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

What would you add to the list?

5 Things I Hate about Baby Led Weaning

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!

Would you add anything to this list?

Toddler Meal Ideas // What my Kids Eat in a Day

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.

Baby Led Weaning // First Food Ideas

We followed baby led weaning with both of our children, and I'm always asked questions about how to start, or what to start with. Deciding what foods to give to your baby can be scary, especially in those first few weeks where everything is new. But it doesn't have to be! 

Baby led weaning allows your child to eat exactly what you eat (to an extent) - so in theory you don't really need to think much about what to give them. Obviously there are exceptions - no whole nuts or honey, watch the salt levels and be careful with runny eggs. But apart from that let them explore new and exciting foods. I've found both of mine preferred spice and flavour over bland foods. 

Examples of first foods to try include:

Steamed vegetable sticks - carrots, sweet potato, broccoli, etc. Make sure you cut them up into sticks (and aren't too overcooked) so that baby can grab onto it easily.

Fruit - banana, pear, melon, blueberries. I'd stick to the softer variety to begin with as they're easier to manage. A good idea is to keep skin on so they have something to hold. A trick with banana as well is to cut in half then push your finger down the middle - this splits it into perfect segments for baby to hold!

Toast fingers - keep it plain to start with a little butter, but then there are so many possibilities with toppings. Jam, nut butters, cheese spread - or if you have any purees hanging around, this can be a great way to use them up.

Pasta - I've found tubes or fusilli is easiest for little hands to hold onto. Try plain or Parker's favourite is cream cheese and sweetcorn!

Dipping! - Babies absolutely LOVE to dip, so this is a great way to get them to explore new foods. Give them a 'dipper' - this could be any of the above, and then something to dip it in - hummus, cream cheese, sauces or even those leftover purees again!

We have loved using our Nutribaby to steam vegetables to perfection for the whole family. The different levels make it easy to separate foods, and can even be used for meat as well as vegetables. We used to boil our vegetables, but steaming actually keeps in the nutrients that are so vital for babies and children.

Baby led weaning is so much fun, and doesn't have to be scary or confusing. Especially with help from products such as the Nutribaby!

Disclosure - We are part of the Babymoov #stesslessweaning team and received the Nutribaby as part of this project.

Weaning on Holiday | Our Top Tips

Weaning while on holiday can seem scary. Will there be suitable food for my child? What will the highchairs be like? We also had the panic of how to make Parker's bottles - or more so how will we cope without the Prep machine haha.

We've been on two holidays with babies now though (Indie when she was 6 months and Parker at 9 months), and both have been a doddle when it came to feeding. I thought I'd share some of the weaning tips we've picked up along the way. These will be more aimed at the baby led style of weaning though, as that's the route we took with both of ours.

• If you're bottle feeding, take enough formula with you for the duration of you trip. You may be lucky enough to find formula at your destination, but it'll most likely be a different brand. Be careful with bottled water too - make sure to check the mineral and salt content, and it will still needs boiling too!

• If you've travelled to a hot country make sure to keep baby hydrated. Younger babies may want more feeds, although never put extra water in bottles. We made sure to get them used to a free-flow beaker before travelling so they could sip water throughout the day. 

• Definitely take advantage of all-inclusive packages! These are perfect for weaning as there is so much food to offer. Both kids tried so many new and different foods while on holiday, that we would never have at home. And if they didn't like a certain food you could just go back and get them something else! Just make sure all food is piping hot and always check that meat if properly cooked. If you are worried though, most local shops stock baby food, so there's no need to load up your suitcase.

• Make sure to pack your own cutlery, bowls, and lots of bibs. Most hotels won't have suitable things for little ones, so it's always best to take your own! We took a whole load of bibs too so that we didn't have to worry about washing them constantly. For day trips and the flights we used disposable bibs - so easy to use and can just be chucked in the bin after. If ever in doubt though, a muslin round the neck works just as well!

• If you're worried about highchairs, take your own! There are plenty of travel highchairs around but the one we love is the fabric chair harness by The Gro Company. It was so cheap and folds up really small (I keep it in the changing bag most of the time).  

These are just some of the tips we've picked up along the way. Weaning on holiday doesn't worry us at all now, and I do look back and wonder why I ever panicked! As long as you've packed the essentials and are prepared, weaning on holiday can be just as easy as weaning at home - we almost found it easier as we didn't have to clean up the mess haha.

I'd love to hear your weaning tips while travelling?