Introducing your baby to solid foods (often called weaning onto foods) should start around six months of age (26 weeks). Before introducing solid foods your baby must show three clear developmental signs; stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady, co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth, and swallow food rather than pushing most of it back out with their tongue. There are many myths around signs of ready such as; chewing fists, watching you eat, requiring extra feeds and waking during the night. These are not necessarily signs of being ready for solids and some extra breast or first stage milk will help until they are ready for food.

Eating solid foods is a significant developmental milestone and babies enjoy exploring new flavours and textures. To begin with solid food is complimentary to baby’s milk and therefore it is less important how much they eat which can vary greatly day today, and more about getting used to the idea and enjoying eating.

Babies don’t need three meals a day to start with, so you can start by offering foods at a time that suits you both.

Gradually you can increase solid food and introduce more varieties and textures, whilst slowly reducing baby’s milk intake.

Eating solid foods should be a pleasurable and exciting learning experience for your baby. Baby-led weaning can be messy but that is all part of the fun. Your baby can feed themselves using their own fingers, but if you are using a spoon wait for your baby to open their mouth before offering the food.

Always stay with your baby when they are eating in case they choke.

• First Steps Nutrition – Baby’s and new mums
• First Steps Nutrition – Eating well early years
• Introducing solid foods
• The NHS website – Food allergy
• The NHS website – Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
• The NHS website – How to help a choking child
• The NHS website – Your baby’s first solid foods
• StartforLife – Weaning