I'm not sure where the time has gone but all of a sudden Jacob is 5 months old! In just a few weeks we'll be giving him his first taste of food so I've been planning ahead and thinking about what I'll need to buy to make our weaning journey as easy as possible.
I just know he's going to love food as he's the sort of baby who gets really excited about new things! He's already been showing lots of interest in our food and has brilliant head control but I'm in no rush to start and will obviously wait until he's 100% ready.
When the time comes, I'm hoping to give Jacob a mix of purées and finger foods to combine elements of spoon feeding and baby led weaning. Of course there's no telling which approach Jacob will prefer so I'll see what he takes to and go from there!
With that in mind, I'm aiming to stock up on things that will be useful regardless of which route we end up going down. There are so many products out there to choose from but after thinking back to what did and didn't work for us first time around and doing plenty of research, here's what's on our weaning wish list:
With that in mind, I'm aiming to stock up on things that will be useful regardless of which route we end up going down. There are so many products out there to choose from but after thinking back to what did and didn't work for us first time around and doing plenty of research, here's what's on our weaning wish list:
1. Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair (With Baby Set, Cushion & Harness) - £231
Our old high chair was a fairly bog standard one. It did the job but it was an absolute nightmare to clean and took up SO much space! I'm really keen to try something different this time and the Stokke Tripp Trapp looks like it would be perfect for us. I just love the idea of Jacob being up at the table with us so that he can join in with our mealtimes and learn good eating habits from an early age. I'm also a big fan of the stylish modern design and the fact that it takes up hardly any room. It's built to last and is designed to grow with your baby so, although it's quite pricey, I think it'll be a good investment.
2. Nuby Catch All Bib - £2.99
I spotted these bibs whilst out shopping recently and was instantly drawn to the cute animal designs! I really like the size of them - they're quite big so there's more chance of the bib catching the mess than it ending up on Jacob (well, in theory!) It has a pocket to catch food before it reaches the high chair or the floor so hopefully that will make the whole clean up operation a bit quicker. I also love that these bibs are wipeable so any mess that does end up on them will be easy to clean (I made the mistake of using fabric bibs last time and trying to get stains out of them was a total pain!)
3. Munchkin Soft Tip Infant Spoons - £3.25
We love Munchkin's cutlery and the toddler set Finley has is still going strong after many, many mealtimes! I love that these weaning spoons are so soft and flexible. They're lovely and colourful so hopefully they'll draw Jacob's attention to the food and get him interested in exploring the spoon too. They come in a pack of 6 which is really handy as it means I can keep a couple in the changing bag for when we're out and about.
4. Munchkin Lil' Apple Plates - £5.75
Ok, so these are just as much for me and my neat freak tendencies as they are for Jacob! I really like the idea of separating food as it must seem a bit daunting for babies to see everything piled together on one big plate. I also like that these plates will help with portion sizes - obviously Jacob will just be exploring food to begin with but as he gets bigger it'll be good to know that I'm giving him the right amount of everything. The bright colours and apple shapes are really cute too and will help to make mealtimes more fun!
5. Nuby Stackable Bowls and Lids - £3.80
I'm a big fan of simple products that make life a little bit easier and I have a feeling that that's what these will be! They're so versatile and will be handy for serving up things like baby porridge or for storing snacks on the go. The bowls come in different sizes but I particularly like these larger ones as we can use them as both feeding bowls and storage containers. They're also great for saving time and reducing waste - for example, if Jacob doesn't finish something at lunchtime then I can just pop the lid on and put it in the fridge until dinnertime!
6. Milton Antibacterial Surface Wipes - £2.00
Weaning is all about making a mess and I'm absolutely fine with that... until I have to clean it up! I want to be sure that the table and high chair are totally clean and free from any nasties once I've finished cleaning and since I trust Milton products so much, it makes sense to get a packet of these wipes. Hopefully using these will mean that I can clean up faster and the boys can move on to their next activity without having to wait around. They're also 100% biodegradable which means they get a big thumbs up from me!
What products did you swear by when you were weaning your little ones? Do you have any recommendations?
