Imagine this:
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You have a little baby who makes cooking a difficult task for you
Because of this, you find it difficult to prepare three healthy meals a day.
You tried several things to keep the baby busy while you cook
You put the baby in the playpen, but they don’t want to stay there.
You put the baby in the bouncy seat, the baby cries after a short while.
You tried to babywear, but your back keeps hurting
All the baby wants to do as you cook is to cry and whimper
This has made cooking a difficult task for you
There is no way you can stop cooking because everyone has to eat in the family
What do you do?
The thing is:
Cooking with a baby is not an easy task. It is not a difficult task either if you know what to do. In this article you will learn:
- Where to put baby when cooking
- How to entertain baby while cooking
- Tips for how to cook meals with a baby
1. Where to put baby when cooking
The first thing to do while thinking of cooking is where to put the baby when cooking. Below are 10 places to put baby when cooking.
1. Baby bouncer: Put your baby in a bouncer and bring them with you to the kitchen. Especially, if it is a baby bouncer that vibrates or swings on its own. Since they are close to you, they may not cry. But as you work, ensure you talk to them.
2. Hold the baby as you cook: Hold your baby in your hands as you cook. However, this only applies if what you are cooking will not take time and it does not require both hands. It’s difficult to hold your baby and still want to cut vegetables. It is impossible. So, only hold the baby to cook when you are not staying long in the kitchen and what you want to do does not require the two hands.
3. Babywearing: This is one of the best ways to cook with a baby in the kitchen. Get a good babywear or carrier and use it to wear the baby as you cook. With this, your baby will not be upset because they are closer to you.
4. Get an Exersaucer: If your baby can sit independently, then an exersaucer will do. It has toys that will excite and keep their attention for long as you cook.
5. Moses basket: If you have a newborn, put them in a Moses basket and bring them to the kitchen while you cook.
6. Baby carrier: Use a baby carrier so that the baby can watch you as you cook. A wrap or sling carrier is good for newborns and babies that are six months old. But ensure, you put them somewhere safe when you are chopping vegetables or cooking with oil.
7. Baby blow up pool: Use a baby blow up pool while cooking in the kitchen. This is great because it has boundaries and babies cannot move out of it.
8. Play-yard: Get a play yard that can fold up when not in use and it clicks together when it is set up anywhere. Such a play yard should have adjustable heights or sizes where you can determine how big or small it should be and the shape you want it to take. It restricts the baby’s movement. This is suitable for babies that are crawling or walking.
9. High chair: When the baby can sit, you can put them in a high chair and let them watch you as you cook. Get a high chair that has toys with trays so that your baby gets to play with toys.
10. Activity center: Put the baby in an activity center in the kitchen. They will play and also watch you cook.
How to entertain baby while cooking meals
Keeping a baby entertained as you cook will give you enough time to cook your meals. But the thing is, they are difficult to entertain because they have a short attention span and need constant supervision because they are still young. So, how do you entertain your baby while cooking?
1. Tell them stories: As you cook, make up a story about what you are doing and turn to them from time to time to see their reaction. Storytelling helps to boost a baby’s vocabulary and communication skills.
2. Give them snacks: Encourage your child to sit in the high chair and entertain them with a snack. If you have a clean floor, throw the snacks on the floor and have them pick it up to eat one by one.
3. Put water in a bowl and allow them to play with it. It can make the kitchen messy but, your little one will enjoy the splashes and give you time to cook.
4. Give them pots, pans and spoons to make a noise with. They will love it and bang it to no end.
5. Sing to them as you cook. Sometimes hearing your voice can soothe them. Sing nursery rhymes to them and watch them smile as you cook.
6. Get some toys only for the kitchen. Have the toys you give to your baby when in the kitchen. Buy some toys and keep them in a storage bag and only use them when you are in the kitchen with your baby.
7. CD and cup stacking: If you have an old rack of CDs and DVDs you are not using again, give them to stack and unstack them. Apart from that, if you have small stackable cups at home, give them to play with by stacking them. Most babies love it.
Tips for how to cook meals with a baby
1. Cook while they sleep: Most babies sleep after feeding. Plan your cooking time around their sleeping time. It is much easier.
2. Batch cook: Try as much as you can to do your cooking in batches. You can make some portions as your baby sleep and freeze them. Then do the rest of the cooking when there is time later on. For example, you can chop the vegetables when the baby sits in the bouncer and cook when they are taking a nap.
3. Cook in the night when the baby is asleep. This might not be convenient but you have to find time to cook, anyway. If you cannot complete the cooking, prepare your ingredients ready. That will make it easy to cook the next day.
4. Bulk cook and freeze. Do most of your cooking at once, such as on weekends when there will be people around to help carry the baby. Warm up the food on weekdays to eat.
5. Use a slow cooker to make life easier for you.
6. Use a helping hand whenever it is available: Plan to cook most of your meals when your partner or someone else is available to hold the baby as you cook.
7. Call for home delivery if everything else failed. Sometimes there is nothing you can do to keep the baby from crying, at such times, just give in and call for home delivery meals. It will give you peace of mind and food in your stomach.
The truth about cooking meals with a baby at home
The thing is, babies will always cry whether or not you like it. It is the only way they know to communicate their feelings. So, prepare yourself with the tips above and you will scale through easily.
You will cook your healthy meals easily and your baby will have your full attention too.
It time to work it out.
