BABY: Baby Weaning Storage Solutions
Just when you thought you had everything sorted, from your baby’s car seat, buggy, toys and clothes, along comes weaning time! All the bowls, spoons, a high chair and other bits of cutlery… it can sometimes feel overwhelming. Here’s my tips on how I saved money and stored my baby’s weaning items, hopefully it will help you out too.
We own two of these Summer Infant Sit ‘n Style Booster Seats shown above. One to travel with or leave at the Grandparents house and one at home. Not only can they be attached to chairs with the handy straps, they are perfectly safe to use at floor level too when on a picnic or if your little one is watching television whilst eating.
It’s great that they fold up and you can even store things in the seat itself when it is closed. I also love that it is all very easy to wipe-clean. When the straps get mucky (and trust me they will!) you can easily unattach them and put them in the washing machine to come out sparkling white again!
Bowls/Pots
Certainly we used suction bowls for weaning and you can get a vast array of very good silicone mats with bowls on them these days. However, a handy tip is to recycle and use old plastic yogurt pots, pudding pots, ice cream tubs and so on as food pots for your baby too. Not only are they light-weight, you are also helping to up-cycle plastic items to last that bit longer.
Great for travelling, stacking and storing, you can always have a clean empty pot in your changing bag to put any snacks in on the go. The little recycled ice cream tubs that I had from Aldi also came with lids which was very helpful for food on the go.
When your children are older, you can even use these little pots shown above for mixing paints, icing, glitter and other crafts too!
Plates
From suction plates and bowls to silicone mats, there is something for everyone! However, your kitchen cupboards can easily get cluttered up with all this plastic. Instead, I purchased a few sets of small plastic plates with nice patterns on. Not only do I use these for my children’s snacks and sandwiches, my adult guests think nothing of using a light-weight pretty plate for a few biscuits too.
Great for travelling, safe if dropped, light-weight and portable, I find that simple plastic plates are all that are needed.
I also use and love these three Munchkin Lil’ Apple Divided Toddler Weaning Plates. You can section off wet and dry foods, improve portion control of puddings and children love the bright and colourful design! Light-weight and easy to wash I would buy these over and over they are great and have been so useful in our house! (Since writing this, we now own two sets of these as they are so useful for leftovers too!)
Cutlery
There are so many child-friendly cutlery items on the market today for your baby. From curved weaning spoons to deeper spoons right through to the half metal miniature sets. It can be hard to know what you will need and use. If you are in the United Kingdom, then look up Bounty Packs. You will often receive baby-related freebies in their packs including weaning spoons for example.
Dollar stores, Pound stores and so on always have inexpensive baby cutlery sets available to help keep costs low as having a baby can be expensive! Look for offers, and try to buy sets in bulk where possible.
Check out my free printable Daily Breastfeeding and Nappy Changing Chart here and my free printable Weekly Meal Planner here too!
Cups and Beakers
From plastic beaker tops to silicone flexible teats, there is again a vast array of cups to choose from when your child starts moving on from the breast and/or bottle.
We loved using these Munchkin Miracle 360 Cups. Your child drinks it through pressing their mouth on the upper blue part. It is inventive because it doesn’t usually spill if just lightly knocked over. Not one for your handbag though, as leaning something against the top will cause the liquid to flow out. But still a great cup of which we purchased several over the years.
We also love these Nuby Two Handle No-Spill Cups that come in a lovely range of colours. This was also a staple beaker in our house! It has a great soft drinking teat and the handles are not only great for your child to hold when drinking, they can even help you to loop it over a buggy handle, clip on to a handbag or trolley too.
Baby Food and Weaning Storage Unit
I use this inexpensive and light-weight plastic storage tower to put my baby’s weaning products in. I have one drawer for snacks, one for main meals and jars and the other for storage of bowls, plates and cups. This system kept all baby items in one place in my kitchen which was more efficient and it made it very easy to see where everything was.
