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

Use your own instincts and don't be pressured into trying to wean too early. I was pushed into it by my health visitor, family & friends. It was incredibly stressful for everyone and a waste of time.

My tips would be, don't stress about it too much, don't resort to sweet things to get them to eat as developing a sweet tooth at a young age could be setting your child up for weight problems when they are older, and continue topping them up with their milk to make sure they are getting enough food, minerals and vitamins. Also remember, "this to will pass" :D

Try and follow a book plan with recipes until you get a feel for it :)

dont start too early

We used the baby led approach. We always eat together and they liked to try things from our plates, progressing to baby suitable versions of what we were having. We naver had any problems - they are healthy and will try anyting.

Give a wide variety of food and don't give up if they cock their nose up at something new.

Try one new food at a time and keep in mind that it might take 4 or 5 attempts before they start to accept new tastes and textures. Don't pressure and keep it fun.

I felt that including the baby in the family mealtimes, all sitting together enjoying our food and family time made my little ones weaning a positive experience for all of us :)

baby led weaning is fantastic a great time to bond and get to know your baby don't be afraid to try your own recipes and freeze in and ice cube tray what you don't use.

Don't rush it. Baby led is a great option. Give plenty of opportunities for them to reach for food that way you'll know when they are ready.

Do not rush them, try lots of different things and I wouldn't start weaning with sweet stuff :)

Really proud to be eating til 6 mths old this time around.

We are doing BLW. Once we've done the basic veg sticks etc we'll move on to other tastes and healthy family meals.

Invested in a tidy tot this time around.

My tip is not to worry when your child decides they don't want to eat anything apart from bright orange decidedly non organic processed mush from a jar for 6 months. My son did this and now eats everything. Likewise, don't be smug if your baby eats everything out in front of them - toddlers can be super fussy and if probably won't last.

My best tip for weaning is choose you high chair with care! We went for trip traps which were expensive but which lasted as chairs until the kids were six or seven (and were still used as spare chairs until very recently). Alternatively I would have gone for the IKEA really cheap simple one whic goes in the dishwasher. Definitely not the one my mum got for her house - overly fiddly (so difficult to clean & lots of places for food to stick to) and a fixed tray so it didn't really work with the dining table.

I couldn't get on with baby led weaning when this was introduced when I had DC 3, he would gag like mad and I was frightened to death that he was going to choke. With my first two sons it was old-skool weaning and I've got to say that I preferred it and they have turned out to be far less fussy eaters than DC 1.

My DS wasn't keen on eating as a baby/toddler. Meal times were always difficult and disheartening. In the end, I left tiny portions of finger foods (veggie sticks, tiny squares of toast etc) on plates around the room and let him discover them while he was playing. He are more that way (and we didn't have a problem switching him to regular meal times when he was ready to eat more, so that wasn't a problem)

If you're lazy, like me, definitely give baby led weaning a go. Also, just because your one year old tucks in to a rainbow of vegetables and spicy curry, don't think you've done an amazing job at raising an unfussy child as it doesn't always continue in that vein

Trust your instincts and don't make a big deal about it.

Try to enjoy introducing new textures and tastes gradually, and don't get too hung up (or take it personally!) if yr DC refuses or grimaces at the food it took you by far the longest to prepare!

Don't presume babies won't like strong flavours. Give them a taste of things and don't make their minds up for them. Encourage them to have varied palate

I've had three babies and my best tips to decide what to wean them and how are; figure out what you are like first and what's important to you. With my first it was important to me to give her a wide range of food that I could easily feed her that I could transport about. Money wasn't an issue, nor time so what worked best for us was ready made shop bought little ready meals from plum baby and those ellas pouches. With my second, money was less available. We didn't go out and about as much at all so I made her meals mainly and froze them and she ate them at home so no need to cart them about. Third one, i honestly just couldn't find time, nor spare cash to either buy or make them so I went for baby led weaning which was basically feed her what ever we ate i hand sized bitable and chewable portions! Lots of bananas, cream cheese triangles, cooked apples and veg, humous and pitta bread. Just all sorts. Messy but a lot less involved! However, all three of them became the same horrid fussy eaters, with the eldest only now coming out of that phase. Whatever method you choose, have a wet cloth handy, buy a plastic sheet for your floor and don't stress!

We are just starting now, but so far I've learned the bigger the bib the better, and start in the middle of a feed to keep stress levels down for both of you.

Baby led weaning is far less faff than purees. Also its not a race, our daughter showed no interest in food so we didn't start till she was nearly 7 mo the old as this was more convenient for us. We did a baby first aid course to help us feel more confident

Don't feel guilty about buying shop-bought jars etc. Life is so busy and when you look at the ingredients list, there is little difference between jars and home-made.