Share your 'weaning for beginners tips' with Lidl to win vouchers NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

Lidl would love to produce the ultimate 'honest mum's guide' to all things weaning, and need the help of the wise MNers who have been there and done that (and got the splattered t-shirt to prove it!).

Please share your trials and tribulations when it came to weaning your baby onto solid food – your favourite recipes for each stage of the weaning process, feeding tips and any shopping essentials.

"Lidl are very proud of their great range of fresh, quality and affordable products that are ideal for homemade weaning recipes. Their Fun-Size fruit and veg range (with Cauliflower Clouds to name just one!)) are a great way of getting your Kids into new snacks. They also stock their own organic baby food pouches, Lidl’Uns, which come in a variety of flavours – perfect for meals on the go, or even adding into other recipes!"

Whether you are weaning your first baby or are an old hand, please share your tried and tested recipes, and top dos and don'ts, favourite Lidl products, and any tips to help make weaning a breeze. Everyone who posts below will be entered into a prize draw where 5 winners will each get £50 to spend in Lidl.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Standard insight Ts&Cs apply

Mix different fruit purees with plain yoghurt. I used to puree a large quantity at once and freeze. As soon a mine were happy eating puree we moved to mashed then chopped.
Put plastic sheeting, like a plastic tablecloth, under the high chair and ensure high chair tray is detachable for washing. I used to put ours in the dishwasher!

Our twins were premature so were weaned when they were still small. No baby lead weaning here! I love the Lidl frozen fruit which I cook down then blend with banana and a weetabix to make lovely fruit purée to go with yoghurt. All of the Lidl veg including cauliflower, aubergine, courgettes, peppers all get blended up into main meals with chicken breast and the frozen basa fillets are brilliant too.

As above - don't stress over it. There will be mess. Sometimes they'll eat, sometimes they won't.

We tried BLW, DS2 wasn't interested and would hold whatever it was and suck the thumb of the same hand! 😂 We then tried homemade purées which were a great success. ☺

I did a mixture of spoon feeding and finger foods with my second one (I faffed aboyt more with my first baby). Basically, as others have said, don't worry about it, the ikea bibs are great and a whole load of weaning is learning about textures so playing doesn't matter. With my second baby i often just gave him a bit of what i had on my plate rather than doing anythmg special. Much easier second time round!

We have just given bits and bobs off our plates and it seems to have worked! Don't over complicate it. We spoon feed the occasional yogurt or bowl of porridge. Try and enjoy it, the looks on their faces when they try new things , it can be really fun! Ds tried custard this evening for the first time. I've never seen him so excited!

Ikea easily cleanable high chairs and bibs are definitely the way to go. I agree with the PPs who have suggested both finger food and purees because I found my DCs getting a bit frustrated trying to feed themselves when they were hungry. So I tended to start off by feeding them home made puree then letting them play around with finger food (toast and cream cheese, veggie sticks, soft fruit) and a spoon. I have been much more relaxed with DC2 and given him much more shopbought stuff alongside his home-made purees! I'm definitely going to try the suggestion above by greenjojocat of using the frozen basa fillets with veggies. That's a great idea.

I found weaning great fun! Don't worry about it, enjoy it and take lots of photos of them covered in food!

I scoured the internet for weaning blogs and websites, "the happy weaner" and "friendly first foods" were great for recipes and tips and it's nice to see fellow mums doing the same thing and going through the same worries.

Baby led weaning is fabulous!

Most importantly, make sure you don't put the high chair right next to the floor length curtains as of course they will get decorated...

You really don't need specific washing products - just offer your child the food you eat as a family. Give them normal did you explore and don't stress about how much they actually eat. Be prepared for a hideous mess! My kids loved finger foods. Do a first aid course so that you know what to do if they choke, and the difference between choking and gagging.

Follow baby led weaning in terms of readiness, and agree food before one is definitely just for fun.

You don't want to put any pressure on babies in the early stages. Also, not everyone will agree but I used good quality prepared baby food in the beginning if there wasnt a suitable adult dinner so mush up, because honestly at first the amount that actually gets in their tummy wasn't worth the effort of love steaming and hand mashing a load of veg. Save it for when they are about 8 months!

Also don't be afraid to add herbs and spices to food - my DD ate a wide variety of flavours and now at 20 months she has a great palate.

Lastly, don't forget to take photos and videos! You will definitely look back at the mucky faces and ruined high chairs fondly

Wait till they are 6 months old, then cook healthy food for the whole family and lob some on your babys high chair tray (the Ikea one, natch). Eat with them, and don't stress.

If you and the babys other parent are fussy eaters, or you have been takeaway/ready meal eaters, start sorting that when the baby is born.

Don't buy weaning cookery books, buy good cookery books - Jamies Ministry of Food, Delia, or Nigella and just reduce the salt. Think about it not as cooking for weaning, but learning to cook for the next 18 years of your childs life

Expect mess and relax. There I see no rush. We cooked healthy foods with lots of veg for all the family and just put some on the high chair for them to munch on. We would then get some poured fruit and offer some of that.
Do what works for you and your family as every baby is different.

The Istadt plastic bags by Ikea are brilliant for storing ice cubes of frozen purée, or muffins/quiche/fishcakes etc. You can label what it is, then when it's eaten up you can wash out the bag and use it again.

Be prepared for mess!
I bought loads of cheap plastic table cloths, and would spread one out under his high chair so that at least most of the mess was contained on an easily cleaned surface!

Also variety keeps them from getting bored. Different shapes and textures are more fun to play with!

Get loads of face cloths from IKEA.
wipe baby
Wipe highchair
Wipe floor
Put in wash.

Give child food.
Prepare for the biggest mess you have ever seen.
Wet wipes clean most things

I used silicone muffin cases to freeze purée, 3/4 different flavours in one made a good meal size for 9-12 months. I carried on with that size as the veg portion and added protein to it.

Yy to the ikea face cloths, give a wet one to your child after every meal so they get used to wiping their own chops.

Decide how strict you want to be with sugar and sweet things. Then stick to it yourself. So many of my friends babies had their first tastes of chocolate by grabbing it from mum. If that's ok by you, that's ok. But don't be shocked when it happens.

Make as much of your house wipe clean as possible, you will deal with stress better if stains are not important.

Make food fun. Always. For all of you!

Don't feel you have to adhere to one approach e.g. BLW, purees, homemade, shop bought...

Just try a bit of everything, and take photos!

Get a slow cooker. It turns ANYTHING into soft, tasty, mushy stuff that can be either puréed, mashed, slightly agitated or left as normal depending on the stage of weaning.

We used vinyl tablecloths on the floor which was great for catching the mess. Even though we have wipe clean wooden floors it was still good to be able to scoop it up and tip the mess into the bin. We tried all sorts of foods - veg sticks, finger foods and fruit.

Blw all the way! Don't stress, let them explore and make a mess, they'll get it eventually. And get lots of frozen veg - goes in everything and means you can have more variety. Sweet potato chips anyone?

If they're spitting out most of the food to begin with it doesn't mean they don't like it, they're just not sure what to do with it. It can be dispiriting, but don't worry, they're still getting used to the tastes even if they're not swallowing it and eventually they'll swallow more than they spit out!

Most people I know (including myself) were in such a hurry to start weaning, but quickly realised it makes life that little bit more complicated when you are constantly thinking about what to feed them, and how to fit their meals into the day. Especially if you are out and about and don't want to rely on jars.

I found bananas and ripe avocados excellent as easy foods to pack when baby is still in the 'mushy foods' stage, with a plastic bowl, fork for mashing, and bib and baby spoon.