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Better safe — and prepared — than sorry.

It’s the philosophy I’ve lived by for as long as I can remember, and it’s carried over into buying food for Baby Bird.

That’s my stockpile. I’ve got 72 tubs there — enough to last for a month should Gerber ever go out of business.

What you see is just Stage 2 food. The problem is that my kid is transitioning into “real” food — Stage 3 stuff and whatever’s on my plate — so this stuff could go to waste.

Throwing this food away isn’t an option. Donating it would be honorable, and I already have some stuff packed up. The rest of it needs to get into my baby’s belly.

I figured I could kill two birds with one stone by turning the baby food into … popsicles! They’ll keep Baby Bird cool during these hot summer days, and I’ll know she’s getting enough to eat. She can have up to six in one sitting, which is the equivalent of a 2-ounce tub of baby food plus a bit of yogurt.

Thus far, she’s had mango, banana/mango/carrot, apple/blueberry, and sweet potato.

These popsicles are incredibly easy to make: Just combine the baby food, a teaspoon of water, and an eighth-cup of yogurt. I use Stonyfield Organic’s YoBaby yogurt in plain or vanilla, but you can use whatever suits your child’s tastes.

You can also hide veggies in them. I put the mango mixture in a blender with a bit of spinach, and Baby Bird sucked it right down.

Pour the mix into your mold and wait for the yumminess to solidify.

Of course, I had to taste test one — for quality assurance purposes.

(BTW: I can’t say enough about the Nuby Garden Fresh Fruitsicle Frozen Pop Tray. The “sticks” are PERFECT for little hands, the kit is BPA free, and it can be cleaned in the dishwasher. We only have one, but I’ve ordered another so I can keep up with the demand for popsicles.)

I think Baby Bird gets a little self-esteem boost when she’s able to feed herself, and these popsicle molds help with that.

Plus, she gets to smear her cold food all over Mama. It’s a win all around for her.