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

As with most things baby related, relax and go at their pace.

Some babies love baby led weaning, others prefer spoons. Just experiment. Don't stress about mess, and there will be mess, prepare for it. A good mess mat, lots of wipes and clothes. When out and about a wet flannel in a zip lock bag is always handy.

Also, do a first aid course so you feel confident when baby gags, which they will do. 99.9 times out of 100 it will be nothing but always know what to do if it is something.

Going through it for the second time - will only give food that I like taste of - initially mix veggies with a little milk - to make smooth purees I pushed food through a sieve - mealtime likes all times should be fun

Don't get caught up with doing things a certain way there is no need to pick BLW or spoon feeding or make lists of what to try when, give them bits of everything when it's available and don't stress about feeding them at the right time feed them when they are hungry and in a good mood.

Don't freak out when they gag. Gagging and choking are totally different things you will scare your baby off food if you keep fishing things from their mouth in a crazy panic. If you feel panicked about choking do a baby first aid class it will make you feel more in control.

Erm..mash up the veg the rest of you eat to start with, add steamed veg to hold (when the rest of you eat it) start mashing in meat at about 7-8 months. It's not magic, it doesn't need a name. Feed your family.

Don't stress when your baby only wants to same food all the time. My lo wanted bread every meal until he one day just reached for a carrot.

I did a combination of baby led and spoon weaning. It worked great and (anecdotally) I had less food refusal stresses than some friends who went solely for the baby-led weaning. That said, my advice would be don't stress it, they will get there eventually.
Also a hand blender and some over-sized ice cube trays were super useful, especially when I went back to work with DS2 and could give childminder a little box of frozen cubes for him.

I did baby led weaning with mine. My main tip will be prepare for a huge mess and the unpredictability of it all.
They'll sometimes want to wolf down a whole bowl full of something and so you assume that they love it...Next time it's the same food being rejected and chicken on the floor.
Another tip is take photos as when you're a bit stressed you can forget how funny it will be to look back at your child's crazy hair - styled by porridge!

Do what seems to work for your child. Baby led weaning is great but you might also want to do purée. That's fine!

My dd would eat anything spread onto a mini rice cake. All sorts of new flavours all via he medium of a rice cake!

A hand blender can be your best friend when you need to make your own baby food quickly. Any fruit or veg will quickly become a meal.

DS1 wasn't keen on lumps or finger food for a while, so I puréed whatever veg or fruit we were eating and offered that. He liked having his own spoon to hold from day one, but since most of that wound up on the floor (large plastic mat essential!) I'd spoon feed him bits too. He got used to using a spoon himself very quickly, and was feeding himself at about 8mo. He then started grabbing bits off our plate and is now a very good eater.

DS2 grabbed a slice of garlic bread off my plate at 5mo so starred weaning himself! He always preferred finger foods, but as long as he had a bit of food in each hand he'd let us spoon feed him some.

Even when they had puréed food, I tried to keep the texture and a few lumps so they'd learn how to manage it. They both hated baby rice (so did I when I tried it), so I went with ready brek. They still love it now, especially when they get to add a bit of fruit/honey/jam.

Be prepared for mess. Plastic sheets under high chairs are a godsend, and the ikea antilop highchair is great for easy cleaning.

Don't stress about how much they are/aren't eating. Let them explore the food and enjoy themselves, and before long they'll be getting more in their mouth than on the floor.

Don't panic if your baby won't eat any of the HV recommended first foods. Mine were both potato refusers, even though she kept harping on about how all babies love potato and how great it is for weaning. They certainly didn't think so, and even now they aren't keen on it. There are other vegetables available!

Choking and gagging are totally different. As a pp said, don't start yanking food out of their mouths at the first hint of gagging. They are learning how to deal with the food in their mouth and sometimes it goes a little far back. Learn how to deal with choking.

Just because they refuse something one day, doesn't mean they won't like it the next this also unfortunately works the other way too

Work out ways to contain the mess if you're doing BLW! We bought cheap shower curtains for under the highchair as they are easy to wash, dry quickly and are easy to fold small when eating elsewhere.

We also double bibbed every time with a rubbery chest only bib under a nylon full cover painting smock as my son would spill water down his front but also smear food all over himself, even on his back! Also, it meant that we could take off the top bib with all the food on it, take him to sit on the side of the kitchen sink and sloosh off his messy face and hands, while the under bib kept his clothes dry.

Another great help was the inflatable highchair insert from Ikea as that reduced the space available to drop bits inside the chair and meant that some restaurant highchairs could be made supportive too.

Let your baby sit with you at the table and watch you eat before you start offering food. We let our baby play with a sippy cup and baby spoon in the weeks before we started weaning so he was comfortable t the table and using cutlery.
AND buy a huge stack of flannels for the post-food wipe down!

I knew my DC was ready when he leant over in the sling and took a bite out of the banana I was eating. That was a pretty good clue he'd quite like to try some of this solid food stuff! Everything just flowed from there.

Do your own research, then do what you believe is best for your baby, you, and your circumstances. Put up a barrier to unsolicited advice!

Like PP have said, don't rush the weaning process as everything is more complicated once they're on a mixed diet, although you may not realise it at the time! Don't feel guilty about buying pre made baby food too, they are very convenient. Despite the trend for BLW I have my LO a mix of purée/mash and finger foods to start with. Good first foods are carrot, sweet potato and cooked pear. Natural yogurt is good too, and toast. I don't have much else to add except relax, have fun and be prepared to get messy.

Use an ice cube tray to freeze tiny amounts of purée so you can defrost just what you need. Use a highchair that is easy to clean. Buy bibs, lots of bibs! The plastic bibs with a pocket to catch bits in are particularly good. Take your time and follow your child's lead. It should be fun and relaxed.

If your baby refuses to try something or spits it out, don't give up! Keep trying, they just take time to get used to new textures and flavours.

First up. Wait until 6 months. It's so much easier.

With my first child I made a wide range of purées and combinations of simple foods (hello avocado and banana mash 🙄), as well as annabel karmel recipes and homemade finger foods and lovingly froze individual portions of these well balanced offerings... second time round I had zero time for that and gave DD what we were having (NB we all try to eat dinner together which simplifies things), mashed up or blended a bit if necessary (and was very careful with salt between 6-12 months). Guess which was far easier and less stressful? Yup. Second child! They'll be eating a good range of family foods in no time if you do it this way and ultimately that's the general goal of weaning.

We did a mix of baby led and purée. I made purées, but once our little ones had had a good bit of food, we let them feed themselves, then we can eat as a whole family.

My top tip is be prepared! So make sure you have enough of everything and cover the floors and yourself as I found out the hard way!
Also don't feel pressured into doing baby led weaning if you are not comfy with it.

Plus veg is better to start with then fruit as fruit is naturally sweet and can make them have a sweet tooth

Encourage their curiosity and let them experiment a bit. We tried baby led weaning with both children, but gradually then threw the BL rule book out of the window and tried them with spoon feeding, pots from supermarket, sachets, anything! Mine were hungry, but terribly fussy, and yet sometimes surprised me with their choices too, so don't give up trying new tastes and textures even if it ends up as wall art the first time.

Just go with what suits your child and don't get hung up on a particular way of weaning. I was desperate to do baby led weaning with my first child but it didn't suit her and I remember feeling disappointed. Second time round I just did a mixture of puréed and finger foods from the start.

Give them food. Enjoy feeding them nice meals. Sometimes toddlers are fussy. You've done all you can.

prepare for mess in advance, get some cheap plastic/vinyl from a homeware shop (like dunelm) to go under the chair, for the table if you don't have a wipe-able cloth and a bib with full length sleeves. Go at their pace, sit down with them but expect them to still be sitting their once you've finished and are tidying away. DON'T BUY BABY PORRIDGE!- vile, even to the untrained palette. Give a weetabix or ready brek mixed with some of their usual baby milk before bed as a 'supper', helps them feel what full is and can give a few hours more at night as an added bonus. take pictures! they will be hilarious when thy are older, trust me!