DIY: Easy Baby Soft Busy Block (Free Patterns)

Few years back when my nephew was 4 months old my sister bought him a Fisher Price sensory block that I found it very interesting and I thought when I have a baby I will get him/her one! Unfortunately, Fisher Price is not selling it anymore. I have been searching online for it and I decided to make one myself and put my long forgotten sewing skill to a test. 

I don't have a complete pattern but I will put in details how I design my cube. It took me 2 weeks to complete the design.

What you need to do before creating the design:

1. Understand your baby. 
Each baby has different liking like the colours and they are developing so fast each month they explore different things. BabyE is all about yellow, he loves yellow and he screams every time he sees yellow. He loves this block so much he could scream and play with it for a good 20 minutes all by himself.

2. Know what you want.
Is your block focusing on texture or colours? Are you planing to put a little bell into your block? Think about it.

3. Understand the material.
Are you looking for a super soft block? If you are focusing on texture, what kind of fabric will you be including in your block?

How to create a soft block?

First of all, you need to know your block has 6 faces. Refer to the image above about what I say. You can choose to have 6 different designs or some duplicate designs or whatever you like.

The guide attached is for my block which has very limited design. I focused on yellow but you can make it colorful or other colour that your baby loves.

Materials:
a. Felt
b. Fleece
c. Cotton Fabric
d. Ribbons

Instruction is together with the pattern file.

You can download the 
pattern and instruction HERE.

The Ultimate Baby Food Guide for 4-6 months old

Do you think your little one is ready to start solid? If yes, this will be ultimate guide for you to look at. I started feeding Baby E solid when he hits 4 months because I loves cooking and I just can't help but to start it. Doctor advised us to start at 5 months but I decided to start at 4 months, 3 meals a week.

An easy guideline for you is to start feeding your little one solid when they can hold heads up and sit up straight or when you realised they aren't full yet after breastfeeding. Baby E is a foodie, he always seems to be very excited when he sees us having our meals at the dining table. Thus, I decided to start at 4 months. If you are worry about digestive problem, please consult your medical advisor.

In this article, I will share about the list of food that is suitable for your little one and a different way to prepare baby puree without a blender.

List of food you can start your little one with:

1. Avacado
2. Apple
3. Pear
4. Potato
5. Sweet Potato
6. Carrot
7. Peaches
8. Pumpkin
9. Peas
10. Rice Cereal


Baby E is a big lover of sweet potato and I bought the purple ones because the colour is nice and I find it easier to prepare.

Something you should know before you start:

1.  I would advise you to do a single portion for new food to ensure your baby takes the food. I prepared a big batches of pear puree the other day and Baby E refuse to take it. Ended up, I forced my hubby to finished it.

2.  Please sterilised all the cooking equipment before preparing your baby food.

3. For a start, you might want to start with 1 teaspoon of solid and slowly increase it.

4. I am also against freezing baby food, I prefer fresh food for such a young age.

5. Your baby might have constipation after their first food so don't panic. Wait for a day or 2 if your little one still constipate, go to the doctor.

How to prepare in small portion?

1. Peel the skin and dice the fruit or veggie. The smaller you diced the quicker it cooks. 

2. Steam it for 30 minutes or until soft. (fruits will not require steaming, you can skip this step if you are preparing fruits for your little one)

3. Mash it with a potato mashes and you might want to mix in a little of rice cereal. (Any ratio of the rice and veggie/ fruits is fine, depends on your liking)

4. Strain the mixture with a sieve to make it smooth and easy to digest. I would advise to add some water when straining it to avoid cobsitipation.

** Do not make it too watery, as it will gets more watery. As long os the puree is smooth, is good.

Why didn't I choose the blending option?

1. The Cleaning Up 
Washing/ cleaning the blender is horrible. I would rather do it the manual way for now as I only prepare very small batches.

2. Colic Problem
Chinese believes that blending will cause colic problem. Colic cause indigestion then will lead to tons and tons of other problem. Thus, I do not recommend blending for baby below 1 year old.

3. Portion Too Small
There is no point and almost impossible to use the blender when I am preparing such a small portion.


I hope your little will love the food you prepare as much as Baby E love mine!
Good luck!