Clare Johnston talks to the mothers who are injecting fun and creativity into baby mealtimes – and are raising some very enthusiastic eaters with one tot trying 100 different foods in her first month of weaning.
The meals are almost a work of art, carefully constructed with different shapes, colours and textures.
Today’s Instagram parents are swapping the traditional weaning meals of old which might typically have been a cup of boiled, blended vegetables or porridge made with ground oats, for altogether more aesthetically-pleasing versions.
Often served on bamboo plates carved into cute animal shapes, little gourmets are now regularly tucking into a wide range of tastes and textures, with the idea being that by introducing different foods in various forms and making them as visually-appealing as possible, your baby will get used to a varied diet right from the outset.
That’s certainly true of eight-month-old April, from Dundee, who in her first month of weaning had already sampled 100 different foods.
Her mum, Sarah Deuchar, 28, had been inspired by photos and recipes shared on Instagram, and decided to go down an adventurous route with her daughter that she hoped would encourage her to enjoy a varied diet.
She said: “I started weaning April just before she turned six months and I made the [what.april.eats] Instagram page about a couple of weeks in, primarily as a way to keep a diary of what I’d done and, if I have more kids in future, I can look back at what I made. I think a lot of people can forget if they don’t record it. When I started posting the pictures I got a few followers so now I share my recipes, too.
“I have no set schedule, I just wake up and think, ‘What can I make today that’s relatively quick and straightforward or that I can make a batch of and freeze?’ I’m trying to introduce April to as many foods as I can. There’s a thing on social media called #100foodsbefore1 that people do, so I was kind of aiming towards that but I reached it by the time she was seven months.”
And as a result of creating colourful meals with plenty of different-coloured fruits and vegetables to try, Sarah says her daughter is already a foodie.
“April loves everything. The only thing she turned her nose up at was homemade ice lollies. I made a smoothie lolly when it was hot, but she’s still quite young so I don’t think she understood why it was so cold. She’s a food lover like me. I studied Food and Consumer Sciences at Abertay in 2010. I decided not to pursue food as a career when I graduated but I do love cooking and I love the creative element – and this is a creative outlet, especially in lockdown.
“People enjoy getting inspiration. The other morning I posted April’s breakfast which was just Weetabix with yoghurt and peanut butter, and someone said they were lacking inspiration, then they saw my post and made the same breakfast for their own child. It’s really nice that mums can share these ideas.”
And though Sarah’s meals are a labour of love, she says other parents shouldn’t be intimidated – the trick is to set aside some time to batch cook.
“Some days if April’s napping I try and do some batch cooking and make lots of things for the freezer then during the week I take it out to defrost. I think if the plate is bright and colourful it’s more engaging so I always do decorative things for serving, like cutting cucumber and fruit pieces.
“Quite often there’s a practical reason for doing that. I’ll cut out a shape in the cucumber so there’s a hole and it makes it easier for her to hold. Hearts or flower shapes are great for her to practice her pincer grip.
“It’s a good idea to have a day a week where you can batch cook things to store in the freezer. The idea is for your meals to be baby-led and you just go with how your baby wants to eat the meal. I let April use her hands, the spoon, sometimes I’ll load a spoon and put it towards her mouth for her to take, so it’s about being relaxed and following your baby rather than worrying that they need to be able to use cutlery themselves.
“If something doesn’t work first time, give them the food again but cook or prepare it differently so it’s in a different texture.”
Robyn Gaughan, also from Dundee, who is mum to eight-month-old Lily, documents her daily weaning meals on her ledbylily Instagram page – and they are equally works of art.
The 27-year-old childminder was surprised when she gathered a following for her page which she initially thought would just be of interest to friends and family. But now, she regularly offers advice and encouragement to other parents who are struggling at mealtimes.
She said: “The content and ideas that are available on platforms like Instagram is unbelievable. Weaning can be so overwhelming for parents and it creates a lot of anxiety, especially with young mums. They might not know where to start so platforms like Instagram are great because it’s a ready-made diary so there are pictures and ideas, which is great for mums and dads who need inspiration.
“It can be time-consuming to put the meals together so very quickly I realised the way to go is to follow family-friendly recipes that suit everyone. You can pop meals in the freezer if you’re on the go or back at work, so having something frozen that’s been freshly made and is nutritious is so much better than grabbing something out of the cupboard. Family-friendly meals are great because you’re all sitting down together and eating the same thing and not eating different meals.
“It’s so common for people to think that kids can’t eat certain things, but the more reading, I realised once Lily had tried things and you check for allergies, there’s no reason why she can’t share our meals. It may be that I add in salt or other seasonings to our food after I’ve done Lily’s but we’re basically eating the same meals together.”
Robyn recognises that the artistic meals will seem a little challenging for some parents, but she believes it’s all about offering choices to your child and keeping them relaxed and included at mealtimes.
She said: “Some mums have fussy eaters and say Instagram sets their anxiety through the roof because they’re seeing what others are doing. I say, ‘It’s not about that, it’s just about picking up ideas and taking it from there’. There are plenty of fussy eaters out there – including me when I was little – and it can be overwhelming for mums. They think, ‘Why is this baby clearing their plate and mine won’t eat anything?’ I often get messages from mums asking, ‘Am I not doing it right?’ ”
But, as Robyn points out, although children’s nutritional needs generally start developing beyond breast or formula milk from the age of six months, parents shouldn’t feel too anxious about how many solids their child is or isn’t eating at the start.
She added: “I say, ‘Don’t overwhelm your baby. Just put a couple of things on a plate at a time and let them try it, even if they’re just playing with it. If they spit it out there’s still a small amount going in, and you’re just starting small and building from there.’ I think mealtimes should be fun and engaging. If you eat alongside them you can encourage them, and they learn from you. If you’re anxious and feeling nervous they pick up on it.
“And I always say, ‘Embrace the mess – it comes with the territory’.”
