Joe Wicks - Wean in 15: Weaning Advice and 100 Quick Recipes

For all the little people in my life who bring me so much happiness and laughter: My two awesome nephews, Oscar and Milo, and my beautiful little angels, Indie and Marley.

Without you I would never have written this book, so thank you for being my taste testers and letting me know exactly what you think of the recipes.

I love you all so much and I cant wait to never grow up with you!

Welcome to the start of an exciting and messy journey into weaning your baby from milk on to solid foods. It will be a journey of ups and downs, smiles and tantrums, tears and laughter. New foods will be lovingly enjoyed in front of your eyes and the next day those very same foods might well be thrown on the floor or in your face. Although it can be very unpredictable, you can be certain that it will be fun! In fact, now Indie is 18 months old and eating like a little adult we really do miss those early stages of introducing new foods to her. Luckily, weve just had another baby so we cant wait to start the adventure all over again. After weaning one baby we are now feeling way more confident about doing it for a second time.

Ive found the key to weaning is being realistic, and having a lot of patience

Im going to be totally 100% open with you when sharing our experience with weaning, every single step of the way. From Rosies emotional breastfeeding journey and travelling abroad with a young baby to Indies allergic reaction to cashew nuts and her trip to the hospital, I will be completely honest. If you follow my Instagram @weanin15_ you will know this already, but its very important to me that I share my reality of life as a parent as its not all perfect every day and Im still learning.

The aim of this book is to give you the confidence to start weaning and to help you enjoy it with your baby, knowing that you are doing a great job, no matter how rough or smooth the journey is.

The truth is that when Rosie and I started this process with Indie at 6 months old we were completely clueless. We had no confidence because we had no experience. Indie was our first baby and we really wanted to be sure we gave her the best possible start. We had the usual concerns that most parents have... Are we doing it right? How much should we be feeding her? What if she chokes? How do we know if shes allergic to nuts? When do we stop giving her milk? The great news is, this book will help answer all of these questions and more in a clear, friendly and simple way.

Ultimately there is no right or wrong with weaning. There is no perfect blueprint or plan for all babies

I will never claim to be an expert in this field but I did some research and found Charlotte Stirling-Reed, a registered nutritionist who specializes in maternal and infant nutrition. It was very important to me that before I started weaning Indie and sharing anything online that I was putting out the correct information. Contacting Charlotte was one of the best decisions Ive ever made, and Im so grateful to her for all her support and advice. Having her guide us every step of the way has been wonderful and I believe its the reason we were so calm and confident throughout, and why Indie is such an adventurous eater.

Charlotte really pushed us to think differently about infant nutrition and to challenge Indie every day with new foods, flavours and textures. She is so incredibly passionate about babies nutrition and, like me, really wants to inspire parents to help give their babies the best possible start in life. There are so many mixed messages online now about whats right and wrong when it comes to feeding your baby. I know in my experience that this left me feeling really confused and nervous about starting.

Youll be happy to know that Charlotte is an experienced mummy to a little boy called Raffy and has worked with thousands of parents helping them on their weaning journey. Charlotte is sharing all of her knowledge alongside up-to-date research and NHS guidelines in this book with us all. Like me, she really understands the importance of nutrition on our energy, sleep, mood, digestion, happiness and quality of life and, together, with Wean in 15 we aim to help you set your child up for a life of healthy eating.

RELAX,

HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE PROCESS WITH YOUR BABY

One thing I would like to share with you is that I didnt have the best start in life when it came to nutrition. After leaving home at 15, my mum had my brother at 17 then me at 19. She just wasnt educated about healthy food and wasnt taught how or what to cook at home.

THIS IS YOUR OWN JOURNEY SO TAKE IT AT YOUR OWN PACE

I was raised on formula milk from birth and didnt get a single ounce of breast milk (awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding wasnt as well known in 1985) and then started on jars of pureed fruit and veg. As a toddler growing up, I was given sugary cereal, fizzy drinks, fast food, sweets and fruit juice. I grew up on sandwiches, frozen nuggets and pasta with tomato sauce. My mum was just doing the best job she could and what she thought was right for me at the time. It makes me laugh now, but its pretty crazy to think just how much sugar I must have consumed each day.

During this time when I was growing up there really wasnt the awareness and education around this stuff. I was also a super fussy eater, didnt eat many vegetables, and didnt really get adventurous with food until I was an adult.

Surprisingly, I was never an overweight kid, but, jeez, I was hyperactive. I never slept through the night and would be climbing the walls during the day. I had very little focus, a short attention span and had behavioural issues at school. Looking back now and knowing what I do about nutrition, I have no doubt that my diet played a huge part in my behaviour. The reason I think its important to share my background is because I dont want you to feel that anything written in this book is judgemental in any way. It will contain suggestions and up-to-date health guidelines but remember these are just guidelines to help you make decisions, and not a rigid framework you must comply with at all times. There are obviously a few things you need to avoid but ultimately there is no right or wrong with weaning. There is no perfect blueprint or plan for all babies.

IT IS COMPLETELY NORMAL NOT TO BE PERFECT EVERY DAY

Each baby is unique and individual in their food preferences, appetite and development. Your baby is your baby and you are free to feed them however you like. Try not to compare your child to others. This is your journey and you can take it at your own pace. Whichever style of weaning you decide to go for is your choice, and remember all children eventually do learn to eat with a knife and fork.

I hope this book acts as a useful guide that helps you feel calm and confident and prepared, with lots of lovely recipes that youll enjoy cooking. You will have days where you ace it and have prepped wonderful healthy food and it all goes to plan, and other days youll be too busy or tired and grab food on the go or offer something less balanced and wholesome. Just know its okay to not be perfect every day. Im certainly not with my own food choices and also at times with Indies. But I really care about nutrition, so this means I always try to do the best I can, and thats the most important thing.