Introducing your baby to solid foods
Introducing your baby to solid foods – sometimes called weaning should start when your baby is around six months old. It’s a really important step in their development and it can be great fun to explore new flavours and textures together and essential that you introduce your baby to a healthy diet from the start.
- Remember that breast milk or first infant formula will still provide energy and important nutrients throughout your baby’s first year
- From six months, start to introduce a range of vegetables and fruit; starchy foods, such as potato, bread, rice and pasta; protein foods, such as meat, fish, well-cooked eggs, beans and pulses; and pasteurised dairy foods like plain full-fat yogurt
- Choose foods with no added sugar or sweetener and don’t add them to your baby’s food
- Choose foods with no added salt and don’t add salt to your baby’s food
- Remember your baby’s tummy is only small, so they only need small amounts of food at a time
- The Perfect way to prepare a bananna for your baby
- Anna’s Weening Story
- iHV Top Tips for Parents – Introducing your baby to solid foods
- DMBC Healthy Eating Guide – Introducing your baby to solid foods
- Start for Life – First foods
- iHV Top Tips for Parents – How can I encourage my child to eat fruit and vegetables
- Bliss – Weaning your premature baby
Drinks and cups for babies and toddlers
If you’re bottle feeding, it’s a good idea to introduce a cup rather than a bottle from about six months. By the time your baby is one, they should have stopped using bottles with teats. Otherwise, they may find it hard to break the habit of comfort sucking on a bottle.