I think it’s fair to say that weaning your baby can be a rather overwhelming experience – and that’s why a weaning checklist can really help! It’s important to be prepared, but it’s also helpful to try to take the stress out of weaning and to instead see it as a time to experiment, have fun with new tastes and to start gradually introducing your little one onto an adult diet.
I have lots of content around starting weaning, including my 5 Simple Tips to Start Weaning and my blog on why I recommend the veg led weaning approach. When it comes to equipment for weaning it’s no different either. Have fun with equipment, experiment with what works and discover the firm favourites for both you and for your baby.
When it comes to equipment for weaning it’s no different either. Have fun with equipment, experiment with what works and discover the firm favourites for both you and for your baby.
To help sift the wheat from the chaff I’ve broken down your weaning equipment into three categories:
- The essentials
- The ‘nice to haves’
- The fancy pants
What are the weaning essentials?
When you’re introducing solid foods to your baby, there really aren’t many ESSENTIAL pieces of equipment that you need. The basics that you absolutely need will most likely already be in your kitchen. These include:
- A saucepan for cooking veggies etc.
- Knives for chopping veg/meat etc.
- A chopping board
- A tin opener
- A vegetable peeler
- A potato masher (or a small blender if you’re planning to offer purees!)
- Spoons and crockery
Non-essential (but useful!) weaning items
There are some extra pieces of equipment which will be super handy and slightly more practical bits and pieces for your weaning journey. These include some of the items below:
- Bibs
- A splash mat
- A high chair
- Baby spoons that are soft on tiny gums
- A few different baby bowls that aren’t china. Bamboo ones & suction ones helpful
- Open cup or free flowing beaker – this helps to train your little one to take sips from a cup
- A hand blender
- Ice cube trays or freezer pots
- Small storage pots for carrying baby’s food out and about
- Ice packs for taking foods out and about
- Cooler bags for days out
The fancy pants
Here are a few items that are only for those of you who REALLY want to get stuck into weaning and love your fancy equipment. They certainly aren’t necessary, but can make the weaning process a little smoother:
- Steamer blender machines – steam your baby’s veggies and then blend them to the right textures
- Silicone moulds to batch cook foods or freeze them
- Food thermometers for testing the temperature of baby’s foods
- Long sleeve bibs to protect all clothes
- Portable baby food refill pouches for your home made goodies
- High chairs that grow with your child
- Portable high chairs/booster seats (most restaurants have these!)
- A hand hoover – really helps take the effort out of the post-meal clean up!
So getting started with weaning doesn’t have to be stressful.
I always used a variety with Raffy and Ada so that they didn’t think that things had to be a certain way (certain plate/spoon etc) when they were fed.
I do hope you’ve found these recommendations for weaning equipment useful. If you’d like to read more, you can check out my 5 simple tips to start weaning, advice on how to cope with weaning mess and post on the importance of mealtime environments when weaning your baby. You may also like to download my free factsheet on getting prepared for weaning and read more about my online weaning course.
My Weaning Course!
If you’re soon to begin your baby’s weaning journey, Charlotte’s Online Weaning Course is your complete step-by-step guide to introducing solids.