If you read my recent post, you'll know there are plenty of things I hate about baby led weaning. Of course though it's not all messy walls and checking salt levels. There are plenty of things I LOVE about it too.
So here are 5 things I love about baby led weaning!
No spoon feeding
We have nothing against spoon feeding (especially weetabix, that stuff is not safe to be left with a child). But being able to just all sit down together and eat, without having to think about it is amazing.
There's never been any moments where they've clamped their mouths shout to avoid the food, (a memory I remember so well with my little brother), and no making a fool ourselves pretending to be an aeroplane - well, during meal times that is! Just place the food down, and you're done.
This may have ended in a sink bath...
All eating together
Tied in with the point above, I love being able to all eat at the same time. I can make one meal, we can all sit down, and eat at the same time! All eating together is great encouragement for getting kids to try new foods as well - if they see you trying something they're more likely to pick it up too.
Watching them discover foods and flavours
There's nothing like watching your baby's face as they taste food for the first time. The faces they pull, the inquisitive looks to you for reassurance, it's all so wonderful!
With baby led weaning you can introduce different textures and flavours from the beginning. Indiana has always loved spicy foods with chille and curries being her favourites from the very start! There's no need to keep it bland.
No cooking / making extra food
Of course I still have to cook food, but I only have to make one meal for all of us! I never needed to spend ages making purees or batch cooking meals - a huge relief as there's never any room in the freezer anyway.
The mess!
I know this was in my hates, but most of the time it's actually the part I love. Seeing their cheeky little messy faces is so worth it! It shows how much they enjoyed their food, and is usually a good indicator that they actually ate some too.
The amount of messy weaning pictures / videos I captured is crazy, but they all still make me smile. There's nothing like a yoghurt faced, spaghetti monster! After all #messisbest
I'm absolutely loving writing this little toddler activity series. I always seem to find myself googling ideas and looking for inspiration, so I hope they've been useful for others. I know they're nothing fancy, but sometimes it's the most simple ideas you don't think about.
Today's activity is pizza decorating!
You might notice we've used pre-made bases. I'll be honest and say our idea of making them went out the window! They are pretty simple, but we just didn't have time. Next time we'll definitely be doing them ourselves though (and not leaving it until 5pm to start the activity).
We simply popped some toppings into individual bowls and let the children get creative. We went with things we know they like - cheese, ham, sweetcorn, etc. You can of course pick anything you know your children like, and maybe even something more unusual to see if they pick it up and pop it on!
The kids had a blast, and I was actually quite surprised how little mess they made. That was until Parker picked his up and tried to eat it uncooked! Of course I was sat by them the whole time (Parker needs constant supervision around food haha), so managed to rescue the pizza in time.
The finished result was a little bit of a mess (these two LOVE cheese). But with a bit of a helping hand they turned out pretty good. And as you can tell, they definitely passed the taste test too!
We followed baby led weaning with both of our children, and it's something we really enjoyed, and would definitely do again if we were to have another child. There are a number of things we didn't enjoy about it though.
So here's 5 things I hate about baby led weaning!
The mess
Honestly, sometimes it is just too much! There are days where they are wearing more food than they have eaten. You will find rice from a meal you had a week later. Your walls will be covered and the pretty highchair you purchased destroyed. (seriously, who's idea was it to put white straps on highchairs?). You'll then need about 10 billion wipes to clean your child up - all while they're rubbing the hand you just cleaned back into the food... brilliant!
The unknown
With baby led weaning you don't really know how much your child has actually eaten. Those first few weeks especially, it's hard to work out whether they actually ate anything at all. Did they eat enough? Do you give them more? I hate not knowing whether they've had a decent meal or not.
Constantly checking food
High levels of salt?
Contains nuts or honey?
They can't have it!
Baby led weaning is shown to be a way of weaning where you just give the baby what you eat. But in reality you simply can't all the time. Luckily we don't add salt to our food anyway so this was never a problem. But just be careful, especially when eating out.
Gagging
Gagging itself is actually a good sign (it's noisy compared to chocking). It shows that your baby is trying to sort a problem themselves. It doesn't stop it being bloody terrifying though!
Always having to share my food!
With both kids eating 'proper' food from the get go, it wasn't long before they noticed ours. If they run out of food, you'll probably end up having to offer yours. And if you don't offer it, 9/10 it's stolen from your plate anyway.
Word of warning - all food looks better off of your plate... even if it's EXACTLY the same as what's in front of them!
Another month with my troublesome two has passed in a flash! It's amazing how quickly these sibling posts seem to come around, and once again I was not prepared with pictures. We did try to capture some lovely ones during a trip to the park, but honestly it was a nightmare - neither of them wanted to sit still, or be anywhere near each other.
These ones do capture their little personalities well though. Indiana the big sister and leader. Showing Parker what to do, and giving him gentle encouragement. Parker the not so little brother. In absolute awe of his big sister, but also not afraid to step out of her shadow.
This month has seen their relationship grow even more. They have played together (well not actually together, but right next to each other) on a number of occasions. Indiana has been better with sharing, and will let Parker have one toy to play with - a BIG step for her.
Of course Parker is still young, and doesn't really understand that he cannot always play. He tries his very best to do whatever Indiana does though. He climbs, runs, and follows her everywhere. If she's playing in their bedroom, then he goes too. If she goes to the loo, he's right there with her.
That said though, the arguments have increased as well. Now Parker is older and big enough to stand his ground, he will fight back when Indie steals a toy or annoys him. Indie has also started telling Parker off if we do, which although it can pretty funny probably isn't the best.
I just hope they continue to play together, as it is so wonderful to see when they do. But I'll just have to wait and see. And I'll let you know next month...
With Autumn weather soon arriving, I'm trying to think up more indoor activities. They need to be short, simple and fun for two toddlers - no pressure!
The second I saw these little gingerbread men while doing the weekly shop, an idea popped into my head. Biscuit decorating! Of course you can choose any biscuit, these were just a bit more fun for the kids. We then grabbed some icing and toppings, and hey presto, an easy afternoon activity.
I sat both children at Indiana's table (covered with a messy mat of course!), and let them loose. Indie at almost 3 understood how to work the icing, and took great care with her decorating. She loved making a pretty design and adding buttons. She even made one for Jack for when he got home.
It was a little lost on Parker at 13 months. He sat for a good 30/45 minutes playing and eating though, which is very rare for him! He very much enjoyed eating all the chocolate buttons too.
Although this wasn't the healthiest of activities, as a once in a while treat I definitely think it's fun. The children got to get messy, show their artist skills and I loved joining in too!
Next time I will definitely get the ingredients to make our own biscuits. Although I'm not too sure I'd let Parker get involved with that kind of activity just yet!
When we discovered we were pregnant for the second time, we knew that the new baby and Indiana were going to be sharing. We swapped the rooms over, bought Indiana a toddler bed and Parker joined her at around 4/5 months old. He's just turned one and she's now nearing three, so I thought it was about time we gave their room a little shake up (and make sure to scroll to the bottom for a room tour video)!
Living in a rented property we can't unfortunately paint the walls, or actually put any nails in to hang up picture. But we've made the most of what we've got, and I think their room is definitely my favourite in the house! I've kept their 'areas' very boy / girl to give them their own personal space, but everything else is very much unisex.
Storage is something we're low on in our house, so we have three of these Ikea Malm units in their bedroom. The one above was once a changing unit. We removed the mat, but have kept the nappies and toiletries in the top drawer for convenience. The bottom drawers house their towels, bedding, blankets and swimming bits. The other two units on the opposite wall are for the kids clothes - one for Indie and one for Parker.
These storage towers provide even more storage - they're stocked full of excess wipes, shoes, and other random bits and bobs (that Parker loves to throw all over the floor). Ideally I do want to remove these soon, but for now they're useful.
We picked up this fun little car mat in Ikea. It was an absolute bargain, costing us only £4! We love to play with their Happyland, train tracks and cars on it. And I just know as the kids grow it will be used more and more.
Both children have their initials above their beds. I picked these up from Babyface, after seeing them on someone's Instagram, and they're fab quality. They both have personalised birth prints on the wall too, which are gorgeous keepsakes. Parker's is from a seller on Instagram called Vintage Rose Prints.
To add even more of a personal touch, I have four canvases on the walls of the children as newborns. They make me smile whenever I look at them, and just show how much they have grown. As we can't put nails on the walls, we use command strips for everything we put up - a great tip if you're in the same situation as us!
Thankfully we managed to transition Indiana into a cot bed pretty easily, so Parker uses it now. It was from John Lewis and despite not being too expensive, it's still going strong! Now he is one he has his own bedding set too. This duvet set and sheet were from Asda. They actually have a fantastic range of toddler and children's bedding, all at reasonable prices and great quality.
Indiana's corner of the room is pretty, girly and oh so pink! She's very much a girly girl, so I wanted to include this with her part of the bedroom - but also keep it a bit more grown up now she's definitely outgrown the baby stage.
Her toddler bed was from John Lewis and is the perfect size (as well as being super comfortable). Next to this we have another Ikea purchase; a perfect place for all of their books, puzzles and important toys. It's a great cosy corner, as Indie can just grab a book and snuggle in bed, and you'll often find Parker hidden away reading here too.
The gorgeous butterfly range items are from Laura Ashley, and were exactly what I imaged when I dreamed of Indie's bedroom! The Bella Butterfly fairy lights are Indie's favourite part of the room (so much so she ran the batteries down within 3 days haha). Mine has to be the duvet cover; which although is a single size, with a bit of tucking looks perfect on her bed.
Finally, two items we couldn't live without in their bedroom. The Gro Egg and Motorola video baby monitor. These add peace of mind, as well as looking stylish and sweet on the side!
Although the room isn't decorated much, I definitely think it's got character and life. Their door letters are colourful and fun, and the second you walk in the room there are toys and books all over the room (I promise, these photos are probably the tidiest it's ever been haha). A toddler bedroom for two sexes can be difficult to create. However I think we've definitely left room for it to grow and develop, and we absolutely love it!
Disclosure - We received the Laura Ashley items to feature in this post.
I always find I struggle for new, and different ideas when it comes to the children's meals. With baby led weaning they of course eat the same dinner as Jack and I. But breakfasts and lunches are usually different, and where I need most inspiration.
I've watched and read a lot of 'what my baby / toddler eats' videos recently though, and they'd helped a lot. They gave me inspiration to film my own, and now they're some of my most popular videos!
Below is my most recent edition - meals for my 2 year old and my 13 month old. I always film whats leftover to give an idea of portion sizing, and my little ones appetites too. Because let's face it, sometimes it does just end up all over the floor!
I also give you a closer look at some of the fantastic Babymoov products in action, including the light wood highchair, baby bowls and lunch set.
Hopefully this has given you some inspiration, and helped you with your #stresslessweaning journey! Make sure to subscribe to my youtube channel to see more.
Disclosure - This video and post are part of my role as a Babymoov Ambassador. I received the mentioned products as part of this role, but all opinions are my own.
I still have days where I cannot believe I'm a mum of two. Let alone a mum of an almost 3 year old and a 13 month old. I remember writing this post when Parker was a month old, just a few weeks into life with two under two. It's been a whirlwind of a year since then, and I've definitely grow a lot as a mama, and as a person. And bloody hell I've learnt a hell of a lot too!
Having two is wonderful. Parker gave his first smiles to Indie, she's always got his back, and they always have someone to play with. Of course it's not all sunshine and roses. There are days where I want to pull my hair out and run far far away. These are usually the days where Jack's been at work all day, and Parker is teething though (and chocolate does usually help).
So what have I learnt from being a mummy of two?
There will be jealousy...
Luckily Indiana didn't really show that much interest the first few months. Where she was on 20 months old it just became her new normal, and she embraced the change. The bigger Parker got though the more we started to notice it.
What I was not expecting though, was to get the jealousy from Parker. He is most definitely a mummy's boy, and there have been plenty of days where all he wants is me. If I'm giving Indie attention, he will actually come over and scream and moan until I put her down!
You can't do everything...
The first few weeks I definitely tried to be supermum. But I soon realised something had to give. Keeping the house tidy wasn't top of my priority. As long as the kids were happy / fed / clean then it was a good day.
Of course the older Parker got the easier it became (double nap time is still my saviour), but there's definitely still days where my house is an absolute mess!
Babies are all so different...
Indiana was your text book baby. She slept through at 5 weeks old, was never really clingy or whingy (she's making up for it now, I promise), and all in all, was pretty easy. Then Parker came along. And it was hard.
It felt as if we were learning everything all over again; he was just so different. We've co-slept with him, cuddled him to sleep and have thrown out the routine plenty of times. Everything we said we wouldn't do with our first. You have to find what works for them.
Your love will split equally...
I remember being Pregnant with Parker, and wondering just how I was going to spread my love. Honestly though, it just comes naturally (or it did for me anyway). From the second he was born I felt the same rush of love. My love is split equally between them both. And if we did have another, I know it will just do the same again.
Basically, what I'm trying to say, is that it will be wonderful, stressful, amazing, sometimes even terrifying...
But whatever it is, just seeing your two beautiful babies together, will be the best feeling in the entire world.
This past month has flown and our beautiful boy is now 13 months old. He's most definitely a little toddler now, and he has the temper and attitude to go with it!
We've been going through Leap 8, which I remember writing about with Indiana. He knows exactly what he wants and will try and do everything he possibly can to do / have it. But when he doesn't get his way (which is 99% of the time, as he's usually doing something dangerous or particularly 'naughty') he throws an almighty tantrum which can rival his big sisters!
The leap has made me extra loving and snuggly though. He's always been a mummy's boy, but he's been partially clingy to me. If I'm cuddling Indiana he will pull her to get her off of me, and will sort of 'refuel' himself with cuddles before going off to play again. It's exhausting, but at the same time I do secretly love it.
Teething has also been thrown into the mix, and he has another 2 teeth (4 on the bottom and 3 on the top). Add 1 year jabs on top of that and he's really had a tough month! Thankfully neither seemed to disrupt his sleep too much, and anbesol and calpol have worked their magic. We finally introduced a toothbrush now he has quite a few teeth, and so far so good in regards to teeth brushing.
Parker's still in a mix of 9-12 / 12-18 month clothing, and wearing size 4 shoes. Nappies are still size 5. He's a nightmare to dress / nappy change though, so the First Pants by Little Angels have been an absolute godsend (the Peppa element is also loved by Parker who is a huge fan).
Something that has developed massively this month is his speech. He is constantly babbling and communicating with us. He can say: mama, dada, nana, bubble, peppa, no (obviously haha), num num (for food), ball and 'row row' when sat on your lap to do the rhyme.
This month Parker loves to dance, run, play with his cars, read books, animals, and annoying his big sister. He hates his pushchair, being told off or left out and being picked up when he wants to walk. He's mischievous (as in pulling out all of the toilet roll, destroying the place, eating paper, etc), cheeky and a typical boy. He loves his big sister though, and is happiest wearing her bows and dancing around.
Here's to another month with our cheeky little boy!