I feel so guily, lately I have been feeding my 17-month-old those Gerber Graduate lil' meals quite a bit because I haven't been in the mood to cook lately. I am 7 weeks pregnant with no energy and hardley eat dinner myself as I have been sick a lot. It is a quick option for DD and she LOVES them, I am just concerned if I give them to her too much if I am actually doing her bad? They seem okay with the veggies and meat, but I'm not sure...any input or advice is greatly appreciated! I feel like a bad mom, I need to be fixing her a balanced dinner and here I am throwing something in the microwave.

i dont think they are bad! i know they have preservatives and a fairly large amount of sodium.. but im sure it wont hurt her if she eats them! i totally understand that in your first trimester you are exhausted! Dont feel bad, your being a good mom and im sure when your less tierd you'll be back to making good healthy meals!

ya know, when the new baby comes it will be even worse/harder, i had my second son when my first was 18 months, and its has been so hard to get him to eat anything anymore!! especially since he feels left out and wants me to feed him while his brother want to eat, that are now 22 months and 4 months...its HECTIC!

I asked my neighbor about the Gerber graduate soups (she is a dietitian) and she looked at the label and said everything in it was "good." I had gotten a sample in the mail.

I don't know about the other meals, but I hope that gives you some insight regarding the soup.

I can only imagine how hard that must be... I wish you well with your pregnancy though.
Maybe if you feel guilty about feeding your toddler those meals all of the time, you could make a lasagna or something large on a Sunday that will last at least for a few days so you won't have to make meals. Then supplement with the Gerber meals.
Or if you have the time and energy (that's obviously the key here) you could also try spending a few hours at Let's Dish (or the equivalent). You'll have to look up if there's one in your area. Essentially you prepare food in advance there and then just cook it up at home when you need it. It's a great outing with girlfriends too so you'd kill two birds with one stone (seeing girlfriends, getting meals for home made).
I made these suggestions because as one other posted said, two kids are going to keep you really busy so I'm thinking long-term ideas here.
Good luck!
ps> don't know if those meals are healthy or not by the way... ;)

I can only imagine how hard that must be... I wish you well with your pregnancy though.
Maybe if you feel guilty about feeding your toddler those meals all of the time, you could make a lasagna or something large on a Sunday that will last at least for a few days so you won't have to make meals. Then supplement with the Gerber meals.
Or if you have the time and energy (that's obviously the key here) you could also try spending a few hours at Let's Dish (or the equivalent). You'll have to look up if there's one in your area. Essentially you prepare food in advance there and then just cook it up at home when you need it. It's a great outing with girlfriends too so you'd kill two birds with one stone (seeing girlfriends, getting meals for home made).
I made these suggestions because as one other posted said, two kids are going to keep you really busy so I'm thinking long-term ideas here.
Good luck!
ps> don't know if those meals are healthy or not by the way... ;)

as one who seriously HATES to cook, i have to agree with the above advice. take one day during the week and cook up something that will last as long as you can stretch it!!! some other things i gave my daughter (my girls are exactly two years apart, so i can relate a little!)... that i could either grab and serve, or throw together in 5 minutes, or cook up one day to last the week...

bread/rolls
hot dogs (turkey franks)
mandarin oranges
cheese cubes
pineapple chunks
tropical fruit (canned)
grilled chicken (the small foreman grill works great here-- takes NO time, and it doesn't feel like you're cooking!)
pancakes (a lot of mixes only have to add water)
kidney beans (weird, but my 19 month old loves them!)
corn
peas
pasta shells/twirls
instant oatmeal
cooked carrots (slice a couple of carrots, add a tsp water, a tsp brown sugar, throw in microwave for 5 minutes - until soft - sooo good!)
yogurt

just a few ideas... totally understand how you're feeling! have no clue about the gerber foods, except they're slightly more expensive than just throwing something together at home (this is according to my husband who has NEVER BEEN PREGNANT - dumb MAN!)... i think sometimes it's worth paying a little extra when you're just feeling crappy! i can't tell you how many times i considered just letting my kid have marshmallows and a poptart for dinner (came close once, but didn't do it...)! :)

I hear ya sometimes on just letting the dinner thing go. I have never actually done it either but it can be hard when you feel like there's nothing to make and when there is you don't really feel like it! I felt so guilty because I had been resting all day one day last week and I realized my DD had just been playing and having a good time with her toys that she hadn't even had dinner and her bedtime was in a 1/2 hr. Of course DH never pays attention because he's a man, lol. DD never whines when she's hungry so it hit me when I looked at the clock. I felt so bad! I absolutely cannot wait for this lazy stage of the pregnancy to be over. I guess that's what we women have to do in order to build out babies though!

I hear ya sometimes on just letting the dinner thing go. I have never actually done it either but it can be hard when you feel like there's nothing to make and when there is you don't really feel like it! I felt so guilty because I had been resting all day one day last week and I realized my DD had just been playing and having a good time with her toys that she hadn't even had dinner and her bedtime was in a 1/2 hr. Of course DH never pays attention because he's a man, lol. DD never whines when she's hungry so it hit me when I looked at the clock. I felt so bad! I absolutely cannot wait for this lazy stage of the pregnancy to be over. I guess that's what we women have to do in order to build out babies though!

don't feel bad... any doctor will tell you that even missing a whole meal completely isn't going to hurt your child. my kids are now 3 1/2 years old and 19 months old, and i'm late with meals ALL the time with them!!! i just get busy doing research on the computer, and all of a sudden it's 9:30 in the morning and they haven't had breakfast! or it will be close to 1 in the afternoon, and i still haven't gotten them lunch yet! my husband is usually home for dinner and the man loves to eat, so he won't let me forget about dinner (fortunately he'll actually come and cook it too!).

something that helps me on those kinds of days is setting a timer to help me remember important things. it only works if you have to get up to turn it off, though! i set the one on the microwave in the kitchen. it's really loud and annoying so i can't ignore it!!!

anyway, i feel for ya! i remember how those days went and it wasn't always pretty!