Reusable Squeeze Pouch Review!!

The cute Squooshi packaging
(and my anxious toddler's hands!)

My 2 year old loves puree pouches. We use them sparingly for a few reasons, though. 1 - they seem to make him 'go', 2 - they are a lot of packaging waste for a quick shot of snack. To solve problem #2 I started looking around for some reusable pouch options and came across two: The Sili Squeeze (with Eeeze model) and Squooshi!

I decided to try them both at the same time, and do a head-to-head comparison:

The two items arrived on my doorstep just a day apart from each other, the Sili first. My son seemed to know what to do with it (since the nipple is very bottle like) but lit up when I told him that we would put 'applesauce' in it (his term for all flavor combos of purees... and sometimes even yogurt). I had perused the websites of both companies, and was excited to see that Squooshi had a blog that, though new, had several recipes (upon further research, I see that Sili's website has some recipes, too). So the next morning, I grabbed the un-carved pumpkin from our front porch from Halloween and blended it with apples and spinach to make our first toddler puree, filled our 'citrus'-colored Sili and we headed to the playground, with the toddler begging to eat the applesauce along the way.

As soon as we set foot on the playground he inhaled the pumpkin puree. He did need some help getting the last bit out of the pouch, but he often does with even the disposable models. The rubber on this is very pliable and allows you to get almost everything out. I was quite pleased with our first experiment. My husband did point out that the orange color we got + the green-hued filling made the pouch appear brown, which was a slight turnoff (light-colored fillings we've tried don't seem to have this issue). I read online further that we could also put the next day's oatmeal in the pouch, since we were getting up early for an hour drive to spend the day with Thomas the Train. I hadn't thought of oatmeal in a pouch!

Squooshi smoothie for breakfast!

When we got home, our Squooshi package was on the front porch! I admit, the packaging is rather nice to receive (to keep in mind for gift-giving) with a modern white box, and a little linen drawstring bag inside that holds the pouches and caps. My son instantly recognized what the pouches were and wanted to hold them. He was giddy with the cute animal designs, too. The package contained 4 pouches, 2- 4.5 oz pouches and 2-3.5 oz pouches, with 4 total different animal designs (lion, bird, panda, and walrus). I got to work again on a fruit-yogurt combo from the Squooshi recipe card that came with the pouches, and put them in the freezer.

Sili at the playground!

We forgot to pack a frozen smoothie or oatmeal for our trip the next day (I was especially sad, given the county-fair-like food options at our train event - this would have provided a much better option), but we did have some for an after-nap snack when we got home! I found the Squooshi's easy to give a quick scrub with the bottle brush, but there were a few more nooks and crannies in the Sili, so we wanted to run it through the dishwasher (which is allowed). Drying the Squooshi was a bit tougher, but I wedged the green cap in the zip-lock-like opening to allow some airflow, and later put some freshly washed ones on the dishwasher tines as the other dishes were drying. If you keep a bottle drying rack on your counter, this would be another convenient place to dry these. All options worked just fine.

Every day this week, I packed a frozen banana-strawberry-orange-Greek yogurt - kids' echinacea smoothie  in M's lunch - replacing his usual yogurt!

- Ease to Fill: at first I was frustrated with spooning smoothies into both models, until I realized I could just pour our concoctions right from the blending cup. The threads on the Squooshi tend to catch a little more, but its not a deal-breaker - just wipe before you zip it up.

squooshi smoothie as a snack at the kids' museum!

- Ease to Wash: The Sili Squeeze can go in the dishwasher after disassembling, but the Squooshi is an easy rinse and once-over with a soapy bottle brush. We do a pretty even mix of both for our regular dishes, so neither is more or less convenient. You do have to reassemble the Sili before using it again (much like a baby bottle- put the collar on the pouch before filling!! I did find that out the hard way!), whereas the Squooshi is ready to go.

- Fit and function in little hands: M needed zero help and zero instructions to break into the Squooshi. This may be a drawback if you rely on your kid having to wait for your permission before starting in on a squeeze pouch (we know the imminent dangers), but in our case, we find this a positive. On the other hand, the M tried to take off and put on the cap of the Sili and had an explosion in the car one day. It does take some firm pressure to snap the cap on, and to a toddler this can also mean getting a grip on the base while you do so... and spilling the contents.

- Price: One 4oz Sili is $7.99. A 4-pack of 4.5 oz. Squooshis are $19.99. For the price, you certainly get more of the Squooshi's. However, the Sili's certainly seem a little more substantial (not sure if that also means they will last longer?). I've only been test-driving for a little over a week, so I can't say how long I think the Squooshi's will hold up (Our Panda seems to currently be missing already... and I hope that since it looks so much like the store-bought versions, that it didn't get tossed in the trash at school?).

- Sizes: The Squooshi comes in 3.5 and 4.5 oz sizes. The Sili comes in 4 oz and 6 oz sizes. For our two-year-old, the 4 and 4.5 oz sizes seem to be perfect. We may enjoy the 3.5 oz more when Baby Sister arrives? Or the 6oz for older kids or grownups?

a look at the inside of the Squooshi (from the bottom)

- Durability with Toddler & Likelihood to Explode/Leak: the toddler was more than happy to help me test here - and I didn't even have to ask! He squeezed the Squooshi while I filled another and promptly dropped it on the floor, and later anxiously massaged it in the car waiting for the green light to eat it. He twirled the Sili by the string that held the cap to the bottle... and then promptly flung it by accident. Everything stayed in tact. Nothing leaded.  No leaks or holes.

- Options:  Squooshi's work with the Boon Spoon, in the same way store-bought squeezes do. In fact, they will soon be releasing their own version. The Squooshis currently come in 4 cute animal designs - two for each size. The Sili offers two nipple types for their pouches - one with a star "no spill" tip, and one "with eeze" tip which is more like the store versions, and easier for kids to figure out. The newly redesigned cap keeps either from leaking into the cap. Both sizes of the Sili come in 4 colors: Red, Orange, Blue, and Green.

I am excited to soon test out some other more grown up ideas for squeeze pouch fillings including mashed potato-veggie and sweet potato combos and oatmeal!!

** note: Squooshi supplied their product for our family at no cost, but requested honest feedback on our experience. Keep an eye out on Facebook for a giveaway where you can get a set for free, too! **

*** giveaway is now closed ***

Flying with a Toddler!

one way to entertain an 'infant in arms'

We just flew across country with our son for the third time, and we are starting to get the hang of it. I think we will only be getting one more in before he turns 2! If you are planning to take a trip by plane soon, and will be traveling with your toddler, check out our tips and experiences below!

The setup. Since we were going to need our carseat at our destination, we purchased this simple carseat- suitcase strap to attach it to a carry-on suitcase (M's, in fact, so that we could get to extra clothes and diapers if needed, and to be sure that his stuff made it to our destination). Attaching the seat can be a little frustrating, but its nice to have the seat with you, especially if you get lucky and the flight isn't full, you can ask at the gate to be re-assigned next to the empty seat and use your carseat. If the flight is full you can always check the carseat at the gate.

a blurry look at our carseat-carryon setup

I also dusted off our old, full size diaper bag to be my 'personal item' and filled it with toys, snacks, diapers (cloth ones! traveling with cloth can be another post altogether! but also a couple disposables that we always keep on hand for backup), headphones, my phone and wallet, etc. One other thing that we bring when we have room in our carry-on allowance is a trunki (we bought ours through Amazon). It is mostly useful during layovers (to ride, or provide a fresh set of toys or refill essentials), since its pretty unwieldy to be opening in your seat, unless the little one has their own, and even still... but it could make a good suitcase for short car visits and be an extra toy at your destination if you don't expect there to be others.

Also in preparation for our plan trips, we've been reading this amazing airplanes book. I am not sure M totally gets it yet, but he loves the page where the cabin crew are passing out snacks, and a doggie passenger is drinking a beverage with a straw. And he is sure to point out every plane in the book.

Oh don't forget your water bottles!! They have to be empty through security, but finding a water fountain to fill them up is an entertaining activity! M likes to press the button and drink from it, too.

Infant in arms: if you aren't buying a ticket (only allowed for kids under 2), you should indicate with your carrier that you have an "infant in arms". And be prepared to show proof that your kid is, in fact under two. The first several times we flew (on Delta), no one asked, but this last time Southwest wanted to see some ID A birth certificate or shot record preferred, but we had a MetLife ID card that showed his birthday that they accepted.

Wardrobe, please! There were two legs of our trip out and two changes of pants (one was needed during the security check). We went through 4 diapers on the first 3.5 hr, leg, and he was totally dry on the second, 2 hr, one. My recommendation is to pack twice as many as you think you'll need and have more handy in stowed carryon that you can get to in an emergency, or to refill your stash during layovers. On the trip home, I double-stuffed our cloth diapers and they lasted a bit longer. Each way we put a fresh one on before boarding if it was the tiniest bit wet. Depending on how risk-averse you are, you might pack and extra shirt  or outfit for yourself and other family members. One of the other toddlers on our flight got sick all over her parents. We definitely did this when M was still nursing, since the chances were much higher that some bodily fluids would be getting on us.

Food for flight. A friend recommended we pack 'double the snacks', which was good advice, since our flight was around lunchtime, and I was hungry too. It can be a while before they start cabin service and make those little peanuts available! And if its a short flight you might not even get that. So we packed some steamed carrots (from our farm visit), Colby-cheddar cheese sticks (one for each of us, and those went fast!), Cheerios in a self serve cup (which were consumed right after the cheese and right before a big nap), an apple-carrot baby food pouch (and packed two more in the suitcase - I am excited we are finally able to use these. I am glad we found organic ones and veggie combos, but I am bummed about the packaging waste... I will research some reusable options...), a whole apple, snack packs of cheddar bunnies, Lara bars, raisins and snagged a bag of Wheat Thins from the free Southwest snacks to keep with us over our visit. Be choosy about what you bring to avoid needing ice packs. We also bought some sandwiches to eat on the flight for ourselves, but I spied other families consuming homemade PBJ's. And, after M fell asleep on leg 2 we both ordered ourselves adult beverages! (one other note, our Delta flight did have whole milk available, but the Southwest one did not have any kind of milk. If you want to take milk try these milk boxes that don't need to be refrigerated - but be prepared for a pat-down in security if you carry them on.)

Ear popping. Our little guy sucks his thumb, which helped with ear clearing. But also we brought a sippy cup that requires some effort to extract its contents just in case. If your child still nurses then you have a built-in option, too. If its any consolation, I think the pressure change helps make them sleepy...

Time to play. For entertainment we played with a new peek-a-boo book about trucks, a mini can of Play-Doh, his Leap Frog Tag Jr. book reader and two books, iPad (with the newly loaded Pat the Bunny app, but also old favorites, Elmo ABCs app, Ink Kids flash cards app, and The Monster At The End Of This Book book). Other entertainment included sleeping, eating, looking out the window, and standing on our laps +  playing peek a boo with the other passengers. Other toys on deck include coloring book + crayons, a few small trucks, and more apps. And more snacks.

Rockabye. M is too big for our fabulous sling that we used last time. I brought an adult sized neck pillow, even though I have never successfully slept on one. But this flight it proved to be a great elbow rest while I had a 30-lb toddler in my arms. We had packed one of our muslin swaddle blankets to keep him warm during the chilly flight. On the second leg, it was bedtime, and we found out that our guy is pretty wed to sleeping on his tummy. After about 15 super squirmy minutes, he finally ended up with his head in hubby's lap, body across mine and legs dangling. And snoozing solidly. After we landed around 9:30 home time, he was awake, but sleepily and somewhat grumpily greeting his grandparents. We took the opportunity to change into his nighttime diaper and pjs. On our 45-minute ride to the house, he fell back asleep and transferred beautifully to his already-set-up pack-n-play at Grandma's.

And by all means, allow your little one to stretch their legs during layovers! They will have to sit still a lot so if you can afford to go slower and let them walk between gates, do it. And don't forget to ride the people movers or escalators, too. The afore-mentioned Trunki helps here a lot, too.

What are your air-travel tips and tricks?

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