Last Updated - August 23, 2024
Until about 6 months, babies only need breast or infant formula milk to give them all the right nutrients. They might look like they want to try other things, but their body isn’t ready until they are about 6 months old. If they start eating other foods they might not get enough milk. If they start eating other food too early they are more likely to get infectious illnesses or even be at risk of obesity.
Babies may wake up, chew their fists or seem hungrier. This is normal behaviour. It’s not necessarily a sign of being ready to introduce complementary feeding. Ideally, give a bit more milk until they reach about six months.
Introducing your baby to solid foods (often called weaning onto foods) should start around six months of age (26 weeks).
There are three simple developmental signs to look out for to see if your baby is ready to introduce solid food, these are:
To find out if your baby is ready, take this simple NHS ready or not weaning quiz
Watch our video’s to see if your baby is ready.
We now offer monthly no rush to mush sessions in our TorBaby feeding groups. Find out when by going to our What’s on pages and search for TorBaby Feeding group.
“We were both nervous and excited about starting feeding with our little boy. At the beginning it was easy to get taken in by what the supermarkets/packets advertised but the more we did, the more we looked into different foods and spoke to other Mums who had just started weaning, and became a bit more adventurous. Then I took him on a weaning workshop and realised how much he loved finger food. Now at 8 months he is eating home cooked meals and loves trying anything, especially if it’s in someone else’s bowl! He always pulls a funny face when he has the first mouthful but after that is keen to wolf it down. He has a lot less milk now but still loves his bottle in between feeds.”
Wendy
When you do get started, try to remember that it’s about enjoying the experience together and letting them explore different textures and flavours as they will still get most of the nutrients they need to help them grow from milk. The experience can be different for everyone so don’t panic if your baby doesn’t seem too interested at first. Once complementary feeding is introduced it is important to remember that this remains alongside milk feeds not in place of them. Responsive milk feeding is still important until at least 12 months.
What support is there in Torbay?
We know that introducing complementary feeding can be an exciting time but also can cause additional concerns. If you are concerned, you can speak with the 0-19 Health Visiting team, your own Health Visitor, Torbay Family Hubs, or ask about joining a ‘Supporting a Solid Start’ run by run by the community nursery nurses.
Helpful National Websites
Information and advice for you to view or download.
