Picnic with baby
Enjoy an al fresco meal with your little one
Now that summer is well and truly here, it’s a great time to get out into a park, a forest or the countryside, or perhaps you want to head to the beach. If you have a young baby who is on their weaning journey, we have some great tips to make your picnic with baby a great success.
It can feel a little daunting – you may be asking yourself, what do I need to take on a picnic with my baby and how can I make sure everyone enjoys themselves? Well, you shouldn’t feel the pressure to take huge amounts of equipment with you but these clever few items will help you make sure your baby is safe, comfortable and happy.
Top tips on planning your picnic with your baby
Time it well
Choose a time when your baby would be having a meal anyway – hopefully that’s around your own lunchtime, too. Of course, feeding your baby at the table with the rest of the family is the quickest way to get them enthused about eating all sorts of different foods but they may be a little thrown by suddenly being asked to eat outside. Mind you, if you have a fussy eater who refuses meals at ‘proper’ meal times, the fun of eating outdoors may persuade them to try something new.
Pack wisely
For you: make sure you have all you need for a comfy picnic – a blanket, a camp chair or a pillow if you’re still breastfeeding, nice food and some treats, some soft drinks and maybe even a flask of tea or coffee. Don’t forget the sun cream for you and baby, such as Green People’s Organic range – and the mosquito repellent! LittleLife’s Picnic Play Mats are ideal for eating outdoors, as they have pegging points and hidden pockets at each corner that can be filled with weights to keep it secure on windy days, while the water-resistant fabric wipes clean. It has a handy zipped pocket and a matching carry bag.
For baby – pack the changing bag with some extra nappies and wipes, plus a change of clothes and swim gear if needed. Bibs and muslins are a must for cleaning up mess and you can also pack some Lift Off from Nimble Cares, a handy cleaning spray that can even be used on dummies, bottles and water bottles – and you don’t need to rinse afterwards! You can even use it to clean pesticides off fruit, again with no rinsing required. When it’s time for lunch, BabyBjorn’s three-piece feeding set is idea. There’s a bowl, a soft bib with a crumb catcher and a spoon for those yummy bites and when you get home, you can pop it in the dishwasher.
Plan your travel
Choose your travel times well – using the car or getting on a train is much easier if it coincides with your baby’s nap time. Make sure you know your destination and have planned for the journey. That means buying train tickets in advance, making sure the car is topped up with petrol and ensuring that you have bought tickets for attractions you know you’ll be using – the grounds of a stately home, or castle, for example. Make sure you know where there is a car park you can use or where the bus stops are – and how frequent they will be! Plan as much in advance as you can to avoid having to make plans up on the go.
Picnic food ideas for a weaning baby
Here are some great picky bits to pack for feeding your little one on your trip.
Bread sticks
While you’re getting unpacked, offer your little one a breadstick to hold and munch on to stop them getting bored. You can also offer a tub of hummus or another dip, so that your baby can practice their pincer grip and their hand-eye coordination. Every day’s a school day!
Fruit and veg sticks
Another favourite for baby led weaning, a few fist-sized sticks of soft fruit or vegetables is a great way to get some vitamins into your baby. Choose a good selection of colours, as each colour means there’s a different vitamin inside that nutritious food.
Little sandwiches
What’s a picnic without sandwiches? Make some full-size sandwiches with different fillings, then cut them into little pieces that everyone can enjoy. You can even use cookie cutters to make them into fun shapes. Don’t cut off the crusts, as you’re teaching your baby about new textures.
Pasta salad
Plan pasta for dinner the night before a picnic and you can have the leftovers as a cold pasta salad. Choose shapes like these farfalle, which are easy for your baby to pick up. Pesto is always a popular sauce choice but you can add whatever you and your little like best.
Here are some great items to help you enjoy your picnic with your baby.
Ingenuity Mini Chair with Feeding Tray
£29.99
It makes no sense to take a highchair with you for a picnic but these little chairs are ideal for use for a meal in the great outdoors. It helps you sit your baby up in a good position for feeding and there is a harness for safety as well as a little tray for their food bowl and water cup as well. It’s suitable from six months so it’s ideal for a weaning baby and the tray can be removed for cleaning. It can be used at home or when travelling strapped securely to a dining room chair. Be aware that you will need to supervise your child at all times in this and never leave your baby on the beach in it where there’s a chance that the waves could come over it.
Babymoov Baby Tent with SPF 50+ anti-UVA sun protection
£29.95
This clever baby-sized tent blocks UVA and B sun, so that you can lay your baby under it and know they are safe from the most harmful rays. At less than a kilo, it’s small and lightweight with a pop-up style, so packing it to bring along is easy. It has a bas to keep your baby off the mud, grass or sand and there’s also a clever mosquito met included with a zip fastening.
£10 for pack of 10 packets
Clean-ups are a constant feature of life with a baby, never more so than when weaning. These wipes are made with 99% water so they are gentle on your baby’s delicate skin. They ate also free from perfume, alcohol and allergens.
47.99
A large nappy bag is a good item to have for holidays and trips and will come into its own on a picnic, with extra space for all your baby’s picnic extras. Though your everyday nappy gear may be down to a small pocket by now, it helps to pack as if you are going for a whole day when you go on a picnic. This means if there are food spills, nappy explosions or changeable weather, you’ve got it all covered. This is rucksack style, with plenty of pockets and a zipped pocket for keys, phone and cash. It comes with its own hanging mat, too.
£29.90
In pink, green, blue and grey, this cute little set for mealtimes is all you need when helping your baby enjoy the fun of feeding. Dishwasher safe, BPA- and PVC-free, you get a sturdy bowl that you can hold easily without it slipping, a spoon with a soft bowl and long stem and a soft necked bib with crumb catcher.
£326
As well as being great for transporting your baby from the car to the picnic site, these are an absolute must for festivals, so you can find multiple uses for it. It can also take quite a lot of gear, so it’s more than just a child transporter. Look for one with a canopy to protect against rain and sun and make sure the wheels are chunky enough to cope with rough ground. This model also folds, as its name suggests!
£29.99
Great for picnics even when the ground is sandy or grassy, these can be pegged to the ground to prevent them from blowing away and have little hidden pockets at the corners to fill with pebbles to help it stay down If you can’t peg it. It comes in its own cute bag with the same cheerful print and there’s a secure zipped pocket for your valuables.
£10.99
from Nimble Cares, a handy cleaning spray that cab even be used on dummies, bottles and water bottles – and you don’t even need to rinse afterwards! You can even use it to clean pesticides off fruit, again with no rinsing required.
Snoozeshade Plus Stroller Sun Shade
£35
Keeping your baby safe from harmful sun rays while out and about is a real worry and if you also have to be out at your picnic when your baby needs a nap, it may seem a little tricky – but don’t worry, as SnoozeShade has your baby (literally) covered! This rigorously tested UV shade covers the pram with a soft, breathable mesh that blocks up to 99% of UV, yet your baby can still see out and enjoy the world going past. Don’t be fooled by cheaper alternatives – SnoozeShade is the only pram shade that’s scientifically tested for both sun protection and breathability. Oh, and you can get versions for the car seat and the travel cot, too!
Sun Protection Cream by Green People
£29
Sun cream (can only be used on babies who are aged over six months and when you do start to use it, you’ll want one that’s as natural as possible). This cream promises SPF30+ protection and uses over 60% organic ingredients in a recyclable sugar cane plastic tube. It goes on smoothly and is easily absorbed and is also suitable for children prone to prickly heat, as it contains soothing Aloe Vera, green tea and edelweiss.
Prize bundle
We have a bundle of picnic items for one lucky reader worth over £170. Just head to our Instagram channel @weaningweek for your chance to win and following:
One BabyBjorn three piece feeding set worth £29.90
One SnoozeShade Plus Extra, worth £35
One LittleLife picnic blanket worth £29.99
2 bottles of Lift Off Power Spray from Nimble Cares worth £21.98
One adult and one baby Sun Cream from Green People worth £63.50