Your Weaning Checklist: What Do You Really Need?

Weaning can very quickly feel like a shopping exercise you didn’t sign up for.

From highchairs to gadgets to endless “must-have” lists online, it can seem like you need a full setup before your baby even sees their first spoonful of food.

In reality, you don’t need nearly as much as you think.

To help simplify things, we’ve asked trusted child nutritionist and feeding expert Lucy Upton and Bibado founder Dan Laxton to share the four weaning tools they genuinely recommend - the ones that support learning without overcomplicating mealtimes.

You don’t need everything

First things first: you don’t need a house full of specialist products to wean your baby successfully.

Tools can be helpful, but they’re there to support development, not drive it. Your baby will learn to eat through experience, repetition and exploration, not equipment.

So instead of thinking about what you must buy, it’s more useful to think about what might support their skills as they develop.

With that in mind, here are three simple essentials.

1. An open cup

An open cup is one of the most valuable early feeding tools.

It introduces a brand-new skill: sipping rather than sucking.

That requires coordination, control and practice, which is why it can feel messy at first. But that early mess is part of the learning process.

A small, easy-to-hold cup helps your baby start building this skill in a manageable way, supporting both independence and oral development from early on.

2. Baby-friendly cutlery for self-feeding

A spoon or fork designed for little hands can make a big difference when your baby starts exploring self-feeding.

Look for cutlery that is:

• Easy to grip, such as wider or double-handled designs

• Gentle on gums

• Supportive of early coordination rather than precision

This isn’t about neat or efficient eating. It’s about giving your baby the chance to practise hand-to-mouth movement, timing, and control.

Self-feeding is learned through repetition, not perfection.

3. Teethers

Teethers can be a helpful addition during the weaning journey, especially as babies learn to use the muscles in their mouth.

Oral exploration is everything for babies, and a multi-sensory teether can provide serious developmental gains when it comes to strengthening the mouth muscles required for successful feeding. 

As soon as your little one shows an interest in putting things in their mouth, arm them with a teether. Steer clear of those that major in form over function. Those meaningless squeaks will do zilch for their mouth muscles! Instead, look for a teether with multiple textures and features that will give the mouth a complete workout.

4. A Coverall bib

Mess is a key part of learning, but it doesn’t have to take over your entire home, or your laundry loads, after every mealtime.

A coverall bib helps contain spills while still giving your baby full freedom to explore food with their hands, face and senses.

It supports independence while making mealtimes feel more manageable for you — a win on both sides.

The takeaway

Weaning doesn’t require a long list of products or a perfect setup.

A few thoughtful tools can support your baby’s development, but the real progress comes from experience, repetition and exploration.

Keep it simple, stay flexible, and focus on giving your baby space to learn.

This blog is part of our wider Weaning Week series, where we're sharing an abundance of expert weaning advice and practical tips to help you embrace messy mealtimes with confidence. Stay tuned for our next instalment coming your way tomorrow! 

Read Weaning Week Day 1: Why Weaning Matters For Their Brain Development

Read Weaning Week Day 2: How Weaning Builds Confidence

Read Weaning Week Day 3: What Your Baby's Poo Is Telling You During Weaning

Ready Weaning Week Day 4: Gagging vs Choking Explained

Read Weaning Week Day 5: What No One Tells You About Weaning (From Our Founder)