Top 10 weaning & feeding essentials

So as the time starts to wean baby number 2 I'm reminded of a post I was going to write when Doof was weaning but never got round to... So here it is, second time lucky (and doubly as true I guess as these are still my top 10 second time around!)

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Vital baby bowls with sucker

Once your baby learns that the bowl moves and how fun it is to watch things fly off the highchair you're in big trouble. So we loved these bowls that clip onto a sucky base (that actually stuck to the highchair tray unlike some other makes we tried!).

Before we had the sucky bit...

Yay - no mess once the sucker is in place :)

Temperature spoons

I don't heat food very often (aka never when D was weaning) but obviously do if making ready brek or a half-uncooked dish. These tommee tippee temperature sensitive spoons are great - orange when the temperature is ok and quickly turning yellow when the food is too hot.

So simple but visually so effective

Square morrisons bibs

We were given these as a present. Initially I was a bit meh but then once I tried them, loved them. The square design allowed a lot coverage of D when he was at his super-messy eating phase, the neck fitted snugly so no food escaped down there (and was comfy as made of fabric) and lastly no amount of tugging from D would remove it :)

Mess mess mess!

Emergency stash of pouches

Yes yes I know, real mums hand steam every vegetable that passes within 5 yards of their baby. Except sometimes (often!) that's not practical. Sometimes you're out unexpectedly and need something now. Sometimes you're on a long joinery and so you want something that travels well. Sometimes you're just too tired to cook from scratch... Anyway a stash of emergency pouches has always saved this household!

Tommee tippee milk bottle or Nuby 

We tried nearly every cup in existence when weaning D off the breast (he skipped out the bottle phase) - you can read about all the different ones we tried here. By far our favourite were the standard Tommee Tippee and the Nuby. Both of which I've already bought for Iz :)

Fully mastered his TT cup by 6 months

Highchair cushion

Most simple yet ingenious invention ever! £5 in Ikea buys you a blow-up 3-sided cushion which you can slip into any highchair when out&about, instantly transforming those far too big wooden ones into something even your 5 month old is secure in. And it rolls down into practically nothing so easily fits in your nappy bag. Definitely as essential if you eat out with a little one.

Love the simplicity of this cushion - brilliant!

Brother Max pots 

There are so many different pots available for freezing food in. I loved the Brother Max ones because the 2 sizes were perfect portion sizes for early weaning (5-7 months) and the larger ones for later (8-12 months). They also had space to write on them and came with a pen. And even better they have a squishy rubber bottom so it's very easy to "pop" the food cube out once it's frozen. Although equally they double up as fab little pots to feed from - very handy if out as then you don't need to faff with more bowls etc.

The smaller sized pots

Ikea Antilop highchair 

Why spend anymore than £15 when that will buy you the best highchair out there?! The 2 reasons that make it the best in my mind are:

- it is all plastic so very easy to clean without any edges for food to get stuck in (you can even put the whole chair in the shower if it gets particularly messy!)

- it doesn't have a big "lip" on the tray so even small babies just starting out can try reaching for food and can see what they're being offered

Both of these also mean its perfect for using during painting or crafting activities when you want some sort of control over your toddler!

Perfect for crafting

The downside is that it doesn't fold away but as I'm using it 3 times a day I'd be far too lazy to fold it down anyway!

Great for finger feeding (and mess making!)

Floor mat

Essential of you want to stand any chance of keeping your carpet clean under the highchair. And can also double up as messy play mat for painting, gluing etc. Perfect!

Protect your carpet!

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So those are my top 10 feeding/weaning essentials. What do you think? Any others you couldn't have lived without that I've missed out? I'd love to hear them :)