WeeSprout Double Zipper Reusable Food Pouches (Original, Variety)

**UPDATE on my original 4-star review **I was contacted by the company inquiring about my reported issue and they promptly sent me a set of the 7oz pouches to try out. They indicated that if they could not achieve a five-star rating from the product, they were going to earn it with their customer service. I will say that I did not give them the 5th star because they chose to send me the larger package to try out, but because the product itself really does rate 5 stars. The 7oz package does give me the extra space I needed to get a full serving in for my son, but I also found that I can toss in a couple of ice cube size portions right into the pouch and by the time I need it, I have a perfectly portioned pouch. My original 4-star rating was because I couldn't fit in the portion that I needed without the contents squirting out before I could zip it close, but everything else about the product was fantastic. I have used the founder's tip to fill it up until the grass line and that has helped tremendously. I've included an image of both the 5oz and 7oz pouches filled with the same amount. While the 5oz requires you to squeeze it tightly to close, the 7oz pouch fits it comfortably.Incidentally, their customer service does, in fact, earn a 5-star rating, but if the product isn't good, then customer service really can't fix that. But in this case, product and service are both fantastic. I have recommended this product to the other parents in my son's class and I recommend it as well to anyone who asks.********************************************************Because reusability was slightly more important to me than packaging design, I would say that overall this product does meet my primary objective. However, it falls slightly short of my usability objectives - but not so much that I would abandon this product.I had previously used the Kiinde pouches, which I didn't really have too many complaints about other than they were not reusable. I have an 11m who likes to vary between a spoon and a pouch so I thought I would give these a try. First, they do feel very durable; I'm sure I will be able to get many uses out of each of these. I bought 2-6 packs of 5oz pouches.What I Like:I like that the spout at the top is smaller than the Kiinde pouches so there is less of a chance of spillover as he squeezes his way through the pouch, but I do have to really ensure that the contents I'm putting in there is smooth with no chunks or it will get stuck.Cleaning them so far hasn't been an issue, but then I rinse them out right after use. I have to wonder about the day that I am away from the house for a good long period where the pouch would end up with dried stuck food on the inside, so I will reserve my judgment on that until that day comes. I really like that I am not creating a lot of waste and garbage with every use and I am a little more liberal with using them with my little one because of the no waste (rather than putting it in a bowl and feeding it to him). Additionally, it is encouraging him to be more independent with his meals.What I Don't Like:What I don't like is that there are no measurements anywhere on the package. The Kiinde pouches has oz markings so you know how much you are filling and how much has been consumed. I know that commercial pouches do not have these markings, but then I am not filling those up. So I used a marker on the pitcher to fill up these pouches to 4.5oz for the 5oz pouches and every single time I cannot zip up the pouch without it spilling out, so I end up only putting in 4oz and even then I still struggle to get it zipped up. I have been frustrated every single time so far filling these pouches up trying to get them zipped up without food getting all over the place and in the zipper, so I may look for something small enough to fill it from the top spout and see if that would reduce my frustration. Else, I guess it's the trade-off for having a smaller spout top (vs Kiinde which has a large spout top since that is how you fill those pouches up) vs non-reusable pouches.Other observations:I don't mind that they don't stand up in the refrigerator. I line them up in the freezer door so they do stand up and I simply lay them down in a Tupperware in the refrigerator for defrosting (incidentally the same way I defrost frozen breastmilk when needed). My son was very happy with this pouch. He was able to feed himself and sucked it all down in a matter of minutes and even worked a little extra hard to get the last bits out, however, no matter how much he squeezed and sucked, there was still about .5oz or so that just would not come out but washed out once I opened up the zippered bottom. I was slightly dismayed at the amount of food waste.Overall:I wanted to provide at least 4.5oz of fruit & veggies in a pouch for my son to feed himself. I was able to do this with the Kiinde brand, however, I was also looking for something that was reusable so we could reduce our waste. Between not being able to actually fill in 4.5oz in the 5oz pouch and the loss of at least .5oz at the end - I am actually only able to get him 3.5oz of fruits & veggies. After he finished the pouch I mentioned above, he was still hungry so I had to supplement with another serving vs. 1 Kiinde 4.5oz pouch satisfies his appetite with little to no food waste. Perhaps I should have bought the 7oz pouches so I could get the full 4.5oz. Lesson learned for next time.

These are working out for me. I bought them to try to reduce the mess...and honestly my little one still makes a mess with these, but I do think now that he's got the hang of it it's better than spoon feeding mess wise. I personally find them super easy to fill and clean. Even though they're technically "dishwasher safe" I wouldn't put this in the dishwasher. Especially if you have a bottle brush they hand wash easy.

Easy to fill, but are the material is odd. It isn't flexible like silicon but it isn't a hard plastic. I liked that they were dishwasher safe

I have a 2.5 year old girl and a 11 month old boy. My oldest has always been a good eater. I made my own baby food for her, and she ate pretty much everything I gave her in good volumes. Still does for the most part. My son, on the other hand has been nothing but challenging in this area. My biggest challenge has been that he refused the spoon and insisted on feeding himself. But a kid can only survive so long on Cheerios! One day out of desperation, I tried a store-bought pouch like these. My daughter never liked them until she was much older, but he sucked it right down at about 8 months old - he just loved that he could hold it himself and he "got" the idea of sucking on the top. But they were SO expensive, and I already had baby food made that I want to use, so I bought them every once in a while, but still struggled to find other ways to feed him that he would take to, all the while loving when I "got to" give him a "sucky thing" (like my daughter calls them) because they were clean, easy and he would eat the whole thing, so I knew he had a full belly.Eventually, I looked into "self-fill" pouches once I found they existed. I was a little frustrated by what I found first, because you needed to buy a fill station or pump, and since they filled from the little spout on the top, they would have been really hard to clean, and they were technically not intended to be used more than once, etc., etc., etc. Then I stumbled upon Nature's Little Squeeze after following links, consumer suggestions and commenters recommendations on Amazon. First of all, I loved all the specs: made to be reusable (yay!), dishwasher safe, freezer safe, easy to clean and easy for fill because they open from the bottom (I loved this feature most of all). They also had the best reviews of any other "fill from the bottom" pouches I found. They seemed a little more expensive than some of the other kinds, but I trusted the reviewers and my gut and figured it would be worth the money if they worked better than the others!And they worked SO well!! I gave one each to my kids at breakfast time and just put some applesauce in there. First of all, I was happy that all I needed was a spoon. The last thing I need in the kitchen is another gadget to store or clean! Lord knows I have enough dishes! Then, they both devoured them! And when they both wanted more, I just opened up the bottom and spooned in more applesauce! Amazing. Added bonuses: my daughter likes her applesauce warm, so I just dropped the filled pouch in warm water and done. When they had some leftovers, I just popped them in the fridge. Later, at dinner, I had my son finish his leftover applesauce, rinsed it out (yes, it is TOTALLY easy to clean - I was even able to stick a bottle brush in there which wasn't necessary this time, but it was nice to know I could), and then put a jar of baby food in it that I hadn't been able to get him to eat, and he sucked the whole thing down in a couple minutes. It was a revelation. I wish I would have bought these earlier! Cheaper, easier, less waste and I can put whatever I want in them. I can see so much potential: not only can I "sneak" a bunch of nutritious food in there for both of my kids, but I can even just put my frozen cubes of homemade baby food that have gone uneaten for months in them and let them thaw in there if I want or use up the jars of baby food that I was trying to figure out how to get rid of.Also, we are traveling to New Zealand in a couple months. I am excited to think that I can just throw these in our luggage empty and have an easy, cheap and familiar feeding option once we get there with no added bulk or weird customs issues or spillage worries. I won't need anything but a spoon to fill them and water to wash them - and I'm pretty sure New Zealand has those - even the airports for that matter. Hooray!THANK YOU. In one day, this genius product has solved a lot of my problems without adding anything to my already over-loaded to-do list.