Easy hints and tips to start weaning your baby:
Weaning is an exciting time for both parents and baby. This new chapter of discovering tastes, textures and colours is one that we all anticipate and look forward to but it’s fair to say it can be a little daunting and can also feel like a big jump when the time comes!
Most babies will be ready to move onto solids at 6 months and the signs that they are ready to wean are easy to look out for. If they can hold their head up independently, sit comfortably with support and have good hand and eye coordination with their toys at around 6 months. They may also be waking more during the night or wanting more milk feeds. If your baby is showing these key signs then you are good to go.
It’s also important to note that when you start baby weaning, this is the time to really trust your instinct. You will know when your little one is ready and it doesn’t matter if they are not quite there yet, just try them again in a couple of weeks time.
All the things you will need for your baby weaning adventure:
Food preparation...
- A couple of small saucepans to easily cook small portions for baby.
- A vegetable peeler for baby’s first vegetable tastes.
- Masher once your baby is comfortable with purées and you move on.
- A steamer for those veggies to help keep the nutrients all in tact!
- Lots of tupperware and microwave safe containers.
To store...
- A blender or hand processor to blend your baby’s meals for softer and puréed textures.
- Ice cube trays to be used for storing purées into small portions.
- Freezer bags to store purées or finger foods easily. (You could also stock up on some labels and marker pens to label baby’s food!)
Let’s eat...
- High chair or a booster seat.
- Machine washable bibs (...and lots of them!)
- Baby bowls (you could try suction bowls which can be easy) and soft tip spoons. We like www.bubbaboo.com
- A messy mat to put underneath the high chair can be useful for easier cleaning.
- Sippy cups and beakers to encourage baby to move on from bottle. We are huge fans of Munchkin 360 miracle cup which does not spill!
- Wipes and cloths at the ready and let the fun and mess begin!
Baby weaning food ideas to get you started:
Most parents tend to start with single fruits or vegetables. You could purée mash or cook down soft sticks of the following:
Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Sweet potato, Apple, Pear, Banana.
A quick and easy first mashed snack could be banana mashed with their usual milk.
Finger food ideas...
Bite sized avocado
Soft boneless fish
Cooked starchy foods like pasta and rice
Hard boiled eggs
Baby weaning kitchen essentials for Mums and Dads...
Ella’s Kitchen: The First Foods Book, is packed with lots of different baby weaning meal ideas to help you along the way! they also have a great free app which has some easy recipe ideas.
If you would like to explore recipes further then BBC Good Food website has some great baby weaning recipes. Annebel Karmel has an amazing app which costs £4.99
Enjoy and have fun!