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

For us, mashed up bananas worked best. Once they got used to these, it was onto the 'ready-meal' mix

Do what is right for you and your child. Don't try and force it because all of the other mothers around you are doing it or because a certain book says it should be done at a particular age - the less you stress over it the easier it will be for both you and your child :)

start with a neutral taste, baby rice, and add savoury gradually, blended carrot, mimic the open mouth and chewing action as you feed. I would add other tastes gradually, stewed apple, mashed banana, fromage frais. Once the chewing action is established try slices of brown bread toast. The more foods that are introduced the less likely you are to have a picky eater later on in life.

Definitely be led by baby! I remember getting really excited when my kids could start to be weaned! I wish I had slowed it down a bit! Let them hold a spoon and don't worry about mess!!!!

give gentle baby rice for the first couple of weeks and add new tastes gradually, savoury and sweet to help create a good palate for food. Do not get hung up on tastes they spit out, just try it in a couple of weeks.

My biggest piece of advice would be to relax and be guided by your own child, don't compare to a friends child of the same age, they all develop at different times.
And be prepared for mess especially if practising child led weaning and everything washes so enjoy it.

I used a combination of putting a small amount of our dinner through the blender and also cooking soup/pureed casserole etc in batches and freezing in tiny portions using clean yogurt pots.

Easier said than done but my top tip would be not to worry or stress too much about weaning. For my first baby it seemed such a big deal and I was so cautious about making everything homemade. By baby number 3 I realised that there are great quality baby foods out there, and that babies can start to munch on the same things that we're eating (with only a few exceptions eg no added salt etc) so we did a combination of baby led weaning, homemade purees and shop-bought baby food to fit into our lifestyle and all was fine!

Take your time and let baby actually lead the Baby Led Weaning!
DD is nearly 8 months and some days she wants to eat lots of different things, other days (like today) she just wants a baby biscotti and lots of milk. Enjoy it and don't stress. DD loves strawberries, sweet potato, tinned peaches, peanut butter on toast and the cheese and courgette muffins I made.

take it one day at a time and do what suits the child

Don't stress about it, they don't need the food just take it a day at a time. Also don't worry about the mess it will happen and get ready for the food stains!

Trust your instincts when you feel your baby is needing to wean. Make your own purees and food, and introduce a variety of food. Saves so much money on jars which do not always taste very nice. And a plastic cloth under the high chair is great and is easily cleaned. It can be a messy business.

Get a few big bath towels so you can put one down under your child's chair and chuck it in the washing machine when it gets messy. In the first year, your child will get all the nutrients they need from milk, so think of weaning as a way for them to have new experiences and master a new skill rather than stressing about how much food actually gets eaten.

I was far more confident when weaning DC3, and did baby led weaning. He was about 7 months before he started eating properly but it was much more relaxing just giving him some of our food.

summertime is great for weaning, i get my little girl outside with plates and bowls of food for her to dive into and try as she pleases, leaving all the mess for the birds to eat

Baby led weaning was brilliant with my first - I cooked food we could all eat (low salt etc) and she just got on with it, eating anything and everything. Never had any puree (which suited me as I couldn't be bothered making it and she was my PFB so couldn't possibly have pouches!)

Number two was a whole different story - was just not interested. Sent the health visitors into a complete faff (apparently I was breast feeding him too much ) but he did just what I said he would and got there in his own time. We did keep Ella's kitchen in business for a while!

So they're all different, what works for one won't necessarily for another. Don't stress, try different things and see what works for you. As long as you're sensible about things like sugar and salt it will be fine.

Don't worry what everyone else is doing, go at your own pace.
Start slow and build it up.

As other people have said don't worry. I think Baby led weaning is the way to go they eat what you are having (within reason) & take your time.
It makes sense there wasn't a blended baby food years ago but babies still managed to learn to eat solids.

little and often is what i do.whatever we are eating i cut some up and place it on the highchair table.also i whizz up whatever we are having and spoon this in.sometimes baby likes to come out of the highchair and sit on my knee.

Go with what your baby wants and needs. Ours is very independent and wants to feed herself so we went down the baby led weaning route. Get good equipment, suction plate, spoons, bibs, a mat for the floor. Take lots of photos!

Don't get stressed about it.

We started off with baby rice mixed in with breast milk.

Enjoy it - with the nice weather go outside it makes the mess more fun. Be prepared to have days when little is eaten -
Buy a really cheap blender and pre cut and sliced fruit and veg - first time round spend hours cutting and peeling - next time round pre cut mixed fresh veg (easier and less stressful).
Add a bit of spice - bland aint fun for anyone

Give lots of praise. Cheer, clap and smile especially when they try something new.

I was advised to start with veggies and my son was so unhappy that we stopped with the weaning... tried him on a jar of cow and gate fruit puree and we were away! Go with something that will encourage them to eat first... work the veggies in later. FYI MY son will eat anything and everything now.