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

My advice is to try and not let it stress you out. It's so easy to second guess whether they are eating enough, but milk is their most important source of nutrition. With my first I did traditional weaning and found it useful to make everything from scratch. It was easy enough to steam a bit of extra broccoli with dinner and then pop it in the blender, anything leftover would go into ice cube trays in the freezer. It was so easy. The second time I did blw as the little one refused the spoon. I just give her a bit of food off of my plate. The important thing to remember is to get enough fibre and water into them because their little bodies are not used to real food and they can easily end up constipated. Both of mine did despite having lots of fibre and water, but it settled down by about eight months.

We had to be quite regimented about weaning due to food allergies. So, one puree for three days before moving to the next one. It took bloody weeks to get a decent amount of variation between veg, fruit, protein and grains in his diet.

I'd advise to always have more ready than you think you need. Mine was a greedy eater and I soon learned that it's best to have some left over for the next meal than be faced with a grumpy baby who has licked the bowl clean .

Oh, and remember to get some photos. My favourite one is after a meal of pureed blueberries where he ended up with a purple goatee and moustache .

Definitely baby led weaning - I waited until they were stealing food off my plate, then just sat them in the high chair with some of what we were having. No special recipes, but it does make you more careful with your own diet!

Mushed up banana combined with mushed up avacado. Yum!

It takes time and get them started on simple home foods

Be patient! My son was ready for the first stage when everything was puréed however when we introduced lumps he spat them out. For months and months we went through this and then we had a breakthrough beaked beans! He decided he would swallow those. Then slowly slowly we introduced soft textured food.

Don't rush I introduced small bits first with smooth textures nothing lumpy like a rusk mixed with milk

I let my baby lead the way , I try most of my dinners blended for him but if he won't take I go back to milk x

We found mashed up veggies stored in ice cubes worked perfectly for us

Start with small amounts and try lots of different flavours. Don't be put off by those that seem rejected though, trying them again later may give a different result.

Take your time and it will happen eventually.

My great niece was easy to wean, she loved her mashed up veg from a very early age & now she is 4 vegetables are her favourite thing

Don't stress about it!
Babies are curious so when you are eating they will want what you have, baby led weaning was great for us. The key is to be patient and try lots of different foods

take your time and slowly phase to a variety of soft solid foods.

Be prepared for mess, stay calm and casual and keep trying!

Do not let it upset you! Far too many people are ready to tell you how to do things. Go at the babys pace and just keep trying

Introduce as many new foods as possible, one at a time to make sure that no allergic reactions occur.
A baby will almost always cry at a new taste or flavour, it is new & unsettling for them. I believe this is why so few babies are given water.

The first time I gave my son water instead of milk, you would have thought I was trying to poison him, but that is natural, don't give up & say, oh they don't like it. My son got used to the water & to this day, aged 14, he will ONLY drink water, he hates fizzy drinks etc.

My main tip is to wait until your little one is ready and not rush it. All the weaning planners out there take off at such a great pace, they are on 3 meals a day and eating toast before you know it and they might not be ready for that! Its best to not listen too much to other mum friends about what their little one is eating/doing and go at the pace thats right for you and your little one and if that means waiting a bit longer or missing a day or two if it doesnt work out at the start then its fine.

your baby will let you know when the times right, i have had 3 children born over 15 years apart, weaning guidlines have changed so much from when i had the first child to the 3rd one.
Every child is different. All my children were big babies. My eldest was 10lb 1 oz and a VERY hungry baby. on medical advice i was told to wean him at 5 weeks old and he needed it. My younest was 3 weeks early and weight 8lb 3 , she was slow to grow and wasn't ready for solids even when she should have been. Don't stress out. each child is unique and should be treated that way

Blending your leftovers is the economical way.

We just built up to it gradually, so as to avoid getting stressed. I have a little bit of my food until I could tell she was enjoying it

My DD was premature and a really bad feeder and sleeper, only taking in a little milk at a time before falling asleep on me, then waking when I tried to put her down and wanting to feed again.
Because of this I was desperate to get her weaned as I was assured this would help her feel fuller for longer and break the cycle of very short sleeps and tiny feeds. So I attempted to wean before she was ready and it was a nightmare and took so much longer than it should have.

I went for the baby led weaning approach which meant he was eating the same things as mummy and daddy - less mess, less fuss and less stress - our 2yo is a pretty good eater and will always try things - his fave thing is olives

Don't fret too much and go at your baby's pace.
Baby-led really is fantastic and so much easier.
Chill out about mess- bibs didnt seem to work for DS so we tried those long sleeved plastic smocks for painting for a while... we eventually gave up and tended to feed him wearing just a vest and nappy as it was less effort just to whip off the vest and swab him down at the end!

my main tip is to not worry if it takes longer than you think, some take to it quickly, others take a while. just try to make it a good experience try not to be uptight as baby will pick up on it and associate feeding with a negative experience.