OK - Equipment needed for weaning? What's good?!

[gerbo]

Mumsnetters - I'm trying to plan a trip into Oxford St. (we live in London) to buy all weaning gear to be prepared for the big day when we begin! Need to make a list.....

What are the best things to have? I'm guessing the basics - plastic bowls? Spoons? Bibs? (Those all-over apron-lie ones - any good?) Ice cube trays/little plastic pots? Is there any point buying 'branded' ones like the Annabel Karmel range? How many of everything?

Can go to Mothercare, John Lewis, etc.

(We don't have a high chair yet as dd can't sit up unaided yet, but think we'll buy a Tripp Trapp and maybe a tray for it)

Thanks!

What gear do I need? Any top buys/tips?

highchair, sharp knife, pelican bib. and here...

Don't bother with any of the fancy bowls with suction pads - they're useless until the child develops the desire to feed themselves, rather than the curiousity to rip the bowl off the suction cup and fling it over their head.

A plate with a lip and a non-slip base is very useful if you're not doing the BLW and need to feed one-handed (the lip serves to push the food against to help you scoop it up).

Make sure everything plastic that you get can be steam-sterilised. You won't need tosterilise, but it means that it won't distort in the dishwasher, unlike cheap plastic stuff.

I got some brilliant bibs in one of the big supermarkets (Waitrose?) whihc are wipe-clean, machine-washable and have pop-off ridgid scoops that go in the dishwasher.

You'llw ant a few sealable pots for taking food out and about with you, but they outgrow the 4oz pots very quickly, so get some bigger ones too.

If you're freezig icecubes, get silicone ice trays, as it can be difficult to pop the cubes out of rigid trays. For larger quantities, don't bother with icecubing. Freeze portions in a non-stick muffin tray, bash the tray upside-down on a clean worktop or tray to release the frozen portions, and store in a labeled tupperware. I used to have a box of "Meat", one of "red veg" one of "green veg" and one of "roots". One lump from each box = balanced meal.

And finally, lots of washable wipes!

Thanks for the messages! Really helpful. Just to be a bit dense, Prettycandles, when you say washable wipes, you mean kitchen cloths, right?

Aitch - have seen your fab website when researching BLW and am tempted.....but I admit I'm a little chicken to try this - will maybe summon up courage soon (am speaking to all the mums I know about it and lots are doing it). Guess there's no equipment needed, right? Just a few plates/bowls? A spoon for them to wave around merrily in one hand wilst trying to eat?!

LOL at "sharp knife" for babies

I know that's not what you meant, Aitch

Gerbo, don't line The Karmel's pockets further...

Spend the money you'd have spent on weaning things on:

a. a handbag/pair of shoes/nice top/new jeans
b. a facial/massage/manicure/haircut
c. something nice for your DD if you can't bring yourself to spend it on yourself

And enjoy the food experience...!

Hunkermunker - I'd love to be brave enough to do BLW, but I'm such a chicken!!! Took ages to get breastfeeding off to a good start (tablets/expressing all bloomin' night, etc.) and am just nervy now about what/how much goes in her little mouth!

Is it really so much easier??? How do you know which fruit and veg their systems can cope with? Guess I should read the babyledweaning site stuff and maybe just go for it......................

Would a few days of mashing stuff (not pureeing) be such a bad way to start, pre-BLW?!

oh i hear ya on the bfing stuff.

and you can do Whatever You Like wrt weaning. you're totally right, the whole puree thing is a big fat waste of time if you've waited until 6 months, you cna just mash (or hand over) your good family food. at least according to the government, if not Annabel Karmel.

Dont waste your money on special 'weaning' stuff all you need is a plate or bowl that won't break when dumped on the floor and a good supply of plastic spoons - but with BLW you don't even need those -hands were made before cutlery and they're a lot less frustrating to use lol!(and pinching off mum's plate is great fun)
The thing about weaning is that babies really don't take in anything like the amount of calories they need to grow until about a year old anyway -solid food is much less calorie dense than breast milk so they can't eat the quantities they need to thrive very easily.
So all you are doing at the beginning is teaching the skill of eating and the social part of eating, as well as letting them get as wide a selection of tastes in there as possible - eating what you normally eat is fine as long as it's not too salty and they'll learn how to get along with what's normal for you instead of eating bizarre fruits and vegetables that you wouldn't touch with a bargepole just because annabel Karmel says so.
Lisa x

You don't have to be a purist (or should that be pureeist?). You can shove puree at them as well as plop lumps of stuff in front of them. That's what I do.

Having weaned 3 over the past 7 years, it's so much easier now that the advice is to leave it until at least 6m. 7y ago it was 2tsp of single food puree for 3 days, see what happens, then try another food, watch for reactions, start foods in particular orders because this is more allergenic than that, etc etc. Now, wait until at least 6m, then just let them have pretty much whatever you have.

The only way ds2's diet has been different to ours is that I delayed giving him fish and eggs for a couple of months (but then he wasn't really interested in solids until about 8m anyway) and he doesn't get honey, shellfish or strawberries (I was allergic to strawberries as a baby).

BTW washable wipes is any small soft cloth that you can hang off the back of the highchair and chuck in the washing machine in the evening. Depends what we've got to hand - sometimes facecloths, sometimes microfibre kitchen cloths! Even babywipes (did you know you can machine wash and re-use them several times before they wear out?)

yep, but PC, that's the point. if you've waited till 6 months you needn't start on puree or baby rice, you might as well get going with mashed proper food or just finger food.
that's not being a purist, that's just the most recent advice. whether or not you then choose not to spoon feed is up to you, but the govt says purees not necessary at 6 months, just mash and finger food.

sorry, meant to say... which means you don't need the ice cube trays and all that gubbins.

think mess:

several bits of PVC tablecloth (check out john lewis remnants bins)

compost bin/bucket (sainsbury's currently doing some nice cheap little caddy bins)

Don't forget if you sit them on your knee facing the table then you can't see the state they've got into
Lisa X

Aitch, what's the difference between mash and puree?

Thanks everyone for joining in this thread - think I'm a bit clearer with what to do. Going to try a little mash first then hopefully head for BLW asap. Will buy a few plastic bowls and spoons, wipeable cloths, splat mat and highchair. (And we're off to look for the caddy today!)

Oh - can they eat cow's milk stright away? ie. can I give her porridge with milk or should I use formula? Oh the trials and tribulations.....

that's great gerbo. have you read about blw? have you looked at the blog and the links on there. you'll see there's no need to start with the mash. the baby led bit starts by weaning when your baby can feed themself, so no need to mash, just hand over food. of course mash it if you want but why bother? if it's a confidence thing on your part then i do think reading as much as possible, ie the gill rapley stuff will re assure you.

purees are all that fiddly AK gubbins, passing things through sieves, thickening with baby rice etc. mash is just family food roughly mashed with the back of a fork.
not that there's any need WHATSOEVER to do either but if i didn't want to do just finger food and milk then i deffo would do normal food mashed rather than get a blender out.

Lol at your rant, and also at you giving her water out of a shot glass!
Quick question, sorry for hijack gerbo, hope to start blw in a couple of weeks, can I give anything other than runny eggs, nuts, shellfish and salty stuff?

pretty much. i was a bit cautious and didn't give her toms, strawbs and kiwi for a while as well. i started off with this kind of thing. and it wasn't a rant, oh nosirree. but the shot glass thing worked really well.

Thanks - had forgotten about tomatoes, but didn't know about strawberries and kiwis.

OK, reading where to start and feeling much calmer as it's all coming back to me from last time I read it a few months sgo! First meal was going to be a bit of carrot and a bit of broccoli but I think I'll throw in a bit of asparagus as well. And melon - fantastic idea for teething!

stealthy, i couldn't ask you to email me at aitch at babyledweaning dot com, could i?

Just sent it now.

Oh I see what you mean, Aitch.

I agree, don't bother with 'puree'!

Except for apple puree, which is delish. Personally I love the bought pots of babyfood fruit purees, with a dollop of goat's yogurt mmmmmmmm.

The best use for babyrice, IMO, is to thicken up ordinary 'mashed' food if it's too runny to stick to th LO's spoon.