Baby-led weaning essentials
So far I have avoided talking about what essential bits of kit that are useful for baby-led weaning in part because I was learning myself and also I am not a huge fan of endorsing a product unless I have thoroughly used it and truly found it useful. Now I am nearly at a year of doing baby-led weaning and I think I can usefully provide advice on the buys and just don’t bother. So here it is:
The obvious..
• Gill Rapley’s baby-led weaning book – this gives you a thorough overview of what baby-led weaning is, my caveat is that despite being a term widely used and first coined by Gill the concept itself is not scientifically researched and so it’ best to view this as guidance and also use some common sense too. I wouldn’t bother buying her cookbook, as I have browsed this in a bookshop and it’s really just standard family meals that you can find anywhere.
• A wipe down highchair – the ikea chair is def my fav, but I made the mistake of a buying a swanky cushioned chair first, waste of money it soon ends up stinking despite cleaning as you really can’t clean the plastic cushioned material that well.
• Weaning wipes – now wipes cost a fortune, so invest in some cheeky wipes (http://www.cheekywipes.com/cloth-baby-wipes/bamboo-minky-cloth-baby-wipes.html) They are amazing, I don’t bother soaking mine, I literally damp it with plain water, use it, pop it in an empty container and then pop them on a 60C wash every 2-3 days. You are saving the planet doing so, they have the cutest designs, are far more gentler on your babies skin, and kerching you make your money back pretty quick and then it’s actually profit!
• Babycup (http://www.babycup.co.uk/) and the doidy cup (at meal times let them learn to drink from a cup. The babycup is amazing starter, for under 1s, you will never give them too much water with this and its easy for them to hold and drink. Then at around 12-14 months they will be ready to transition to the doidy cup (https://www.doidycups.com/). I can’t stress the importance of just learning to drink from a free flow cup from the get go – why learn to drink from a spout or pressure cup and then later have to learn to drink from a free flow cup, just get rid of the ridiculous middle man.
• Munchkin standard spoon and fork set (https://www.munchkin.co.uk/6-multi-coloured-forks-and-spoons.html). Start with loaded spoons early on, so they can learn the concept of a spoon and move on to forks at around 1 year, once they have mastered spoons. Do not spend a fortune on some ridiculous ergonomic designed spoon etc it really just needs to be plastic and have a short and fattish handle!
• Bibs, bibs, bibs – just don’t bother! Controversial, but Zahara just kept trying to pull them off, or the arms would get in the way etc., In the end I just bought some essential cheap body tops, made sure the room wasn’t too cold and that was that. You can then wash these with your cheeky wipes.
• Colourful silicon or wooden plates with sections. See how you go, we didn’t really use ours as Zahara was pretty good at grabbing food, but I have heard other mums say that with the high edges it makes it easier for younger babies to grab food. Plus there is a development leap that sees little ones liking there food in a nice neat order, it’s all about sequencing, so you may find that if your little one starts moving food around the plate/organising food and being fussy - then plate separating tray might be worth investing in. Do however, invest in some cheap plastic ikea plates and bowls at around 14 months and start serving food on them, it’s around this time that they learn not to turn things upside down, and it’s nice for them to have a plate.
The less obvious
• A floor mat – honestly the mess to start with and for at least 6-8 months is unreal, with a splash mat you can just fold it onto itself, carry it into the kitchen and empty the contents into the bin, give it a quick wipe and you are ready to start again.
• Small plastic containers for food storage. Again, Ikea is your place for inexpensive small containers.
• A cool bag and ice packs to carry food around and re-offer at a later time once your child is 1 years or above – toddlers are grazers and so may want to pick all day long.
• Measuring spoons, cups and weighing scales – if you are not already a cook then now is the time to invest and start cooking – blw works if you put the effort in and enjoy cooking/food in general, you can’t cook without measuring I am afraid.
• Likewise, a cooking brush is great for glazing roasted veg with nice spicy flavours or giving your pastry a nice glow with an egg wash.
• Don’t bother with a crinkle cutter - the things that you can actually cut with a crinkle cutter are pretty easy to pick up anyhow so it makes very little difference. For example, you can’t use a crinkle cutter on avocado or mango – so your best bet is just to cut wedges into it to help your little one grasp the slippery item.
• SPICE! If you have looked at my page I am all about SPICE…the key spices for you to start with if you are not a cook but want to start now are: paprika, cumin, coriander, chilli, curry powder, garam masala, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Also, def add oregano dried herb to your small jar collection.
• Throwaway kitchen surface cleaning wipes – these are great for quickly wiping down the high chair hygienically – a blue cloth and kitchen spray in my view is just not as hygienic, unless you use a new blue cloth each day, which is actually more expensive than throwaway wipes – if you are saving money on your weaning wipes then spend a few bob on the surface cleaning wipes. They are also great if you go out for food as you can quickly wipe down the restaurant high chair and table before little one sits down to eat.
The obvious..
• Gill Rapley’s baby-led weaning book – this gives you a thorough overview of what baby-led weaning is, my caveat is that despite being a term widely used and first coined by Gill the concept itself is not scientifically researched and so it’ best to view this as guidance and also use some common sense too. I wouldn’t bother buying her cookbook, as I have browsed this in a bookshop and it’s really just standard family meals that you can find anywhere.
• A wipe down highchair – the ikea chair is def my fav, but I made the mistake of a buying a swanky cushioned chair first, waste of money it soon ends up stinking despite cleaning as you really can’t clean the plastic cushioned material that well.
• Weaning wipes – now wipes cost a fortune, so invest in some cheeky wipes (http://www.cheekywipes.com/cloth-baby-wipes/bamboo-minky-cloth-baby-wipes.html) They are amazing, I don’t bother soaking mine, I literally damp it with plain water, use it, pop it in an empty container and then pop them on a 60C wash every 2-3 days. You are saving the planet doing so, they have the cutest designs, are far more gentler on your babies skin, and kerching you make your money back pretty quick and then it’s actually profit!
• Babycup (http://www.babycup.co.uk/) and the doidy cup (at meal times let them learn to drink from a cup. The babycup is amazing starter, for under 1s, you will never give them too much water with this and its easy for them to hold and drink. Then at around 12-14 months they will be ready to transition to the doidy cup (https://www.doidycups.com/). I can’t stress the importance of just learning to drink from a free flow cup from the get go – why learn to drink from a spout or pressure cup and then later have to learn to drink from a free flow cup, just get rid of the ridiculous middle man.
• Munchkin standard spoon and fork set (https://www.munchkin.co.uk/6-multi-coloured-forks-and-spoons.html). Start with loaded spoons early on, so they can learn the concept of a spoon and move on to forks at around 1 year, once they have mastered spoons. Do not spend a fortune on some ridiculous ergonomic designed spoon etc it really just needs to be plastic and have a short and fattish handle!
• Bibs, bibs, bibs – just don’t bother! Controversial, but Zahara just kept trying to pull them off, or the arms would get in the way etc., In the end I just bought some essential cheap body tops, made sure the room wasn’t too cold and that was that. You can then wash these with your cheeky wipes.
• Colourful silicon or wooden plates with sections. See how you go, we didn’t really use ours as Zahara was pretty good at grabbing food, but I have heard other mums say that with the high edges it makes it easier for younger babies to grab food. Plus there is a development leap that sees little ones liking there food in a nice neat order, it’s all about sequencing, so you may find that if your little one starts moving food around the plate/organising food and being fussy - then plate separating tray might be worth investing in. Do however, invest in some cheap plastic ikea plates and bowls at around 14 months and start serving food on them, it’s around this time that they learn not to turn things upside down, and it’s nice for them to have a plate.
The less obvious
• A floor mat – honestly the mess to start with and for at least 6-8 months is unreal, with a splash mat you can just fold it onto itself, carry it into the kitchen and empty the contents into the bin, give it a quick wipe and you are ready to start again.
• Small plastic containers for food storage. Again, Ikea is your place for inexpensive small containers.
• A cool bag and ice packs to carry food around and re-offer at a later time once your child is 1 years or above – toddlers are grazers and so may want to pick all day long.
• Measuring spoons, cups and weighing scales – if you are not already a cook then now is the time to invest and start cooking – blw works if you put the effort in and enjoy cooking/food in general, you can’t cook without measuring I am afraid.
• Likewise, a cooking brush is great for glazing roasted veg with nice spicy flavours or giving your pastry a nice glow with an egg wash.
• Don’t bother with a crinkle cutter - the things that you can actually cut with a crinkle cutter are pretty easy to pick up anyhow so it makes very little difference. For example, you can’t use a crinkle cutter on avocado or mango – so your best bet is just to cut wedges into it to help your little one grasp the slippery item.
• SPICE! If you have looked at my page I am all about SPICE…the key spices for you to start with if you are not a cook but want to start now are: paprika, cumin, coriander, chilli, curry powder, garam masala, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Also, def add oregano dried herb to your small jar collection.
• Throwaway kitchen surface cleaning wipes – these are great for quickly wiping down the high chair hygienically – a blue cloth and kitchen spray in my view is just not as hygienic, unless you use a new blue cloth each day, which is actually more expensive than throwaway wipes – if you are saving money on your weaning wipes then spend a few bob on the surface cleaning wipes. They are also great if you go out for food as you can quickly wipe down the restaurant high chair and table before little one sits down to eat.