The cover picture for this post is literally me at mealtimes

It’s official. N is eating food! Things just got a WHOLE lot messier and smellier in our house. I learnt the other day we have actually adopted the ‘baby led’ weaning technique (letting them pick up their food and figure out how to eat it). Apparently this is actually a thing and not just me being lazy, who knew? It’s going pretty well so far, no choking yet  and letting them feed themselves seems so much easier then making & storing purees.

A few top tips and things to know when weaning:

• Rusks and Weetabix dry into a substance stronger than cement.
• The straps on a highchair are made of ridiculous material that turns a horrible brown colour after a few uses and coatings of baby puke. Don’t bother trying to keep them nice.
• People will try and feed your baby anything ( literally – beer, sweets, icecreams) if you don’t want them to, put your foot down!
• They make spoons for weaning (this sounds so obvious but I didn’t know this and used a standard baby spoon which was too rigid and big). Home Bargains do them cheap.
• They don’t eat a lot at first but don’t worry, soon they’ll be cramming it down faster than a pregnant lady at a buffet. I speak from experience.
• You’ll probably have to up their daily washes. N currently has 2 full baths a day and I still find food in his ears at bed time.
• Invest in a few of those full T-shirt bibs, they were a gift from God I’m sure.
• Be prepared for some funky looking poop.

Another great thing I’ve discovered whilst weaning is the Ellas Kitchen melty puffs. I wanted to stay away from the mushy foods and needed something to take out and about in a rush. These are essentially baby friendly Wotsits made from veggies and N loves them! They dissolve as baby eats them so no choking worries and are a great size whilst their learning to grab things. They also taste good (I’ve nicked a few) and for around 70p a bag their budget friendly too. Definitely recommend!