(Noah now - at 7 months old)
Disclaimer - I am in no way a health care professional, this post is about my experience only, if you are seeking professional advice, please contact the relevant people, e.g: your health visitor, midwife or GP.
My son has always been one step ahead of himself, which is what led me to start his weaning journey. Noah always took his bottles without a fuss, and eventually it got to the stage at around three months where his milk just wasn't satisfying him as much and he would become grumpy in-between bottles.
When Noah was four months old I decided to give weaning a try, if it was to fail I would go back to only giving him bottles until six months old, then try again.
To start of with, me and my mother made some of our own puree's using the Tommee Tippee baby food blender, however now I've had time to use this product, I've realised that I could of saved my money and just used the normal food blender I already had at home; which is now what I use as I can fit more portions into a normal blender.
Making my own puree's is so rewarding, Noah loved puree's from day one of weaning, which made me super excited for the start of his weaning experience.
My son surprised me with how fast he took to puree's, he was in no way fussy and enjoyed whatever food was placed in front of him.
When I'm not making my own puree's, my all time favourite place to shop for my son's baby food is Aldi, the prices are brilliant! With pouches of puree's starting from as little as 52p each, you can't go wrong. Considering for one pouch of Ella's Kitchen 6 month+ puree's your paying £1.50 each, your saving a heck of a lot of money in the long run, especially if you buy bulks at a time like myself. My only negative about Aldi is the variety, other stores may vary but in my local Aldi variety is limited, I never see any new flavours being released onto the shelves. This brings me back to Ella's Kitchen, although the prices are a lot higher, the variety is incredible! I do occasionally buy Ella's Kitchen baby food if there on offer. I'm always stuck for choice on which ones to buy next and I still have many more to try!
Lidl also have limited puree's but are low priced and have some lovely flavours to offer such as pumpkin, sweet potato, blueberries and apple pouches, which has been one of my sons all time fav's.
Noah is now 7 months old and he makes me so proud each day, he tries so many new foods, making my life a lot easier. I was always a fussy child and still am to this day, making me want to give Noah a great start to food so he can enjoy it instead of being scared of it.
Noah is now onto finger foods as well as 7 month+ puree's and his fav at the moment are rusks, toast and Ella's Kitchen melt puffs. These type of snacks are handy to have whilst out to fill a gap in your little ones tummy until its meal time.
I sometimes doubt myself and wonder 'am I rushing things?', although I know damn well that I do everything I can to ensure my son has an exciting, yet age appropriate diet.
Noah still gets plenty of milk and water daily, as well as a few snacks here and there ;)
To finish this post off I wanted to send a message to all parents, and that is to never doubt yourself! Don't be affraid to ask for professional help or advice from other parents if you are unsure of when to start the different stages with your baby.
You know better than anyone what stage your child's at and when they are ready to move up a step.
And with that being said, Good Luck on your weaning journey's!
Until next time..
