When should you start weaning your baby?

All parents want the best start for their baby. From the moment they are born, the first few years of their lives are full of memorable moments, from weaning and potty training to taking their first steps and mumbling their first words. If the time has come for your child to start being weaned onto solid foods, we’re here to help. Discover all you need to know about this important stage, as well as some tips and tricks to help it go as smoothly as possible! 

What is weaning?

Weaning (sometimes known as complementary feeding) is the gradual process of introducing your baby to solid foods alongside breast milk or baby formula. 

When should you start weaning?

Ah, the all-important question! The NHS guidelines recommend that you start weaning your baby when they are around 6 months old. However, every baby is different which could mean this timeline could vary slightly. It’s recommended that you should never try to wean before four months old, as a baby’s digestive system is not strong enough to cope with anything other than breast or formula milk.  

How to know when your baby is ready to start weaning

To make things super clear, the NHS state the three clear signs that your baby is ready to start trying solid foods: 

1. They can comfortably stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady 

2. They can coordinate their eyes, hands and mouth to enable them to look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth 

3. They can swallow food (a baby who is not ready to be weaned will spit the food out again) 
   

There are also behaviours that your baby might display that can be mistaken for signs that they are ready to start weaning: 

• Chewing their fists 
  
• Waking up more than usual during the night
   
• Wanting extra milk  

These are all normal behaviours for babies and do not necessarily mean that they are ready for solids.  

Starting with solid foods 

In the early stages of weaning, your baby will only need a small amount of solid food 1-3 times a day (which will gradually increase over time). It is in this stage that it is less about how much your baby eats, and more about exposing them to new flavours, textures and smells, as well as processes like chewing and swallowing. 

The whole weaning process should last around 12 months, during which time it’s important to offer breastmilk or formula milk as the child’s main drink. 

For more information on the different stages of weaning, visit the NHS guidelines. 

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What foods can you start weaning with?

It’s common for parents to start weaning with fruits and vegetables (e.g., sweet potato, carrot, apple and broccoli) that have been either blended, mashed, or cooked until soft. However, it’s good to allow your baby to try food from all the food groups to help them get used to a variety of flavours and receive different nutrients.  

When it comes to feeding, you can either introduce foods using what’s known as baby-led weaning, where you offer your baby finger foods e.g. a boiled carrot stick and they feed themselves. Alternatively, you could also go for spoon-feeding, where you spoon mashed or pureed food into their mouth. Or even a combination of both! 

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Tips to get your baby off to a good start with solid foods:

Eating is a whole new skill, and some babies might be more interested in trialling new foods than others! So, try not to be disheartened if your baby isn’t too impressed at the new array of foods on their plate. Here are some of our top tricks and tricks when weaning: 

• Choose a time of day when your baby isn’t sleepy, as they will be more likely to be interested in the new food 
  
• Offer your baby solid foods before they have their milk feed. If they are too full from their milk, they may not be inclined to try anything else 
  
• Ensure the food you are introducing is small enough to prevent choking e.g. chopping up grapes, tomatoes etc  

• Never leave your baby unattended when eating 
  
• Try again another day if your baby does not appear to like something. It can take up to ten tries before babies can accept a new food, texture or flavour 
  
• Wait for hot food to cool before giving it to your baby 

For more information regarding food safety and hygiene when weaning, head to the NHS guidelines.