Idiots guide to weaning?

[WeedlesHatOfDisappointment]

I'm looking into weaning ds2. I did it with ds1, but I've gone completely blank!
Am I right in thinking bottle first, then solids? And I should only use his formula in cooking, ie porridge?
And finally, would you mind sharing your weaning ideas? We will probably do a mix of purees and blw.

We waited til 5-6 months and skipped purée. Just used cows milk in cooking and went straight to a sippy cup rather than bottle.

Mix of chunky-cut veg and various other finger foods chucked on the high chair tray.

My friend would give a combination of whatever they were having for dinner as is, and mash the rest and spoon feed. Gave good variety and something I'd consider next time as I was reluctant to give too many messy foods as blw.

We used whole milk for cooking and did a mix of finger food and puréed bits of what we were having- I got used to only seasoning ours with salt after I'd taken ds' portion out. I usually took a few portions out for him so he'd have one to eat straight away and another for the freezer.

when we first started I think we did the bottle first then solids so he wasn't too hungry. When he was eating properly I switched it to solids first so he'd fill up and cut down his milk.

I waited till six months so didnt do any purees and just did BLW, and I use whole cows milk in cooking. Although I do boil then cool it for cereal as he seems to be allergic to it uncooked.

I'm breastfeeding but I tended to breastfeed around an hour/half an hour before meal times especially at the beginning as if he was too hungry at meal times he wouldn't want to be in the high chair/try and feed himself and would just want a breastfeed instead.

My tip is just to buy adult no salt rice cakes instead of the super expensive baby ones, they are bigger and easier to grip and so much cheaper :) Plus they are not sweetened unlike the baby ones which means you can spread cream cheese or hummus on them for a quick lunch.

Thanks all. He is 5 months, but showing definite signs of being ready, but will be taking it slow