6 Tips for sustainable weaning

Weaning truly is an adventure for both parent and baby, and it’s by no means an easy feat!

When should weaning start? Which foods are best for weaning? What is green parenting?

Parenting is challenging enough without the extra eco-guilt…

So here are some top weaning tips for all families, and how to embrace the mess that comes with it! 

1. Grow your own

Gardening is a great way of sustainably sourcing your own fresh fruit and veggies and it offers lots of stimulation for your baby!

From an early age they can watch what you’re doing, and they can see, touch and smell everything that’s growing in the garden until they’re ready to get involved themselves.

As your little one grows, it also teaches valuable lessons in responsibility, patience and care, as well as learning the value of the food they eat, building their confidence and encouraging an interest in healthy eating very early on.

 2. Weaning waste? Compost it!

If you are growing your own veggie garden, why not take it a step further and start your own compost heap?

Make the most of your food waste and let it become a fertiliser for your garden – it’s a fantastic way to make the most of the food that baby doesn’t end up eating!

3. Cut food waste by freezing it

We know that it can be tricky to understand portions and sizes when you start weaning. After all, every little one is different. So you may want to invest in handy freezer molds to pop in the freezer what your little one hasn't touched. A convenient green tip to avoid unnecessary food waste, plus it can come handy for another day when you don't have time to cook something from scratch. Win-win!

4. Have fun together

While it can feel like an uphill battle as you try to show your little one that spaghetti goes in their mouth and not on the floor, it makes such a positive difference to your baby if you stay happy and full of smiles throughout their mealtimes.

Mealtimes shouldn’t become a source of worry for them, and you’ll find it less stressful too if you’re able to have some fun with them!

Try making up little songs or games together about eating certain foods. Even just chatting away to your baby, asking them questions or telling them about the food, will help them feel relaxed and comfortable – even if they don’t understand you!

5. Introduce baby to beakers and cups

From around six months, babies will be able to drink tap water with their meals. This can help your baby ease any constipation they may experience as they adjust to solid foods.

Introduce your baby to drinking from a cup or beaker at mealtimes by offering them sips of water with their food. Just a couple of inches of tap water should be fine to start off with.

Sippy cup, juice cup, beaker, free-flow feeder – it seems like there are a lot of options to choose from! 

6. Prepare for the mess, and embrace it!

Eating solid food and drinking from cups are two entirely new experiences for your baby – so let them get stuck in and explore these new textures, tastes and tablewear!

That’s not to say you can’t take a few extra steps to keep things under control, such as looking for very an easy-clean highchair or even a splash mat to save your floors. But in some cases, such as teaching your little ones to drink from an open cup, simply embrace the mess as part of the learning process.

Rest assured that we'll be on your side for the messy moments: we developed our Nimble Sticky Stopper to be your new weaning best friend. This antibacterial cleaner formulated with plant-based ingredients and zero bleach will remove all the dirty and sticky stuff from high chairs, counter tops, floors, and wherever the mess may magically appear around your little one.

But let's be honest, sometimes it's not just surfaces we're talking about, it's all over the place including the clothes of your little one (we can imagine from here that bib covered with courgette puree!). Soon you'll realise that the pile of baby clothes won't get smaller during weaning phase... and to help you go through it, we created Nimble Laundry Lover. A Non bio baby detergent with no nasties, no allergens and a subtle fragrance developed to fight all the stains that a baby will encounter, without the use of additional enzymes, dyes or optical brightener that can cause skin irritations. 

Please feel free to share your own tips and parenting hacks to go through weaning, we can't wait to hear from you! 

3,2,1, wean it!