When do you find the time to make the food??

[Lostinspace1]

Currently weaning a 7 month old and from the start I've found it really hard to find the time to make simple purees, even steam a couple of carrots!

What the hell do you do when they need 3 meals a day? My kitchen layout means I can't see the LO when on the playmat area, so currently I'm dashing in and out of the kitchen to check on him.

At the moment I'm mixing things up with ready made sachets and home made purees/finger food.

Batch cook in the evenings and freeze it in portions. Take what you need out the night before and put it in the fridge.

Baby led weaning! It's amazing. DS has just eaten whatever we have (be wary of salt content though) since he was 6 months. He's now 10 months, loves his food and weaning has been easy and a real pleasure.
There's a great book (by Gill Rapley I believe) that explains it all very well.

DS just has what we're having. I either mash it and feed him with a spoon, or give it to him whole and let him feed himself, depending on what it is.

Sometimes I make extra and freeze or keep in the fridge for when we're having something totally unbaby friendly e.g. takeaway.

The only thing I buy especially for him is full fat milk and little pots of yogurt.

I'm also trying to wean a 7 month old and I've been struggling to get time to make the basics as well. Like you I can't see my LO when he is in his play pen and i'm back and forward checking on him from the kitchen.

I've tried to prepare some purée meals ahead of time only to struggle to get him to eat them - which is depressing given how long it is taking to prepare them. Lately I've fallen back to using purée pouches as I know he will eat them and I'm not wasting my time.

I'm trying to change what dh and I are eating as well so that it is more baby friendly and I can introduce ds to new tastes without the effort of cooking him completely separate meals.

I have introduced ready brek in the morning and hv has suggested I could also try weetabix so at least breakfast is relatively straightforward.

I'm finding the whole weaning process more difficult than I thought :(

Could you get a bouncy chair that you could put in the kitchen area whilst you're cooking? Or put your DS in his highchair with some toys where you can see him?

I spend an evening once every couple of weeks cooking various veg - eg carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, sweetcorn, courgette - blending it til smooth then into icecube trays in the freezer

Next day decant into a freezer bag. This means there is always something 30 seconds or so in the microwave away from ready to serve. I give him 3 or 4 cubes for a meal, mixed with soft cheese or yoghurt if it is a bit dry, then supplement with bits of 'normal' food.

I also cook a bit extra of some meals then serve it the next day.

I cook while dd is eating. I have done blw so I just sit dd in the high chair in the kitchen with me and give her food that I know will take her a while. I use the time to batch cook her main meals, and then freeze them in individual portions.

If I just need the time to make her a quick lunch, I sit her in the high chair with a small snack like a couple of rice cakes or something. Then she is still hungry for her lunch, but is kept amused while I make it.

Why do you need to check every minute?

If there was anything wrong your baby would cry.

I think your putting yourself under far too much stress.

relax a little.

If I need to leave dd3 for longer than five minutes then I put her in the highchair with a safe toy to play with or in the baby walker.

Then I would go into the kitchen to make lunch, popping back to see her when I get a chance (but not dashing back and forth like a madwoman)

If she is being angsty and wants me within her sight then I either pull the highchair into the kitchen (from the dining room) or lay her on the floor on her playmat and she has a roll around the kitchen floor.

I think you get more relaxed the more you have.

I used to buy all of my fruit and veg on a saturday then steam it on a Sunday morning when dh was home, blitz it then cool and freeze, if I didn't have time then if we were going out or something I would do it all when he was in bed.
Used to take not much longer than an hour a weeks batch cooking.

We have a playpen that I can pop DS2 into while I'm cooking in the kitchen.

Agree with PP about batch cooking.

I just make my lunch and put a bit of it out for dd. So if I had a chicken salad sandwich she would get a plate with a finger of cucumber, a couble of fingers of bread a strip of chicken.

Another vote for baby led weaning. You don't have to make them any food at all - they just eat yours.

I tend to think life is too short to make separate baby food. I either mash/finger food what the rest of us are having, or if it's not suitable or convenient give a jar. Must admit I buy those little pots of pureed fruit too for adding to yoghurt or porridge.

I nanny for a now 9 month old baby and I tend to batch cook so that I can just reheat food at meal times.

I batch cook mainly when it's nap time, however I do also cook when DC is up. When DC is up - I place in the highchair and give food/toys to entertain, place in the play pen, let her crawl about my feet - generally I batch cook on the hob - so no issue re touching the oven [however if its something that needs an oven I wait till shes asleep]

If I haven't got anything in stock, I will cook from scratch at dinner time but again it tends to be hob cooking.

Don't forget you can give baby toast or scrambled eggs, low sugar low salt baked beans, cous-cous, porridge, banana, melon, crackers with phili...not every meal needs to be nutritionally balanced or home cooked.

If your baby's in a travel cot or a play pen then you really don't have to run in every minute to keep checking.

I have a door bouncer that I put in the doorway of our tiny kitchen, keeps her entertained for about 30 mins.