Weaning Wednesday - week 4 update & top tips so far

We're now four weeks through weaning and a week away from Ethan turning seven months and he seems to be enjoying his three meals a day. 

Following the advice of Annabel Karmel to help give me guidance through the different stages of weaning, but also reacting to Ethan's responses, he now has three meals a day which often combine three different fruits or vegetables and one meal is followed by some baby yogurt or some mashed banana. He's never refused food unless he's full and new foods he's tried this week include leek, peas, courgette, spinach and mango, which he loved.

You can definitely see the difference in how much milk he drinks after each meal, with his two other feeds continuing as normal, and also in his nappies. You know when they've started eating food, that's all I'll say! 

As he's started to eat a bit more and has more combinations of food, I've taken more time to plan what to make him based on what I'm making for us during the week. I made a sausage and butternut squash bake so used the left over squash to make purée and I have swede in the fridge to do the same with. Next week, Annabel recommends we can start adding meat, fish and pasta to his diet, slowly but surely. This is where food shop planning will definitely come in handy so we can eat well and don't have any wastage when there's a meal to be made for our little guy.

As we're a month in, I feel there's a few tips that I can share which may help other mums starting the weaning journey: 

• Try and make some purées yourself whenever possible and have these stocked up in the freezer, ready to defrost as and when needed. I have jarred food in the cupboard as a back up for when we're busy or out and about but having the little tubs in the freezer is a convenient way to feed your baby fresh food. I tend to make purées with one or two ingredients only so that I can combine them together or with fresh fruit or vegetables as each mealtime approaches to make sure he has a variety of foods each day.

• Sweet potato, apple, pear, pumpkin and courgette all purée really smoothly after steaming so are great as bases for any meal.

• Baby yoghurt and mashed banana are both great as a dessert or if your baby looks like they could eat a little more food.

• Disposable bibs are so useful to have, catching any missed mouthfuls and keeping clothes clean without the need for any washing up afterwards.

• Read up on expert weaning advice but then go with your baby. If they don't like something, leave it for now and try it again another day. 

• Give them as much as they want to have, don't worry if it's not a lot at first.

• Try each new food alone so you know if they have a reaction to anything.

• Plan your shopping so you make the most of fresh ingredients.

• Baby rice is great to mix with fruit for their breakfast or to thicken purées.

For us, this method has worked well. I liked the idea of baby led weaning but Ethan is still getting his hand-eye coordination together and it would really take forever to feed him the way he is at the moment. Instead, for four weeks, he's eaten fresh food every day, tried 13 different fruits and vegetables and now has a routine which works for him and I know what he wants and when. Having said that, we're going to a baby led weaning session at the local children's centre as it would be interesting to hear their ideas and suggestions first-hand.

I'm looking forward to making more meals for him - I wonder how he'll get on with fish and chicken?