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Getting started with weaning and top buys (Guest post from Polly @ Polly's Little World)

Me and Daisy are currently off in Cornwall on our first little family holiday. If you follow us on here or on twitter you will know we are starting to look at weaning and are about to start a weaning series on the blog. in our absence the lovely Polly and Archie have written this post on how to get started for us.. Find the rest of Polly's blog here.

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We began weaning Archie a little before the recommended six months and we started off with purée, when he turned six months we then used the baby-led-weaning strategy. Both worked well but he liked to self feed and so we favoured the baby-led approach. 

Along the way we have gathered all the tools for weaning and here is our essentials. 

Food processor- A must have when making puréed baby food and the true test of a good processor is pureeing a roast dinner!! I was lucky enough to be given one as a present but you can pick them up quite cheap nowadays. 

Steamer- Steaming the vegetables and fruit locks in more of the nutrients than boiling it. However I don't agree that you need an expensive steamer, we've got on fine with an average saucepan stacked one.

 Bowls & Spoons- There's nothing fancy about bowls and spoons but even when baby-led-weaning you still need a cheap set of bowls and spoons to transport from kitchen to highchair.

 Beaker- Archie is eleven months old now and only drinks two bottles of milk a day. A good beaker is a must have to keep him hydrated through the day, I also look out for a non drip one when he's chucking it around the place! 

Freezer Pots or Ice Cube Trays- Depending on which stage your at and how much your baby will eat a set of freezer pots are a great buy. Even now I freeze little pots of homemade tomato pasta sauce then simply de-frost and cook the pasta, a great time saver too. 

Wipeable bibs- When we first started I brought these cute fabric bibs and I was a little gutted when they were stained after one mealtime- I also had a huge mound of washing. The pound shop stock wipe clean plastic bibs with a food catcher and they are fantastic. 

A Highchair- First we used a Bumbo but unfortunately Archie hated being sat in it and was always trying to push backwards! We decided to just buy a highchair as it defiantly wouldn't go to waste. It was true, it didn't go to waste as he sits in it a lot. If I'm doing something in the kitchen and I don't want him crawling round my feet I pop it next to me and he watches on. We decided to go for the Cosatto Noodle as its foldable, light and the attached tray is perfect for finger foods.

 Wipeable Floor Mat- Even if your high chair will be on a tiled floor a wipeable mat is so easy. Once we've finished meal time I pick up the corners, shake off all the bits outside and wipe it down with a cloth. Trust me, it gets messy quickly!! 

The Occasional Pre- packed Food- Archie became quite fussy about eating shop brought baby food at one stage because he had only ever eaten homemade. Before we went on holiday (and didn't have the facilities to always cook him lunches/dinner) I weaned him with a few Ella's Kitchen pouches. These seemed the best on the market and soon he was enjoying them as much as the homemade purée. 

You do need to take weaning with a pinch of salt, there are days where I end up chucking all the homemade dinner in the bin as he won't eat it and trust me I've had some disasters. Don't let it effect you though, babies aren't programmed to "like" everything at once and their little tastebuds take time to get used to different tastes.

 If all fails beans, scrambled eggs on toast or an Ella's Kitchen pouch is always a good back up plan. 

xx

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