Introducing your baby to solid foods, often called weaning onto foods, should start when your baby is around 6 months old.

It's a really important step in your baby's development and it can be great fun to explore new flavours and textures together. This article is here to help guide you through this exciting time, so you can be sure you're giving your baby a healthy start to life.

The begin with, how much your baby takes is less important than getting them used to the idea of eating. They will still be getting most of their nutrition from milk. 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'll be able to increase the amount and variety of food your baby eats until they can eventually eat the same as the rest of the family.

No rush to mush

Starting at around 6 months

The latest research by the World Health Organisation shows that babies can get all the nutrients they need from breat milk or infant formula until they are around 6 months old. This gives a baby's digestive system time to develop so that they can cope fully with solid foods. This includes solid food made into purees and cereals added to milk.

Why it pays to wait until they're ready

If you are breastfeeding, feeding only mum's milk up to around 6 months will give your baby extra protection against infection, and it will continue to protect them for as long as you carry on. Whether your baby has mum's milk or infant formula, waiting till your baby is ready for food will save a lot of time too, as they will quickly be able to feed themselves and with less mess, as they'll be able to swallow properly.

First foods

From around 6 months your baby's first foods can include soft cooked vegetables like parsnip, potato, yam, sweet potato or carrot. Soft fresh fruit like banana, avocado, peach or melon are good too. Babies often like to start eating these by having them as finger foods, or mashed. You can also spoon-feed your baby, although they will soon be able to do it for themselves. Keep feeding mum's milk or infant formula as well, but don't give cows' milk as a drink until they are 1 year old.

3 signs your baby is ready for their first food

Every baby is an individual, but there are 3 clear signs which, together, show your baby is ready for these types of first solid foods alongside mum's milk or infant formula.

Your baby is ready if they can:

• Stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady
• Co-ordinate their eyes, hand and mouth so that they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth all by themselves.
• Swallow food. Babies who are not ready will push their food back out, so they get more round their face than they do in their mouths!

It's rare for these signs to appear together before 6 months.

Some signs mistaken for a baby being ready for solid foods:

• Chewing fists.
• Waking in the night when they have previously slept through.
• Wanting extra milk feeds.

These are normal baby behaviours and not necessarily a sign of hunger, nor being ready to start solid food. Starting solid foods will not make them any more likely to sleep through. Sometimes a little extra milk will help until they are ready for food.

Taste for life - First foods first!

Here's a handy guide of what foods you should give:

Getting started

• Let your baby enjoy touching and holding the food.
• Always stay with your baby when they're eating in case they choke.
• Don't force your baby - wait until the next time if they are not interested this time.
• Your baby can feed themselves using their own fingers, as soon as they show an interest.
• If you're using a spoon, wait for your baby to open their mouth before you offer the food. Your baby may like to hold a spoon too.
• Start by offering just a few peices or teaspoons of food, once a day.
• If the food is hot, allow it to cool and test it before giving it to your baby.
• Don't add salt, sugar or stock cubes to your baby's food or cooking water.

What milk when?

1. Only mum's milk or infant formula for around the first 6 months.
2. Then mum's milk or infant formula alongside food from 6-12 months.
3. Small amounts of whole cows' milk can be mixed with food from 6 months.
4. Whole cows' milk can be given as a drink from 1 year.
5. Carry on with mum's milk for as long as you both want.

Try this:

Start by offering cooked vegetables, soft pieces of fruit or a small amount of mashed fruit of vegetable. Try it after a milk feed (or try in the middle of one) and see what works best for your baby.

Top tips to encourage and explore

Starting on solid foods is real milestone for you and your baby. It's their first chance to explore the wonderful variety of food textures and tastes that the world has to offer. Have a look at our top tips for more ideas.

Healthy eaters start here!

Babies like the food they get used to so give them as many different, healthier foods as you can - this way they are more likely to keep eating them as they grow up. It's a great habit to get into and one that will hopefully make your life a little easier as they get older. Also, don't give them foods or drinks with added sugar or salty or fatty foods, as this will make them more likely to want them as they get older.

Solid food and milk

As your baby eats more solid food, they may want less milk at each feed, or even drop a milk feed altogether. Babies should have mum's milk (or infant formula) for at least the first year, and can carry on with mum's milk for as long as you both want.

It's messy!

It can get messy but this is an important part of your baby's development. You may want to cover the floor with a newspaper or a protective mat to make clearing up easier!

Take time

Allow plenty of time for eating, especially at first. Rushing or forcing your baby could lead to problems. Go at your baby's pace and stop when your baby shows you they have had enough.

Show them

Babies copy their parents and other children so you can help them by showing them that you eat healthier foods.

Finger foods

Let your baby feed themselves with their fingers. This way they can show you how much they want to eat, and it gets them familiar with different types of food. It also makes eating more enjoyable.

Eat together

Babies enjoy watching you eat, and learn from being a part of family meal times. Help them join in by talking to them and giving them food when you or the rest of the family is eating. Having mealtimes around the same time every day can make it easier for your baby to know when to expect to eat.

Homemade is best

The best baby food is homemade from simple ingredients with no added sugar or salt. Any unused food can be kept in the fridge or frozen. Then all you have to do is reheat the amount you need. Quick and easy - and it's a lot cheaper than jars!

How much?

Don't worry if your baby hasn't eaten much in a meal or a day, what they eat over a week is more important.

Sit up straight

Make sure your baby is sitting up straight so that they are able to explore foods better and are less likely to choke.

Tiny tums

Most babies know when they are full up, so don't make them finish a portion when they don't want to. Smaller, more frequent meals and healthier snacks will suit them better when they are young.

Jars or packets just sometimes

Baby food in far or packets can be handy but portion sizes are often too big and much of it has the same texture. This might stop your baby from liking other foods. That's why jars are best left for when you don't have much time or you're out with your baby. Even if the label says from 4 months, the research reviewed by the World Health Organisation shows that your baby is not usually ready for solid foods until around 6 months.

3rd time lucky... or 15th

Babies like to choose for themselves, and sometimes take their time getting used to different foods. So offer a small amount, lots of times, to let them gradually get used to new foods.

Watch out for the following when starting to feed your baby

Sweet drinks like squash, fizzy drinks, milkshakes and some fruit juices can have lots of added sugar so avoid these if you can and protect your baby's teeth. Other drinks to avoid include tea, coffee, diet drinks, low-calorie drinks and no-added-sugar drinks. They will fill up your baby so they're not hungry for healthier food. Instead, offer sips of water from a cup with meals.

Cow's milk as a drink shouldn't be given before 1 year as it doesn't have the right balance of nutrients. Also iron from cows' milk is not absorbed as well as it is from mum's milk.

Sweet foods like chocolate, sweets, Indian sweets (mishit or mithai), chin chin, rusks, biscuits, cakes and pastries have lots of added sugar and fat. Babies don't need them.

Salt and salty food like cheese, bacon, sausages, chips with added salt, crisps, convenience food, takeaways, gravy and meals made with stock cubes are bad for babies, so limit these.

Choking can happen with hard foods, bones, small round foods like grapes and cherry tomatoes, and food with skin, like sausages. Peel the skin off fruit, vegetables and sausages and remove all bone from meat or fish. Avoid whole nuts - these shouldn't be given until your child is 5 years old.

Honey occasionally contains bacteria which can make babies ill, so should not be given before they are 1 year old.

Get into the habit

It's much easier to get your baby on the right track now, rather than try and change what they eat later. Always offer with food, rather than sugary drinks. And tempting though it is, avoid using food as a reward. Instead, spend time with them - you can take your children to the park, play a game or read a book.

They're sweet enough already!

If you give your baby sweet things they are likely to get a taste for it. In fact giving babies food and drink with added sugar or honey can cause serious problems. Here's why sugar is not so sweet:

• Sugar can rot their tiny teeth. Drinks with added sugar are really bad news for baby teeth.
• Giving babies sugary things make them more likely to pester for more.
• Too much sugar means excess energy, which can give babies a higher risk of becoming overweight or obese. This can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers later in life.

Offer water with meals instead of sugary drinks, and choose healthier snacks like fruit or toast, pitta or chapati fingers.

Other useful information

Allergies

While variety in your baby's diet is really important, there is a chance they may be allergic to certain foods. That's why it's important to introduce cow's milk, eggs, wheat, gluten, nuts, peanuts, peanut products, seeds, fish, and shellfish one at a time and not before 6 months. There is no evidence that waiting until your child is older will prevent them from developing a food allergy. Give them to your baby in very small amounts and watch carefully for any signs or symptoms of an allergic reaction (see our 'things to look our for' below).

If your baby already has a known allergy such as diagnosed food allergy or eczema, or you have a family history of food allergies, eczema, asthma, or hay-fever, you may need to be particularly careful when introducing peanuts and peanut products, so talk to your GP or health visitor first. Remember peanuts, like all nuts, should be crushed or ground.

Things to look out for:

• Breathing difficulties.
• Runny nose.
• Stomach upset.
• Skin reaction: blotchy, raised, red rashes, itchy patches and swelling around the mouth or sore, red and itchy eyes.

If you think your baby is suffering a severe allergic reaction, always call 999 and ask for a paramedic.

Storing and reheating food

• Cool food as quickly as possible (ideally within one to two hours) and place it in the fridge or freezer. Food placed in the fridge should be eaten within two days.
• Make sure that frozen food is thoroughly defrosted before reheating. The safest way to do this is in the fridge overnight or using the defrost setting on a microwave.
• Reheat food throughly so it is very hot all the way though. Allow it to cool before offering it to your baby.
• To cool food quickly, place the food in an airtight container and hold it under cold running water, stirring the contents from time to time to allow it to cool all the way through.

Further information can be found on: