I can't believe I've already got a little 6 month old boy with 3 teeth and a big appetite! We're well into the weaning journey and lockdown has given us a good chance to really get the hang of it all and try out lots of different food. I'm combination feeding, so a mixture of me feeding him purees and mashed food along with finger foods which he can pick up and eat himself. There's been a few things that have made weaning easy and enjoyable.
I wanted a Tripp Trapp high chair after seeing them ages ago. They bring baby closer to the table than lots of plastic high chairs and they grow with the child with a few little changes. Unfortunately they're not in my price range so I was looking for something similar and came across the Safety 1st Wooden High Chair. We bought it from Precious Little One and got a really good price and free delivery. We added a Safety 1st cushion too for extra comfort. Ollie is happy in it, it looks good in our dining room too and it's easy to clean.
Speaking about keeping everything clean I've got three bibs for keeping Ollie's clothes safe from all the food. We have two Bibado Coverall Weaning Bibs; one blue watermelon design and one yellow watermelon design. These are an absolute lifesaver for purees because they cover everywhere from the wrists right up to the neck and onto the tray where they can attach. They are waterproof but can be wiped clean for those meals that aren't too messy, then can be thrown in the washing machine for those days that more food lands on them than in their mouth. Bibados are worth every penny and you can get 10% off your order with the code OLLIEANDJENNA10. We've also got a Tommee Tippee Catch All Bib which is great when they're having something not too messy like cucumber or banana and berry muffins. This hangs on the side of the high chair with a command hook.
With everything that's going on we've not seen our health visitor or other baby Mums in months and although we got some weaning leaflets and booklets we didn't get the chance to have a chat about where to start. Because of that I wanted to make my life as easy as possible, without just turning to pouches. We were at home all of the time so there was no need for them but I wasn't sure about making purees. Tommee Tippee had a 50% off sale and I bought the Tommee Tippee Quick Cook Baby Food Blender. It's so easy to use, allows you to steam and blend in minutes. It's suitable for fruit, veg, meat and fish and you can make smooth purees or chunkier meals. It's been amazing for batch cooking and freezing but also quick one-off meals and snacks. I've used the blender for making pancake mix and I've even used it for steaming my own veg at dinner time.
We're starting to get quite a stash in our freezer and having a range of pots has made it really easy to take something out for lunch or dinner the next day. The big pots are Avent ones and the little ones are from a Boots set. Keeping pancakes and muffins in a freezer bag has saved so much space. I use a whiteboard pen to write what's inside and it just washes off.
One of the first things we gave to Ollie was Baby Porridge. He's been having it for breakfast most days but he's getting to the stage now where he could be having something different and maybe moving towards Ready Brek instead. We've still got a couple of packets of Cow and Gate Baby Porridge and I wanted to use it in a recipe so it doesn't go to waste. This Banana and Berry Muffin recipe has turned out to be a big favourite and so easy to make.
Banana and Berry Muffins
a handful of chopped raspberries
a handful of chopped blueberries
1 mashed ripe banana
4 tbsp apple puree
2 tsp vanilla extract
180ml whole milk
1 beaten egg
225g plain flour
225g baby porridge/cereal
2tbsp baking powder
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Arrange cake cases in a muffin tin. I've used silicone ones which are brilliant for batch cooking and freezing the muffins as there's no paper involved.
In a bowl mix together the banana, apple puree, milk, egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients (flour, cereal and baking powder) and mix well. Fold in the raspberries and blueberries. Spoon into cake cases.
Bake for about 18 minutes then leave to cool. Serve at room temperature or warmed. I pop one in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. To defrost I put one in the fridge at night ready for the next day.
No comments