It's Weaning Week

It's National Weaning Week and it’s got us mums chatting about how we weaned our little ones onto food. There’s a few ways you can start your baby onto solids and NHS Start 4 life is a great source for the latest guidelines and recipes. But with such a diverse team (and a lot of babies between us!) we thought we’d share some of our own tips and experiences…

Sarona: Mum to Sylvie and Lois

Weaning style: Mashed

What’s easier than grabbing some fruits and veggies and mashing them with a fork! Banana and avocado was a fave of Sarona’s children and it’s so quick and full of goodness. What’s funny is Sylvie was and still is a very tidy eater, where as Lois definitely embraces getting messy!

Silvia: Mum of Martina and Marc

Weaning style: Puree

We loved hearing Silvia tell us that in Spain, every baby starts weaning with an afternoon snack called ‘Papilla de frutas’ meaning fruit puree. Simply blend together ½ apple, ½ pear, ½ banana and ½ the juice of an orange and spoon feed. We just love the thought of every baby having the same yummy afternoon snack at the same time!

Rachel: Mum of twins Evelyn and Rose and Leo

Weaning style: Baby led weaning (BLW)

Having two babies to wean was a little daunting. So Rachel wanted to make it as easy as possible and loved the idea of baby led weaning, where you offer finger foods and let your baby explore and feed themselves. A fave with all 3 of her babies is a Sunday roast! Strips of chicken, finger size carrot and parsnips 'chips' cut into strips, a chunk of steamed broccoli ‘trees’, roast potatoes cut in half and some peas to practice their pincer grip! (Just avoid gravy because of the salt and no honey on veg under one).

Our top tips

Be prepared to expect (and accept!) mess! A bib with long sleeves is essential and keep a pack of baby wipes to hand for quick clean ups. You’ll probably go through more wipes than usual cleaning the floor, highchair, walls, oh and baby! So thank goodness ours are biodegradable. And you might find baby needs a bath more often. As I type my husband brought my baby to me and he smells of sardines from his lunch! Yuk! Don’t forget to check behind their ears and under the chin for any rogue crumbs!

Let’s talk poo. The things you never knew you would become obsessed with as a parent! But with weaning comes changes in the nappy, and you’ll actually feel excited when it does as it means baby has eaten your masterpiece! So expect colour changes (sometimes a little dark green or purple depending on what they’ve eaten!), bits of food (sweetcorn seems to come out whole!) and a bit more smelly than the sweet milk poos you were used to. You may find you use more nappies to begin with while your baby adjusts.

Have fun! It’s a great time to refresh your own diet and hone those cooking skills and explore new tastes and recipes together. Take lots of pictures and videos, especially when they’re covered in yoghurt! Most of all relax, enjoy it and don’t rush. It won’t be long before you have a hungry toddler shouting for SNAAAACKS every 5 minutes!

For advice and support check NHS and National Weaning Week.