veggies. Brilliant!

However, it is so much more than that. It is mums supporting mums whether they are SAHMs, WMs WAHMs or mums who just like wine. Families (of all types) helping families to tackle that dreaded question... What’s for dinner? It has got you covered for allergies and special diets (so your cousin who has decided she is going gluten free for no reason can shut up and eat her food). And the meal planning and shopping list tool… *cue heavenly music* is a godsend for busy families or busy people in general. So take some time to check out all KFD has to offer - I also HAVE to mention that it is completely FREE to join. Have a look at the awesome recipes and upload a few of your own never-fails… because you never know – your secret veggie bolognaise may the answer to some frustrated parent somewhere currently standing in their kitchen covered in unwanted pumpkin soup, sobbing.

 Pen xx