Starting the Weaning Journey!

Weaning your baby is an exciting time. Your baby is about to explore an array of different tastes and textures and it can be so much fun introducing them to new foods. Weaning can sometimes feel a little daunting but it doesn't have to be. When your baby is ready to start weaning they will still be getting that all important nutrition from their milk and so their first tastes will just be for fun! 

Getting Started
Choose a time when your little one is happy and settled and when they are not too hungry or too full. Then you can offer a small spoon of pureed food on a soft tipped spoon. My little one uses Munchkin Safety Spoons. The Munchkin White Hot Safety Spoons have a patented White® Hot System where the spoon tip changes to white if the food is too hot for baby. The soft tips are really gentle on baby's gums and they also have long handles to assist in highchair feeding. They come in bright colours which your baby will love and this also encourages them to hold and explore the spoons themselves paving the way for self-feeding.

My baby's first taste was baby rice and then over the next few days he tried some pureed carrot and pureed sweet potato. I loved watching his expressions as he tried a new food! After he was used to trying some different vegetables he then tried some different pureed fruits. I love the Munchkin Baby Food Feeder, it is great for feeding baby on the go. You add pureed food to the silicone pouch and then baby can enjoy the food as it passes through the small hole at the bottom. Older babies will enjoy feeding themselves too! 

Another great product for helping babies discover new tastes is the Munchkin Fresh Feeder. You place fresh fruit or vegetables into the feeder and baby is able to taste and enjoy them through the mesh which only allows for small digestible pieces to come through which reduces the risk of choking. It has a handy easy grip handle so baby can have a go at feeding themselves. This product gave me lots of peace of mind and helped him to try foods that he was struggling to grip, for example a slippery banana.

My baby also enjoys trying some finger foods such as cooked carrot sticks, broccoli florets as well as strawberries and raspberries for example. He loves being able to pick the food up himself and this process helps him develop his hand to eye coordination.

Once your baby is used to those first tastes you can then introduce breakfast. My little one loves porridge with banana! 

Once your baby is used to exploring a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, you can start to introduce sources of protein such as meat, fish or eggs.  

Before you release, your baby will be eating 3 meals a day and weaning will be well and truly established. Weaning can be lots of fun and your baby will absolutely love exploring new foods. What an exciting time! 

To find out more about Munchkin, just click here. 

*I was kindly gifted these products for this feature.