The current guidance from the NHS suggests that it is best to wait until your baby is around six months old before introducing foods other than milk. Sometimes parents think that because a younger baby is waking more often, or chewing on their fists, they are ready for solids, but this is not necessarily the case.
There are three signs that a baby is ready for solids:
- The baby can sit up unaided
- The baby can look at the food, use their fingers to pick it up, and bring it to their mouth
- The baby can swallow the food rather than spitting it back out.
When you start to introduce solids, you might choose to spoon-feed pureed food at first, or you might like to try baby-led weaning. Baby-led weaning is when babies are offered bits of food to feed themselves with. Baby-led weaning works well for some babies. It’s ok to try it, to mix it with feeding purees, or to stick to purees to start with.
Vitamins and milk
Until a baby is one year old, the main source of their nutrition is breastmilk (or first-stage formula). Your baby still needs to be given milk after solids are introduced.
Current NHS guidance suggests that all breastfed babies should be given vitamin D from birth until they are six months old, and from six months to five years of age, should be given vitamins A, C and D as a supplement (babies who are given at least 500ml of formula per day do not need this).
You can read more about starting solids here:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/babys-first-solid-foods/
Tips for introducing solid foods using baby-led weaning (BLW)
The following tips from Gill Rapley’s guest post on starting solids will help you and your baby get the most out of the first weeks of solid foods:
- You can start including your baby in family mealtimes as soon as they are born. They will enjoy experiencing the sights, sounds and smells associated with food and eating, and being part of mealtime conversations. You can also help to pave the way for shared meals by experimenting with preparing food that will be good for both you and your baby – for example, without added salt and sugar. Cook from scratch as much as you can and try to avoid ultra-processed foods.
- Once your baby can hold their head and body steady in a sitting position and are showing an interest in what’s going on, you can start putting some of what you’re eating in front of them, to see what they do. They may or may not take it to their mouth – and will almost certainly not eat any – but they will be learning about appearance, smell and texture.
- You can invite your baby to join in whenever another family member is eating – the aim is for them to gain experience, not to fill their tummy, so there’s no need to restrict this opportunity to once or twice a day. Watching you eating your own food will accelerate their learning.
- Try to avoid offering your baby food when they are hungry or tired. They won’t be interested in a new activity if they’re in need of food or sleep. Offer a milk feed or a nap instead. In general, milk feeds should carry on as before, spaced around your shared mealtimes, until your baby begins to ask for milk less often.
- A high chair is useful (preferably one with an adjustable footrest) but there’s no need to use one, provided you can hold your baby stably on your lap. Make sure they are sitting upright, and never leave them alone with food.
- Your baby’s first foods should be offered in pieces of food the shape and size of one of your fingers, so that they can grasp them with their fist and still have some sticking out to munch on.
- The food should be squashable but not so soft that it disintegrates. Fruits, vegetables, pasta, toast, omelette, strips of meat and flaked fish are all possible. Slippery foods may be easier to grip in they’re dipped in ground seeds, or offered with some skin left on.
- There’s no need to restrict your baby to one food at a time – a selection of two or three different foods will enable them to start to make comparisons and choices. Aim for variety of colour and texture, and try to offer something from each of the major food groups each day.
- Your baby should do most of their eating with their fingers but you can offer runny foods (like yoghurt) handed to them on a pre-loaded spoon, if you want to.
- Some mess is inevitable, and is all part of learning. A bib may help, as long as it doesn’t make it difficult for your baby to see and handle the food. Try to avoid sleeves – they will get in the way and end up covered in food!
- You may want to protect the floor under and around where your baby is sitting with a plastic sheet or tablecloth. This will allow you to hand back pieces that get dropped, as well as making clearing up easier at the end of the meal.
- Avoid the temptation to hurry your baby or put food into their mouth. They need to be in control of their eating, for both enjoyment and safety. There’s no need to praise them either – just let them explore. If possible, wait until they lose interest in the food before wiping their mouth and hands.