To not cook for just weaned baby?

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DD is 7 months. She’s very slowly getting the hang of eating but isn’t eating anything really significant in the way of solids.

Monday, Tuesday and Friday (and weekends) I have her brother too so I make a child friendly meal and she can just have some of that. But on Wednesday and Thursday he is at nursery and eats there. AIBU not to make her a special meal and just give her a bit of toast or crumpet?

At 7 months she doesn’t need much but in a month or two she might be eating more. You could steam some veggies and keep them in the fridge for a few days. Avocado is a good one if they like it. Egg muffins with veggies are easy to make and will keep in the fridge for a few days.

I think a full meal isn’t needed op but you’ve set people off by listing toast and crumpets which aren’t nutritious. If you’d said eggs or fruit you might have had different responses.

It’s not about cooking a big meal, no one is saying cook a whole shepherds pie or similar. But you do need to prepare a healthy meal with protein and veg, perhaps followed by fruit or yogurt . It doesn’t have to be a large amount that gets frozen. It’s about introducing all sorts of foods.

If you have ice in your freezer chuck that out and use the tray for baby meals.

Jars of premade baby food are great for this situation, though toast for lunch twice a week won't do her any harm.

She does seem to be getting the hang of those in a way she hasn’t with other foods (yet.) Toast, crumpet, rice cake, all good. She liked chilli. But peach, egg, banana, broccoli, chicken, carrot, sweet potato, cod, mango, courgette, have all ended up on the floor. I have been reassured it is all fine and normal but perhaps I am wrong.

She did enjoy some eggy bread the other day which was made with egg (obviously) and banana and raspberry, so perhaps not all is completely lost.

Make a small amount extra on Monday and Wednesday and pop in fridge overnight, then reheat?

Has weaning changed since my day, 25 years ago. We started with mashed up banana, potatoes, carrots etc., just a tiny amount before milk each meal. My children were on liquid food for a good couple of months, increasing the amount each week, but still liquidised.

I presume you mean ice cubes, Ken? No, the freezer is just small, and full. And in any event, it’s still making special baby food which will not be eaten. I certainly don’t mind giving her a carrot to be theoretically eaten or egg or sweet potato but I don’t really want to be laboriously making pasta bakes and putting them in ice cube trays and then forgetting them or remembering them and defrosting them and serving them and for them to be ignored and thrown around!

She's 7 months old. Her nutrition is mainly from milk. A crumpet and avocado is absolutely fine for dinner! They don't need to sit round the table for a 3 course meal with the extended family as people on here seem to think!

Can't she just have what you're having? Surely you are modelling good mealtimes by sitting together and eating?

Just save a couple of portions of whatever meals you have in the preceding couple of days and put them in the fridge since you are so resistant to using your freezer.

If you don’t get on with freezing I’d just make a bit more on the last day before the nursery days, keep it in the fridge and use it for a couple of meals for her.

You're right about Instagram (and mumsnet!) making people think everyone else is making chef food for babies. Life just isn't like that. Take the pressure off, make something fresh some days, pouches/ yoghurt/ fruit/ veg on other days. You don't need to feed her the pouch, just put some in a bowl and she can use her hands or play with a spoon. Weaning is like messy play.

I would make little portions of something quick on those days, do a load of cheese or sweet potato scones at the start of the week maybe, a bit of fruit (avo, banana, tomato etc) and maybe a scrambled egg over the day. Mine had toast for breakfast every day so I tended to avoid that for another meal to broaden their palette. You could quickly boil one carrot or brocolli piece or stick a few soft olives on her plate. Don't think about it as a meal literally a couple of bits of picky things just to give her taste and jnterest. If you're not cooking for yourself at the moment I wouldn't cook a meal just for a baby until they're about 1 and needing a bigger diet, it's just experience at this age and they need very little.

It's totally fine. Do baby lead weaning and just put some bits on a tray. E.g avocado, pitta bread, chicken, eggs plus a few vegetables.

There is absolutely no point in making a shepards pie etc if no one but the baby is eating it.

This is normal but you need to keep offering the food that ends up on the floor. Don’t just give her toast because she eats it or you will end up with a child who only eats toast.

It’s frustrating but it’s not for that long.

Yes it’s absolutely normal for stuff either to end up on the floor because she doesn’t like them or because she can’t pick them up, but what you want to try to avoid is defaulting to things like toast, rice cakes etc as there are actually all quite sweet tasting. It apparently takes on average more than 20 tastes of a new flavour sometimes for kids to start liking them.

It sounds like she’d be good at baby led weaning, so try things like roast veg sticks (a bit like chips but obviously not) with a crinkle cutter, sticks of cheese, meat or egg cooked and in chunks or strips, salmon, cucumber, green beans, peppers and other crudités etc. No one is saying cook an entire meal but variety which you can’t really get with bread or things on toast is important.

Also if you have a partner what do they eat on those days, could he not plan to cook something and leave a bit for the baby next day (1 day old food kept in the fridge would be fine)? Or if you cook for them, could you cook early and give the baby a bit and save the rest?

This is where a pouch is handy. The ella ones are great

Save a tiny bit of dinner at night (whatever you’re having) on a side plate and put it in the fridge then serve that up.
At her age she’s still getting most of what she needs from milk, the food is mostly exploration at this stage, developing hand eye coordination, discovering texture and flavour etc so while nutrition is not the most vital thing with her meals it’s a perfect time to try her on new things. No one is saying cook a whole pasta bake for her to have one piece a day for the next 6 months!
i used to do eggs a lot for lunches when mine were weaning, along with little finger sandwiches and salad bits they could easily pick up, things like frittata that I could mostly eat and they could have a little try of.
Things like toast/crumpets are fine once in a while but it’s a golden opportunity to get them trying new things. You don’t need to overcomplicate it but variety would be good.

Yeah, that’s the sort of thing I’d do. Or a few bits of roasted sweet potato. You could also try stuff like houmous for alternative sources of protein and different tastes.

Sounds like what you’re doing is basically fine for 7 months. I wouldn’t give her crumpets though as they’re ultra-processed. Oh and stay away from all the parenting shite on Insta etc - all it’ll do is make you feel inadequate.

No need to cook, but you could easily offer avocado or banana or some egg, not just filler foods.

you don't have to cook for her but I wouldn't give her two bread based meals.

scramble an egg and steam a bit of broccoli. She just needs to taste different things at this stage

Mashed banana, mashed avocado, a one-egg omelette or some well cooked scrambled egg are all almost instant but nutritious meals for a 7 month old.