My Baby Led Weaning Must Haves With Munchkin

Where did that six months go? It feels like I’ve blinked and my gorgeous baby boy, Jack, is already eating solids, sitting up and cutting teeth. I was so worried about the prospect of weaning, baby led anything and not being as portable as possible when I’m his only source of food. However, with the help of my favourite baby brand Munchkin, baby led weaning is EASY!
Here are my BLW must-haves from Munchkin.

Baby Led Weaning

Before I had Jack, I had a bit of an idea of what baby led weaning was but it wasn’t until he arrived and started showing interest in food that I really started to understand.

Baby led weaning means offering your little one finger-sized food and letting them feed themselves rather than spoon-feed alone. You can do this exclusively or mix it up with a bit of spoon feeding, purees and different textures.

Jack has always been a great eater with a healthy appetite and I had no worries about him getting started before he was six months. He was forever trying to pick things up and put them in his mouth and grab food from my plate.

My Munchkin Must Haves

Weaning can be a messy business and my first and most important tip is to just embrace it. Your little one is exploring and experimenting and that sometimes means food ends up on the floor, in their ears and all over you.

Plates & Bowls

To make life a bit easier in the mess department, I love Munchkin’s Stay Put Suction Bowls and Divided Suction Plates.

The bowls are perfect for a healthy breakfast of overnight oats, Greek yoghurts and pulsed fruits.

I switch between holding the bowl and letting Jack hold the sides and sticking it down to the highchair and letting him explore with his cutlery.

The suction is super strong to combat meltdowns and I’m yet to see Jack throw a tantrum and rip it off the tray. And, even though they have serious staying power, they release easily with a ping of your fingernail – you just need the knack!

Jack is very visual, like me, so he likes to see what he’s eating and enjoys things with lots of colours. Being able to feed him easily with the suction bowls and plates means that I can enjoy mealtimes along with him without having to worry about showering afterwards!

Cutlery

From a very young age, Jack has been quite dexterous. I’ve always encouraged him to grab things with both hands (I’m a leftie and his dad is right handed so we have a battle in our house!) and he’s been showing signs of bringing items to his mouth for weeks before we started weaning.

I’ve tried and tested some other brands’ plastic cutlery but NONE are a scratch on the Gentle Scoop Silicone Training Spoons.

These spoons are ideal – they are soft and bendy but most importantly, they have a built-in guard that prevents babies from shoving the entire implement down their throat.

This is what Jack was doing with competitor brand spoons and he couldn’t understand why he was spending more time gagging than enjoying his food. This was panic-inducing for me and made me feel uneasy about weaning and encouraging his independence.

The Munchkin spoons are the BEST we’ve tried and I love watching Jack gesture for the spoon as soon as he’s got his bib on and is in the high chair.

Cups & Bottles

I’m so pleased to say that Jack is still a happily breastfed little dude. Now that he is six months old, he can have some filtered water added to his diet and I think that he certainly needs something more liquid to help wash down his meals.

We mix and match between having a quick feed before and after his meals and filling his Munchkin Gentle Transition Trainer Cup which allows him to drink water and milk independently.

It is so strange watching my little boy absolutely thrive with his food and he seems to just take it all in his stride!

My Next Munchkin Purchases

Now that weaning has begun, the fun has just started! We can still be portable but it takes a bit more prep than just whipping my boob out whenever he’s hungry.

I love that Munchkin as a brand will be able to move through his journey with him and the many items I’ve tried so far are hardy and long lasting.

My next purchases include the colourful bento box with handy sections for full days out. This one is currently on sale so get one quick!

I also want to invest in the Fresh Food Feeder. One of my favourite Mummy friends swears by this little gadget to help her little one eat the more slippery foods like kiwis, mangos and bananas. This one is already on its way to me and I can’t wait to see how Jack gets on with it!