What you need to start weaning The essentials you will need to stock up on Before you start your baby on those all-exciting solid foods, you’ll need to stock up on bibs, cutlery, splash mats and more. Here’s the lowdown on weaning essentials: Stock up on all the essentials before you start - it can get quite messy! Buy plates and bowls that stick to the table to stop them being flung around the room Metal spoons can hurt your baby's mouth so try small hard plastic ones instead Floor protector - a splash mat or wipeable plastic tablecloth to go under the highchair – weaning can be seriously messy Baby spoons – try small hard, plastic weaning spoons that won’t crack The coverall combo – try coverall bibs (with sleeves), and pelican bibs – this winning combo will hopefully catch food in a tray to protect your baby’s clothes Flexible ice cube trays - for freezing tiny meals of puréed food A blender or sieve – ideal for puréeing food
A cooler bag - for when you’re out and about A camera - for capturing your baby’s wild and comic expressions when they first taste new foods! If you give your baby a drink with their meal, you’ll need a good beaker. Ideally, start off with a free-flow, lidded beaker rather than a non-spill beaker with a valve. This will teach your baby to sip rather than suck. A beaker with two handles will be easier to hold at first. Then when your baby is confident drinking from a lidded beaker, you can move onto the dizzy heights of a cup! Make sure you dodge the sugar - sweetened drinks are the biggest cause of tooth decay in young children, so make sure you only serve breast milk, formula or water. Choosing a plate and spoon You’ll need a plastic plate or bowl – ideally one that sticks to the table, to stop bowls being joyfully flung around the room. Or why not try putting finger foods straight on the feeding tray of the highchair? Just get it super clean first.
Metal spoons could hurt your baby’s mouth, so you’re best off with small, hard plastic weaning spoon that won’t crack. Babies love nothing better than a madly exciting, brightly-coloured spoon – it’ll help keep them interested in the food. Don’t worry about sterilising plates, spoons, cups and highchair trays – just make sure they’re clean. What to look for in a highchair There’s a vast array of great highchairs on the market - just make sure your favourite offers these features: Good fit- to be comfortable in a highchair, your baby needs to be well supported and not slouching over with their tummy squashed Safety first - conforms to standards EN14988: 2006 and EN 14988-2: 2006. Stable – a heavyweight highchair with a wide base for stability is best. Metal or wooden frames are the most stable Strap-tastic - a waist strap and a strap that runs between the legs Soft and safe - make sure there are no sharp edges on the tray No loose parts – check for loose nuts and other small parts that your baby could accidently shovel in with those peas!
Your baby really can join the family meal sitting up at the table with these - just make sure they’re completely safe: Safety standards - conforms to EN1272:1998 Secure - use table-mounted highchairs on solid tables, not glass or single pedestal tablesYou can talk to other mums who are weaning in the Bounty Community. With this in mind, Bounty offers mums a helping hand through the weaning stage from when their baby turns four and a half months old. So don’t miss your FREE Growing Family Pack which includes our essential weaning guide, How to introduce solid Foods as well as a selection of samples from HiPP Organic Food plus much more. Getting your pack is easy, once you’ve signed up to Bounty, your voucher will automatically be sent to you when your little one turns 4 and half months. Which highchair is best? Read popular posts from other new mums The little hand blenders don't cost much and are really useful What you need to start weaning
Tips For Coping With A Messy EaterLet our tips for coping with a messy eater help take the stress out of mealtimes! There’s no denying that feeding babies is a messy business!It’s not so bad in the early days, when you are feeding your baby from a spoon, because you are pretty much in control of where the food goes!But once you introduce finger foods to your baby or give him his own spoon, then you’ll be AMAZED by just how much mess one little person can create!Probably the most important tip we can offer you at this point is to TRY NOT TO WORRY ABOUT THE MESS and just enjoy these special moments with your baby. If you’re a particularly tidy person, it’s not easy to sit back and watch your baby cover everything with food when your instincts are screaming at you to get it all cleaned up!But babies NEED to make a mess at first! It is very important for them to learn about the textures as well as the tastes of different foods. It is also important for them to have the freedom to control what they are eating – as our “How Much Should My Baby Be Eating?” page explains, this actually plays a crucial part in the body’s ability to regulate its own calorie intake.
Interfering with this innate ability can lead to weight problems in later life.And, of course, your baby needs to be allowed to hold the spoon in order to learn to feed himself. advertisementLess Mess With the Catch Bowl…Boon Catch Bowl with Spill CatcherThis cleverly designed bowl has a suction pad to attach it to the table or the high chair tray – and the built-in food catcher extended towards your little mess maker! The food that gets dropped en route to his mouth should then land on the catcher and be directed back into the bowl… rather than all over your carpets! So what can you do to keep the mess – and your stress – to a minimum?Top Tips For Coping With A Messy EaterProtect your baby’s clothes with a good bib – the coverall types are best when he is at the self-feeding stage (see some of our favourite bibs here).Certain finger foods – like banana, avocado and peaches – are very slippery and tend to end up all over the place! Try rolling them in wheat germ or crushed cereal, which will help your little one pick them up and grip them.
Protect the floor – you can either buy a special highchair splash mat, or you can improvise with any wipe-clean material. A shower curtain is great, as it wipes clean AND it’s nice and big!If you wish, you can buy a protective cover for the highchair itself.Use a “suction” type bowl – at least then your baby will only be able to pelt you with pieces of food and not the entire dish!Only put a little food in your baby’s bowl and keep the majority in a bowl beside you. That way, you can offer extra mouthfuls to your baby in case he is dropping more food than he’s actually eating!If your baby is learning to use a spoon, try to offer thickened foods that will cling to the spoon and be easier for him to scoop up. A thick soup is ideal – a runny soup will end up everywhere!Invite the family dog in after the meal to help you clean up! Don’t discipline your baby for being messy.It is simply out of his control – and he would have no idea why he was being punished. If your older baby is throwing food on the floor, however, you can gently set some family mealtime rules…
Decide first if your baby has actually had enough food – most babies start throwing food because they’re full. If so, simply remove the food and say something like “I’m done” or “no more” to your baby, so that he learns to tell you when he’s finished instead of demonstrating the fact!If your baby seems to just throw food for fun, try removing the food for a minute or two – but keep the food where he can see it. Explain that “we don’t throw food”. If he’s hungry, you’ll be able to tell by his reaction to the removal of the food, so you can return it. But be consistent – take the food away every time some is thrown and he should get the message!Throwing food gets your baby lots of attention! So make sure you give your baby plenty of attention when he’s eating nicely, too.Try to keep things in perspective – almost all babies go through this phase and grow out of it before you know it! There’s plenty of time to teach good table manners later on…for now, have fun and encourage your baby’s delight in food!