OUR BABY-LED WEANING MEMORIES // no junk journey

• written in collaboration with Organix as part of our #NoJunkJourney

My high school bestie is in the process of weaning her youngest daughter, and seeing her Facebook updates takes me right back to when I was introducing my girls to solids.

Transitioning to ‘real’ food is a momentous occasion; I remember feeling excited buy nervous with Big Sis, and it took me a long time to trust my own instincts (and hers!).

With Lil Sis it was much easier – I guess I had more knowledge and confidence second time around. Whereas I’d started Big Sis off with baby porridge, with her I went straight to baby-led weaning.

I remember being quite amazed at how intuitive she was and how she instinctively knew to chew, even though she’d been exclusively breast fed up until that point.

It helped that I’d discovered the Organix range by then. Lil Sis absolutely loved gnawing on the apple rice crackers, and the organic carrot sticks were soft enough for her to demolish with toothless gums, leaving a lovely orange ring around her mouth.

In addition I’d give her fingers of buttery fruit toast, sliced grapes, banana and strawberries, strips of cucumber and grated cheese (the top photo was taken after she’d polished off some cantaloupe and cucumber). I never bothered with bowls; the food always ended up on the tray anyway (and their hair… and their face… and their clothes… and the floor… ) so I just put it straight on there, which made it much easier for little fingers to grasp.

I wanted to ensure both the girls sampled a wide range of textures and tastes, but I’m not the most inventive person when it comes to food, and there were definitely had days when I struggled to think of new and interesting finger foods to serve them.

Organix children’s food expert Lucy Thomas has some fab tips for encouraging you AND your child to become more adventurous at mealtimes. She suggests giving them ‘tiny tastes’ throughout the day, so they experience the gamut of flavours and sensations: let them lick the lemon slice from your water (Big Sis used to LOVE this, and the faces she pulled were hilarious!), add a pinch of cinnamon to their apple puree, or a tiny bit of curry powder to their mashed parsnip.

Or (and I wish I’d known this one) give them some fruit puree to dip their finger foods into.

She also suggests singing a favourite nursery rhyme while your little one is experimenting with stronger flavours, such as broccoli and spinach, so they’re associating that taste with something fun and positive.

Simple, genius ideas to help you with your baby-led weaning journey.