Weaning is an important moment in the life of babies, be they breast-fed or bottle-fed. Your paediatrician will tell when the right time to start is and how to go about it. Every child is different and every paediatrician has his or her own ideas – enjoy making the two agree

Regardless of when you start, food must be prepared and the baby fed, so there are some weaning tools you will not be able to do without.
You will need bibs (feeding is very messy business), plates (some are actually designed to keep food warm) and a weaning spoon, your greatest ally.

A good weaning spoon is very important because the more a baby likes a spoon, the more he or she will eat (usually). Very soft silicon spoons are recommended for the baby’s first meals (some come with a temperature sensor, warning you if the food is too hot).
Melamine spoons are also suitable but steel ones are not recommended – they may feel too cold or they might get too warm if the baby’s food is hot. You should use the silver weaning spoon Auntie gave you for the photograph of your baby’s first meal.

What you need for preparing meals depends very much on how good you are with weights and helpings and on how ‘accurately’ you plan to follow the paediatrician’s instructions. I personally had no idea about how much 70 grams of meat or fish were, so I bought some scales. After the third meal I gave up weighing food and just prepared more, as so much of it went everywhere except in my baby’s mouth.

Other than scales and measuring spoons, you will need small pans that could help you cook more quickly. Food processors and hand blenders will come in handy once you are past the pureed food stage.

You should also consider buying a set of small freezing pots to freeze batches of homemade baby food – after all that effort, you don’t want to waste anything! Ice cube trays are a life-saver when it comes to freezing broth. Just pop out a broth cube when you need it!

What is missing? Oh yes, a high chair .This is where children will sit as they start joining family meals, so it must be comfortable, safe, easy to clean and with an adjustable backrest. It must not be large and bulky or it will take up too much room in your house.

Peg Perego high chairs, which have all the features listed above, are multifunctional items because they can be used as bouncers or bouncer/rocking chairs as well. They are designed to satisfy the needs of modern families and that, judging by the content expression on this child’s face, is a target we have successfully achieved…

PS: No, you cannot call Customer Services if your child is so comfortable she falls asleep half way through the meal…