Minimizing the Mess with Baby-Led Weaning

Letting babies self-feed has a number of amazing benefits in the short and long term. But staying clean is not one of them! Baby-led weaning is M-E-S-S-Y. That said, there are a few things you can do to minimize the mess in the early days:

Cover your floors with waterproof splat mats.

Use more than one if needed and consider taking outside and hosing off when possible for easy clean up.

Consider a mess catcher for thrown food.

Never heard of a High Chair Catchy? This ingenious product catches fallen food before it hits the floor so you can re-serve to baby and preventing extra food mess. Use code CATCHYXSOLIDSTARTS for a discount at checkout!

Put baby in footed pajamas and cover with a bib.

When the meal is over, simply shake out any large pieces, unzip, and redress.

Order a ton of baby washcloths.

Extra washcloths on hand are a must and can help you wipe the table and clean up any spills on the floor in the moment.

Use a pitcher filled with warm water.

Bring a pitcher of warm water to the table and keep off the the side. Use it to wipe off hands, arms, feet and lower legs after each meal.

Don’t rely on suction plates or bowls to keep clean.

(But do use these fabulous products to help your baby self-feed.)

Use both a straw cup and open cup at each meal.

At the beginning of the meal, start with the open cup with just a little bit of milk/formula/breastmilk in it. Then as the meal wears on, switch to a straw cup. (The end of the meal is when babies are most likely to throw things.)

Get a dog. Or two.

(Seriously though, be careful with what your dog eats and if baby starts to feed dog a lot, put your dog in another room during mealtime so it doesn't become a game. xo)