– Weaning

So when you think you’ve got things sussed, maybe a nice little routine happening with feeds and naps ….along comes the next phase: W E A N I N G !

Weaning is a little like the breast vs formula debate, whether you choose baby-led weaning (BLW) or spoon feeding or a mixture of both – fed is best! I decided to try a combination of both – the spoon feeding option to get my son used to having solids and once this was established I introduced finger food.

Getting Started

The weaning experience needn’t be like feeding wild animals.

[Please note: this blog contains some affiliate links]

Whether you’re doing BLW or traditional weaning, there some staple items that you will need to make feeding your baby a little less feeding time at the zoo:

• Bowl/dish (preferably with suction)
• Bibs
• Beaker
• Cutlery – even if you’re doing BLW, your little one will progress to using it eventually

Bowl/dish – I would suggest having some suction bowls. Ones with lids can be handy for being out and about at feed times, we found Nuby ones great for this and the suction is halfdecent. If really great suction is your aim then I swear by our Bamboo Bamboo dishes, even as a toddler we carry this for eating out, plus the designs make it easy to segregate food and fun eating for your little one.

Bibs – we have always option for the coverall bibs. Ikea do a cheap one that I handy for out and about, but if your little one is likely to be handling food themselves or you have a saucy meal ahead then Bibado is the way to go! See below for the reason why…

They are easy to fold up and empty food contents straight into the bin – saving your child’s clothes and your floor from mess! We wipe down after use and every few days pop it into the washing machine – for this reason we have have two of these bibs, one spare while the other is in the washing machine.

Beaker – because as well as eating, your little one will eventually need to accompany their solids with something to drink. Water will be a new transition for your baby after being so used to having only milk and the early stages are more about familiarisation rather than the need for water.

When you first start weaning, solids will be an accompaniment to baby’s milk  so they will have plenty of liquids. Also you will find that lots of recipes for will include cows milk, formula or breastmilk so don’t overly worry if your baby doesn’t gulp down water at first. (Note: although you should avoid giving cows milk to drink until 12 months, you can introduce a splash of it into meals if you wish after 6 months).

We made the transition with the Tommee Tippee Bottle to Cup, which comes with a teat and lid. If your little one has been exclusively breastfed they may not take to a teat, so perhaps go straight to a beaker or cup.

My son was breastfed with one bottle a day, so introducing a beaker with a teat wasn’t too bad but we have progressed and tried a few other options:

• Tommee Tippee Free Flow First Cup – your standard beaker with easy-to-grip handles and greater for getting used to faster flow after a teat or bottle.
• Munchkin Miracle 360 Cup – a great way to introduce free flow drinking but still some spillage protection
• Doidy Training Sippy Cup – an angled, open cup with handles designed to improve cup control

We did try a Bebear anti-spill beaker and straw beaker, which was brilliant for anti-spill but to drink from the straw requires to bite down and suck at the same time. My son would often get frustrated and we ended up not using it. It was not a cheap purchase and one we wouldn’t recommend.

The aim of course is to develop skills from: learning to drink from a beaker, then from a cup; holding a beaker to learning to tipping it up to master drinking for themselves. Remember, go with your baby, there is no rush and each little one will progress at their own pace.

Cutlery

We have used the same set of spoons since the beginning of our weaning journey (6 months) until now (almost 18 months)  – the Munchkin Soft Tip Infant Spoons (pack of 6).

More than one spoon is definitely handy if you are needing spoons for mains, dessert, etc., it saves wiping and cleaning the same spoon.

Athough you’re unlikely to need cutlery in the beginning if you’re planning on BLW, it may still be worth having a set incase you do have some occasions when you decide to use a spoon, for example: eating yoghurt. Of course this is completely personal preference.

As well as using spoons and cutlery, be prepared for plenty of hand feeding – even now my little one will often favour hand feeding over his spoon or fork (especially as we are still mastering the art of his actually getting the food onto said spoon/fork!)

When you are ready to introduce cutlery, we have been using Doddl spoon, fork and knife set since my son turned 15 months. These are game changers!!! The short and chunky handle is designed to make it easier for little one to control movement from dish to mouth. (A full review of the Doddl cutlery will be featured on my blog page shortly)

Where to begin?

Traditional Weaning

As mentioned we did a combination of traditional weaning and some baby led stuff too. I started off with traditional purees and progressed to finger food. So that meant having some kitchen equipment to make the purees, which included:

• Steamer – I borrowed one from a family member but you can also use the stackable pans on the hob to steam your fruit/veg too
• Hand blender – I managed to pick one up relevatively cheaply or you could just use a masher and some elbow grease!
• Silicone ice cube tray – I bought 4 so I had plenty for batch freezing (Tesco had these for £1 each)
• Zip lock freezer bags – once frozen pop your cubes of veg into a bag and label.

I have included the plan I followed for the first 2 weeks and refers to how many cubes of puree required:

For more recipes and weaning stuff, check out my highlights on my Instagram @welshmummysteph 👍

Annabel Karmel recipes were also a big hit in our household!

I should also state that food pouches (like Ella’s Kitchen) have featured alot in our house as not everything is made from scratch. I wanted to make the purees myself but you can get puree pouches of individual veg and fruit too. Do what you feel is right for you and baby!

Baby Led Weaning (BLW)

Before our weaning journey I was very open to the prospect of BLW and thought that was the 21st Century style of weaning. However, in the weeks leading up to the start of our weaning journey at 24 weeks I decided that I wasn’t ready for gag reflexes with food that hasn’t been pureed, and that I could built up to introducing finger food and baby led weaning.

I know of mums who have done BLW from the beginning with complete success so it really is just personal preference. Do what you feel is right for you and your baby.

If you are looking for some BLW inspiration, or looking to progress to finger food, then I found these instagram accounts very useful:

• Isabelsblwjourney
• What_isaac_eats (great vegan dishes)
• Sophialedweaning

I’m sure there are lots more amazing pages too but these are the pages I referred to for inspiration or meal time planning.

This is purely our experience and I hope it can help someone else in theirs!