News — baby led weaning

It was 8pm on a dark winter’s night. I stood in front of my utility room sink, surrounded by clothes in various states of the wash cycle; some in the washing machine, others hanging on the airier, more optimistically waiting to be ironed. I was scrubbing stains off my baby’s clothes after a ‘successful’ meal. She had enjoyed her food but as usual, the bib had let me down. I was feeling tired and harassed and thinking, “WHY DON’T BIBS WORK?” That day my daughter, Emily had been wearing a white cardigan. “Madness!” I hear you cry.  I would normally...

What is baby-led weaning? The term ‘baby-led weaning’ means that children are offered non-pureed food from six months old and left to feed themselves either with spoons, forks, or most often to begin with, hands. When I first heard of baby-led weaning, I did think it sounded a bit crazy letting young babies feed themselves, but there are so many benefits* I was keen to find out more. Here are some of the main reasons to give it a go: It enables your baby to develop better hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and even speech It allows your child to...

When is the best time to wean your baby? Confused? I was. The shops are full of baby foods with labels telling you ‘4 months+’ so surely if reputable food companies say you can wean from four months then it’s ok to start then, right?   Myth 1- A baby is ready to be weaned from 4 months According to Government and the World Health Organisation your baby should be six months old before introducing solids. The main reasons are; Your baby gets all their nutritional needs from breast or formula milk for the first six months of their life....

Imagine your ideal dinner time with your child.  They’re loving every spoonful of the nutritious meal you’ve offered them, even the ones that didn’t go in their mouths. You watch, fixated by the funny way they chew and swallow. There are giggles, there are spills, there are splats. You then wipe your child down, take off their bib and release them to toddle off and wreak havoc on your lounge.  This isn’t quite how meal times used to go for us. No matter whether my seven-month-old daughter, Emily, enjoyed her food or not, I would be scrubbing cuffs and necklines...