The world of weaning is an exciting but also daunting one for new parents. Introducing your little ones to solid food is a whole new experience for babies and parents like!
Many parents don’t know where to start but there is lots of information and advice available. Béaba is a weaning-specialist brand, here to help parents every step of the way on the journey. With years of experience, we provide handy tips and advice, plus food ideas and recipes by age and stage. In addition, Béaba has an award-winning range of innovative and stylish products to make the weaning process easier, including the award-winning Babycook® range.
Where to start
NHS guidelines recommend that weaning starts from six months or once your little one can sit up unaided with steady head control.
Regularly working with leading experts, Beaba has some top tips to help:
1. Allow your baby to become familiar with the highchair before they start weaning by popping them in it with some toys or baby spoons and bowls just to play with.
2. Start by introducing vegetables first (either as a puree mixed with baby’s normal milk and then alone, or as finger foods or both), before moving onto other foods.
3. When you introduce potential allergenic foods such as cow’s milk, egg, soya, nut butters or fish, do so one food at a time and in a really small amount to begin with.
4. Aim for your baby to be eating 3 meals a day by the time they are around 7 months old.
5. Don’t give your baby whole grapes or nuts, popcorn or small pieces of hard, uncooked fruit and veg such as carrots and apples – as these are a choking risk. Babies under the age of 12 months also shouldn’t be given honey or anything with added sugar or salt.
6. Offer a small amount of tap water (cool-boiled if under 6 month) served in a cup suitable for a baby with every meal to teach your baby how to drink.
7. Try to relax and enjoy it!
What to buy
There is lots of information out there on the recommended weaning equipment basics, but you can easily start with a highchair and bib, plus a bowl and spoon if you plan to make purées.
This soft and supple Béaba Silicone Essentials Meal Set is ideal as a starter. The suction pad on the base of the plate also helps keep it in place.
Béaba is well-known for its award-winning Babycook®, the first Baby Food Steamer Blender. It is designed to take all the hassle out of preparing food as it steams, blends, defrosts and reheats for you.
Béaba’s eco-friendly, glass and stainless steel Babycook® Neo is mean, green weaning handy helping machine for your kitchen.
Béaba has recently launched its Babycook® Solo Express, which is super speedy and eco-friendly. This economical 4-in-1 baby food maker is faster than ever before. With 2-cooking modes (express and eco), it makes nutritious home-made baby food in minutes.