Useful tools we have found...

I have got a few recipes lined up to make and post about but recently we have been VERY busy so I have found myself utilising quite a bit of my freezer stash and also doing a lot of roasted and steamed vegetables because these are simple and yet Little Miss finds them delicious. I think part of the reason she likes them is that they are really good to get a handle on herself whereas some of the other foods can be a bit crumbly although a great learning experience for handling them.

Anyway, to keep up with posts I have decided to show you a few of the things we have found to be particularly useful for baby-led weaning.

1) the "highchair". We have a high-chair which attaches to the family table so that Little Miss can sit directly with us at the table to eat. It looks a bit like a levitation act! This works for us but may not work for other people for example you cannot use these on glass tables. Plus, even though it has rubber covers to protect the top of the table, it does leave slight marks underneath. If you get a free standing high chair I would really advise getting one with adjustable tray positions and possibly even adjustable height positions.

Our "highchair"

2) Floor protection! I'd say at least half of most meals ends up on the floor and it can be a nightmare to clean up so we bought some wipeclean floor mats to put underneath the table. The one in the picture is the one we use at the house. It is really big (although folded in half here) so can go below the entire table. It is also quite heavy which makes it easier to wipe down. I also bought a couple of lightweight waterproof picnic mats to take with us to other people's houses (or to have picnics on!) which are less bulky to carry with us.

Our floormat

3) Food mat. We have various bowls and plates for Little Miss but I think the best thing we have for her to eat off is a silicone mat which suckers on to the table. It is easy to clean and Little Miss can't do what she likes best which is to throw it/drop it off the table.

Our foodmat

3) Long-sleeved bib. These are an absolute must as food gets everywhere. Dribble bibs and ones that just cover the chest do not cut it. The longer the bib the better as well. Here is Little Miss modelling one of our many long-sleeved bibs (I think we probably have 8-10):

Long-sleeved bib

4) Cups. Lots of mums rave about the cups which don't spill when they go upside down. This might be great for mum but actually it does not teach the child new skills and really about the physics of liquids. Instead, the sippy cups or normal cups tend to be better. We tend to use sippy cups more as they are easy to take out filled with water but also use a doidy cup at home which has one side longer than the other to be a middle step between a sippy cup and a normal cup. Little Miss likes both of these now but the sippy cup has less spillage (although she does enjoy turning it upside down and watching the water pour out).

Orange sippy cup and purple doidy cup

Other than that it helps to have some baby spoons and bowls/plates etc. but really teaspoons and normal bowls can be used too..you just need to be a bit more careful.

Anyway I hope that has given you some ideas of what might be useful although everyone is different.

JULES XOXO