Any top tips on weaning products?

[NewMum17]

It's almost time to start weaning and i need to get shopping!

So what essentials do you use a lot and would recommend? Any particular comments of brands and/or shops which you love would be useful.

Thanks in advance

[NannyR]

You don't really need to buy much at all. Some plastic spoons and maybe a bowl, some small plastic boxes with lids for taking food and snacks out and about.

You can mash food roughly with a fork or potato masher, but if you want to make smooth purses, a cheap stick blender works just as well as an expensive baby blender.

If you are buying a high chair, buy the Ikea antilop one, cheap and practical and very easy to clean. Some long sleeved overall bibs are useful too and a mat (a shower curtain actually works well) to put under the high chair to make cleaning up easier - also means you can pick up food that's been dropped and put it back on the tray as the mat is clean.

[NannyR]

That should be purees, not purses!

[AssassinatedBeauty]

How are you planning to wean? If BLW then really not much more than a highchair and some bibs are needed. The antilop is a really good chair, the top seat part will actually fit in a standard dishwasher if it needs a really good clean.

[ItchyFoot]

You don't need to spend much.
Bibs
Cheap easy clean high chair
Some soft spoons (we have boots own brand ones)
Some extras that are useful
A wipe clean mat
A sippy cup/beaker for water (we use the munchkin 360 one that is better for teeth)

[bluechameleon]

A stock of small plastic tubs is useful for taking food out and about - you can cut up grapes, cheese etc. Also I had a couple of cheap machine washable shower curtains to put under the highchair because we had carpet, but you might not need that if you have hard floors.

[NewMum17]

Wow thank you so much! I'll probably do a bit of both, baby led and parent led.

I'll def get a hand/stick blender as opposed to those overpriced baby ones.

Superb idea about machine washable shower mats!! I've got tiled flooring but I guess a mat won't hurt if it's easier to clean. I'll get on the look now.

Lots have recommended the Ikea highchair both here and in a mum's meet. My baby can't quite sit on his own yet tho so was considering a mothercare one for £50 which is cushioned and can recline. But is it worth it? Harder to clean I guess..

[Suzietwo]

Cheeky wiped

[OuchBollocks]

Don't get anything cushioned. You will never ever ever get the food out of the stitching. Also, don't feed your baby when reclined, it's a choking hazard. If your baby is too wobbly for the antilop, look around for a second hand baby bjorn high chair. They're very supportive, my 4mo can sit upright in his.

[OuchBollocks]

But you could also just prop your baby up in the antilop with a rolled up towel :)

[AssassinatedBeauty]

The Ikea highchair has a cushion insert which you can use for a baby that needs a bit of support. I don't like the idea of a reclining chair as babies should be as upright as possible when feeding, imo.

[NannyR]

You can buy an inflatable cushion to pad out the Ikea chair. I suspect you would regret buying a padded chair once you see just how many places dried weetabix can accumulate in it, they are notoriously difficult to clean! Everyone I've worked for who initially bought a reclining chair ended up buying the antilop in the end.

[Wreckingball25]

I have a chicco poppy reclining one... bit more of a pain to clean but she has been known to fall asleep during breakfast (my chat obviously needs some work) so I can recline her for a very early nap!

[Doje]

The bibs with the long sleeves are an absolute necessity. Just the supermarket ones are fine, they normal come in a pack of two.

We bought a cheap shower curtain to put under the high chair. Easy to clean up and can go in the washing machine to clean it.

Small Tupperware tubs. When we started weaning DS still asleep slept so much, so if we only ate at the house we'd never get out! I made things that would travel - quiche, fritters, sweet potato wedges etc as well as chopped up fruit, and everywhere we went I got him to 'practice' cos actually at the early stages it's more about practice than actual nutrition. Well, it was with us at least!

[lorisparkle]

I did BLW and found my steamer fantastic. I would chop up veg into 'sticks' and then steam. It means you can cook a small variety of veg in one place and also cook extras that you might be having like rice at the same time. If we had a curry I would also steam some plain chicken for the baby when he was at that stage.

I agree that long sleeve bibs and the ikea high chair are fantastic. We bought cheap flannels from ikea as well - still have them now and ds1 is 10!!!!

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

Agree on not getting a cushioned high chair, our was horrendous to clean and I hated it.

Can second th long sleeved bibs too, especially when the meal may stain.

[FartnissEverbeans]

Antilop chair is brilliant. DS has used a lot of chairs when visiting or at restaurants etc and none of them are as good.

I just bought a little bowl which has grooves in the bottom and a masher - I haven't used it yet but I think it'll be really helpful for mashing small amounts instead of getting out the potato masher and a pot. <a class="break-all" href="//www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B005697YP4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1500756586&sr=8-1&keywords=annabel%20karmel%20masher&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">//www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B005697YP4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1500756586&sr=8-1&keywords=annabel%20karmel%20masher&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Sterilizing wipes are great for cleaning the high chair tray, then you don't need to use bowls.

I've also bought some Kiddo Feedo baby storage pots <a class="break-all" href="//www.amazon.co.uk/KIDDO-FEEDO-Baby-Storage-Clip/dp/B00HQMMLP2?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">//www.amazon.co.uk/KIDDO-FEEDO-Baby-Storage-Clip/dp/B00HQMMLP2?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 which are great - a bit big for early weaning but great for freezing bigger portions later on.

If you haven't already got a Pinterest account you should get one as there are loads of recipes and tips on there.

[Orangedaisy]

Lots of gu puddings for you so you can save up the little glass pots for freezing bigger portions when your baby is a bit bigger

[stackedcups]

I got some Nuby stuff (bowls, snack pots, sippy bottle) from either Poundworld or Poundland (I get them mixed up). 4 plastic bowls for £1? Yes please! They're all really good.

[gincamelbak]

Antilop high chair
Long sleeve bibs
Baby led weaning cookbook.
Plastic plates and bowls were camping ones from decathlon or Ikea.
Lidded cups were the free Tommy tippee ones from the health visitor.

I didn't make purees, the baby ate what we ate. I don't cook with salt and I just didn't out hot spices in food I would normally use it for.

[dodecahedronandonandon]

Antilop is great! Also Stokke Tripp Trapp is a brilliant highchair as it lasts for years. If happy to have a second hand one they wear really well so worth looking out at NCT sales or on ebay.
Tray table that you can put food straight onto is fab if doing BLW (antilop has built in tray) - Tidy tot bib and tray is great if you need to save the floor. Otherwise a plastic mat on the floor is a good option too.
Babycup first cups are brilliant, they look really small but completely make sense when you see a weaning baby pick one up.
Baby led weaning cookbook has great ideas.
Hope you have fun