One other obvious thing for the shopping list for weaning are small plastic spoons - get minimum of 5 to save you having to wash up constantly. Oh, and bibs - you'll appreciate the bibs even more now.
I have a friend who hates mess and spoon fed her child until they were about 20 months just to try and keep her kitchen clean from child-eating-mess! But interestingly they kinda start to get the idea of putting the spoon to their mouths very early (around 6 months) and could be feeding themselves with a spoon (and a lot of help) by around 12 months. Very sweet to watch - but be patient with the mess!
Sitting up is now becoming a lovely thing they can do - means they get less frustrated as they can now sit up and watch/see what's going on. We were on a long train journey recently and a woman was commenting on how well behaved and lovely no 2 was being (no 1 wasn't there). She said how it was lovely how much she was playing with her toys and was surprised to see how many I'd bought with. She commented on how organised I was (ha, if only she knew!!) ... Remember one of my mantras - organisation is the key!! Shall we have a little practice? Organisation, organisation, organisation ... well done! I had to keep no 2 amused and vaguely quiet on a 2 hour train journey - no easy feat considering she doesn't sleep her full 2 hour sleeps when we're out and about. So she'd be tired and moany and on a train with ... da da da, OTHER PEOPLE! ... Normally my idea of hell - I would definitely be one of the eye-rollers seeing me walking onto the carriage with babe in tow, so I know how the others would feel (yes, even with two children under my belt, I'm really not an 'other people's children-person ... I can't coo and smile and think they're adorable when they're not my own). So, I made sure I was prepared. In just a small paper bag I took with whatever (quiet) toys I could fit in (that would fit under the buggy) - so four small books, a couple of cuddly toys and a soft rattle. I also had a rusk for a snack in case needed (it was) and a spare muslin for her to sit on so she didn't make the train seat all mucky. It worked a treat - she had about 30 mins sleep each way and stayed happy, quiet (but with lovely gurgling and coo-ing) and contented the whole time. Hooray!!
Rusks are a great finger food for them as they're solid and hard but go really quite soggy as soon as they put them in their mouth - so they're easy for them to break down and eat.
So you need to think about your expectations of said-child for whatever you're about to do with them. They're not going to find it much fun whilst you sit and read the paper with no entertainment. Remember they're attention span is generally about as bit as a gnat's whatsit, so you need a few ideas in mind for them. If going out to a restaurant at this age, they're not newborns anymore who'll just sleep and feed - they need to be kept amused and entertained (I don't mean you have to walk round them and can't sit and eat - I mean just bring things for them too). So if you want to eat lunch, bring a yogurt or a rusk or toys and let them sit in the highchair next to you. But also you can't expect them to sit there amused for a two hour lunch - so maybe have one of you walk around and show them things around the restaurant until your food is ready - then you can all sit and eat together. Then maybe the other can take them for a little potter, ready to come back and sit together for dessert - or whatever. My point being - expectations - don't have false ones and then get upset/angry/frustrated when they don't play along!
Oo, that's been a bit of a lecture right there - sorry all! Will lighten the mood for tomorrow.
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