FTM - I have no idea what I'm doing! Help!!

[Toastingthebun]

Title says it all really - baby is 5 months old and I just realised I have a month to get everything ready for weaning. Don't even have a high chair or anything yet! 😬

I'm literally clueless and don't know where to look for information. I've googled but it's hard to know what info is rubbish and what's legit...

How do I get started? What do I need to know? How do I do this? I've heard about baby led weaning vs spoon feeding but no clue how to do either.

Do I need to buy a food processor to make purée? When do I give water? What foods am I NOT allowed to give?

Thanks for all your help and advice!

[dementedpixie]

I used a hand blender but you wouldn't need that for BLW. At 6 months you can give most things except honey, whole nuts, salted foods, etc. Banana could be mashed or given as finger food. Ready brek/porridge, weetabix are good - you can add fruit puree for different flavours. Toast fingers, cooked veg, soft fruits, pasta, yoghurt, cheese, etc are all ok. Fish, chicken, other meats fine too

[dementedpixie]

I offered a lidded cup of water alongside meals - only a few sips taken to start with

[PigInASlanket]

High chair - plastic, easy to clean, ideally have a footrest. IKEA Antilop is always popular, but the Asda version has a footrest so I wish I'd got that one instead in hindsight.

If you want to do BLW get yourself a copy of the Gill Rapley Cookbook (or her first book but the cookbook explains it all anyway). Can't comment on traditional I'm afraid as I don't know anyone who's done it.

[dementedpixie]

www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/

[Toastingthebun]

Thanks all - just thinking about the mess, other than bibs, is a floor mat necessary? Also I've heard Cheeky Wipes are good for cleanup but surely just a normal flannel will do?

Thanks

[Dontforgetyourbrolly]

I started off on purees that I blended myself and moved into mashed food that had a bit more texture....ds was a very " gaggy" baby and it made me really nervous!
Cheapo plastic sheet you can buy in poundland was great as he was very messy

[LoisLittsLover]

I would recommend baby lead weaning, they can have what you do from day 1 if it has no added salt or honey. We fed dd naked for ages as it helped the cleanup, either in a basic high chair or her mamas and papas snug seat. It doesn't need to be stressful or difficult, although understand your feelings entireley

[Spanneroo]

We've always just offered a bit of whatever we're having. To start with, they'll just smush it around and maybe get 1% in their mouth. They'll get the hang of it eventually.

High chair - the main thing is one with our nooks and crannies that cab get absolutely disgusting. I like the ones that clip to the table (you can put them in the washing machine). We also have a regular chair with removable chair at mum's (ikea one) which is easy to clean and the legs come off for easy storage.

You don't need any special crockery (we use a cast iron casserole dish - too heavy for baby to fling across the room) but you'll want a plastic spoon for self-feeding so that they don't jam a metal spoon into their teeth/gums at speed!

[Spanneroo]

Removable tray*
Without nooks and crannies which can get disgusting*

Sorry for those typos- breastfeeding twins!

[LemonScentedStickyBat]

static1.squarespace.com/static/59f75004f09ca48694070f3b/t/5ceed06a15fcc07f8822270b/1559154825802/Eating_well_first_year_April19_for_web.pdf

This is great to download

[PigInASlanket]

Floor mat if you have carpets. More faff than necessary if you have a hard floor.
Cheeky wipes are lovely but the Ikea pack of 10 flannels does the same job.