The weaning guide: starting solids without losing your mind!
Before we begin, there’s something that I want you to know………..
I genuinely thought weaning would be one of the easier parts of motherhood. I love cooking, and I love feeding the people I love, so surely this would be my thing?
I was completely wrong.
I genuinely think that weaning has been one of the hardest things I’ve done as a mom so far. I worried about choking. I worried about allergies. I worried about whether my baby was eating enough, eating the right things, eating too much, not enough variety, and whether anything I made would survive being packed into a lunch bag and reheated three hours later.
It was a completely exhausting brain melt!
What made it even harder was looking online and feeling like everyone else had it figured out. Every scroll seemed to reveal another perfectly curated plate of rainbow vegetables, tiny pancakes shaped like woodland animals and a baby happily eating absolutely everything.
If that’s you, I want to remind you of something.
Comparison really is the thief of joy.
I wasn’t failing. I just wasn’t doing it for Instagram.
We learned slowly and that’s perfectly okay. There were foods my baby loved and foods she launched across the room. Somewhere along the way, it all started to click, and I promise- if you do feel the same way I did- it will for you too.
The internet has turned something that should be fairly straightforward into an overwhelming minefield of conflicting advice. It can leave you feeling like you need a master’s degree in nutrition, while simultaneously feeling guilty because you’ve just seen an influencer whose seven-month-old apparently enjoys quail eggs, sushi and hummus foam for lunch.
You absolutely do not need a master’s degree.
And trust me… you definitely don’t need to feel guilty about the foam.
Welcome to the next stage
So, cards on the table – and if you’ve read any of the other posts on this blog- you will know that what I am about to offer you is categorically NOT the perfect way to wean your baby. The perfect “way” to wean your baby does not exist. What instead exists is trial and error, mixed approaches, changing your mind halfway through and just doing what works to save your sanity!!
So, my internet friend, I will take you on a merry stroll through some of the information, tips and tricks that I learned along the way, tell you a little bit about our weaning journey and give you some good places to start looking for recipes. The rest is down to you to tinker with, have fun with and see what works best for you and your baby.
When to wean
The NHS recommends weaning from six months old (to give babies digestive system time to mature). Baby should be able to sit up and hold their head steady and bring their hand to their mouth.
When you first begin the goal is not to replace the milk they are having (be that breastmilk or formula) but to give them tastes of different foods, usually before or after their normal milk feed.
A feeding schedule could look a little like this:
Week 1-2
Offer one meal a day, ideally when:
- Baby isn’t exhausted.
- They’re not starving (about 30-60 minutes after a milk feed often works well).
- You have time and aren’t rushing.
At this stage it’s all about exploration, so don’t worry if they eat almost nothing!
Week 3-4
Once your baby seems interested and is getting the hang of swallowing, increase to two meals a day.
Example:
Time | What |
Morning | Milk |
Breakfast | Porridge with berries |
Lunch | Milk |
Afternoon | Soft vegetables & chicken or lentils |
Evening | Milk |
Around 7-8 months
Move towards three meals a day.
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Milk feeds continue alongside.
Around 9-12 months
Most babies are eating:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- 1-2 healthy snacks
- Milk feeds
They’ll gradually begin drinking a little more water with meals too.
First foods
We started slowly for the first few weeks, just giving baby a taste of different veggies once a day. These had been steamed and pureed down for her. I would only do one veg a day and I did all tastings early in the day so that if there was an allergic reaction we would be able to spot them. I figured if she had one through the night it would be harder to pick up.
Advice is generally to start with vegetables first (and bitter veggies at that- cauli, spinach, broccoli etc) so that baby doesn’t immediately get a sweet tooth and become a fussy eater later on. Then later go onto sweeter veggies and fruits.
I kept a little notebook in my kitchen to write down what we had tried, again just so that I could track what she was trying and if there were any reactions/likes/dislikes etc. I was probably a little overzealous looking back, but it worked for me and my sanity at the time. I have been heartily assured that if I continue to extend my family, I definitely won’t be as anal once baby number two comes along, because I won’t have a sweet figs chance in help of fitting it in!! (I’ll keep you updated on that one!)
If some of the veggies were a bit stodgy to puree then I would just mix a little bit of breast milk into them.
If you want to do finger foods at this point that they can pick up and feel, then make sure that they are steamed until soft and cut around the same length and thickness as your finger.
Gradually increase the amount and variety of foods week by week.
Foods to avoid
There are certain foods that babies really shouldn’t have;
Salt – babies kidneys cannot cope with salt.
Honey – honey contains the bacteria Clostridium botulinum and babies under 12 months should not have this.
In rare cases the spores can grow in the stomach and cause serious health issues for babies.
Whole nuts – these are a choking hazard.
Nuts should be given in the form of nut butters or finely ground ( as long as there’s no allergy concerns….we will cover allergens later.
Added sugar – babies don’t need added sugars- let’s face it, truth be told none of us do! It can cause tooth decay and cause a lifelong preference for sweet foods which of course has a plethora of issues that come with it. Fruits contain natural sugars and are fine as part of a balanced diet.
Undercooked or raw eggs -In the UK, British Lion-marked eggs are considered safe to eat runny, even for babies, because of strict salmonella controls. However, eggs without the Lion mark should be cooked until both the white and yolk are firm to reduce the risk of food poisoning.
Shark, swordfish and marlin– these fish as high in mercury which can affect babies developing brain and nervous system.
Whole grapes – grapes are one of the most common causes of choking because they are round, smooth and firm. They should always be cut length ways before giving them to a child.
Pop corn and marshmallows – Again these pose dangerous choking hazards and advice is generally to wait until children are around 4-5 years old before introducing them.
Drinks
Drinks were something that I didn’t particularly give much thought to when we started the weaning process because I was still responsively breast feeding. The lightbulb moment (Or the “doh!” moment….whatever you wanna call it!) hit as the weather got warmer.
Babies should have breastmilk or formula until they are at least 12 months old. You can also introduce small amounts of boiled and then cooled water. After 12 months you can replace breastmilk or formula with full fat cows’ milk if there’s no dairy allergy there.
It’s best to use a lidded or free flowing cup to help baby get used to drinking from a cup. I really like the Munchkin Miracle 360 cup as it allows baby to get used to drinking from a cup, but it stops them getting water boarded in the process!
Avoid fruit juices, tea, coffee, plant based drinks, fizzy drinks and herbal drinks. Many experts recommend delaying these until 12 months and sometimes much older, due to the levels of sugar and caffeine in them.
Ways of feeding
Puree/ traditional weaning / spoon feeding
So this is basically what it says on the tin. You puree food ( I do mine with this Tommy Tippee blender which I love, love, love !!) and you spoon feed it to baby. You are in control of the whole operation and you do lots of aeroplane and train noises to get baby to open their mouth as you approach with a loaded spoon! Sometimes the mouth opens, sometimes it doesn’t and the food splats from chin to eyebrow !!
Baby led weaning
“What on earth is that?!” I hear you cry!
Modern baby led weaning became widely known through a health visitor and midwife called Gill Rapley in the early 2000’s and is essentially babies feeding themselves from six months, through soft finger foods instead of an adult feeding them with a puree.
There are a great deal of benefits. Babies handling food themselves can develop motor skills like hand-eye co-ordination, grip strength, chewing skills and oral motor development. Babies can also then decide when they are full and as I said before, they will discover different textures, temperatures and smells, helping them to become comfortable exploring food.
***Interesting fact of the day :Babies gums are incredibly strong and they can break down food reasonably well. Babies chewing on food can help with speech development as they use the exact same muscles that they would do chewing and moving food in their mouths as they would to articulate sounds***
The idea of baby led weaning isn’t exactly new- many cultures have been practicing it for centuries, however “baby led” weaning is more of a modern named philosophy.
It became popular to an extent because it fits with gentle/responsive parenting, it can really simplify mealtimes as baby is eating the same as the family and social media massively amplified it.
Instagram and Tik Tok also turned it into a very aesthetic parenting culture as it so often does with most of parenting!
Why I didn’t start with baby led weaning
(Before we start, this is just my experience. There isn’t a right or wrong way to wean a baby. There are brilliant parents who swear by baby-led weaning and brilliant parents who prefer purées. The only opinion that really matters is what works for you, your baby and your family.)
I didn’t start our weaning journey with baby-led weaning, and there were quite a few reasons why it just didn’t feel like the right choice for me and my husband.
Let’s start with the slightly controversial one…
I didn’t want the mess.
There. I said it.
I know some people will probably roll their eyes at that. “But they’re exploring textures!” “They’re learning through play!” “Just embrace the chaos! and honestly that’s absolutely fine if that’s your thing, but it wasn’t mine.
I didn’t feel guilty because my baby wasn’t smearing spaghetti bolognese through her hair or painting the kitchen cupboards with avocado. She explored textures, colours and different sensations in plenty of other ways. We did sensory play at home, visited playgroups, played with water, foam, sand, fabric, leaves… there are so many opportunities for babies to experience the world without every mealtime turning into a scene from a disaster movie.
There was also something else that people don’t always talk about because none of us like to admit our faults, but I was exhausted.
I was still breastfeeding around the clock, my body was still recovering from pregnancy and birth, and at the same time I was battling one of the worst eczema flares I’ve ever experienced. Every ounce of energy I had was already being used just getting through the day.
The thought of scrubbing food out of carpets, wiping down every surface, cleaning the highchair, changing everyone’s clothes and trying to stop the cats from eating half the meal off the floor after breakfast, lunch and dinner honestly felt overwhelming.
Sometimes we make parenting decisions simply because we’re surviving ….And that’s okay.
The second reason was a little more practical.
I worried that most of the food would end up everywhere except inside my baby.
Again—and I really want to emphasise this—this was my worry. It wasn’t based on evidence that baby-led weaning doesn’t work. Plenty of babies thrive with it.
It’s just that for me, as a first-time mom, I found reassurance in knowing what my baby had actually eaten. If I offered a purée, I could see how much had gone into her tummy rather than onto the floor, the cats… or somehow behind her ears – this happens often and I don’t know how!!!
It gave me confidence that she was getting the nutrients she needed while we were learning together.
It also made introducing allergens feel less stressful for me. If I was giving her a small amount of peanut, egg or another allergen, I knew she’d actually swallowed it, meaning I could watch for any reactions with a little more confidence.
As time went on things just naturally changed…of course they did. Once my baby became more confident with food we gradually introduced finger foods alongside purées and ended up using a combination of both approaches as she developed.
For us, that balance worked brilliantly.
Remember, despite what social media sometimes makes us believe, you don’t have to choose one camp or the other. You don’t get a medal for doing 100% baby-led weaning and you don’t “fail” because you started with a spoon.
You simply find the approach that helps your baby learn to enjoy food while helping you enjoy the experience too and that’s more than enough.
What you need to wean
I’m about to de-influence you a little.
Despite what Instagram might have you believe, your baby does not need a gold-plated bamboo plate shaped like a panda to start weaning.
(And before anyone comes for me, I get that I’ve been harsh on the “Gram” in this guide and I sincerely promise that this isn’t influencer bashing! I love discovering products through social media too. But for many of us, it’s also where we compare ourselves to everyone else and that’s where it can become overwhelming.)
The truth is, the baby industry is a multi-billion-pound business. Every week there’s another “must-have” gadget, another beautifully styled feeding set or another product that promises to make weaning easier. Before you know it, you’ve convinced yourself you need an entire kitchen dedicated to your six-month-old.
Let me tell you this….you really, really don’t.
Your baby doesn’t care whether their broccoli is served on a handcrafted silicone plate or an ordinary bowl from the back of your kitchen cupboard. They certainly don’t care whether their spoon matches their bib.
What they do need is nutritious food, a safe place to sit, plenty of opportunities to explore and a parent who isn’t stressing about whether they’ve bought all the “right” things.
So before you spend hundreds of pounds on weaning equipment, take a breath. Start with the basics. If you desperately want my opinion then I can tell you that I found that some suction plates and bowls like the munchkin and easy feed, soft spoons like the Tommy Tippee easy soft are a great start, but have a gander, pick your own, or just start with what you’ve already got.
If you decide later that a suction plate, a different bib or a particular cup would make life easier, brilliant….buy it because it works for you, not because social media made you feel like you had to.
High Chairs
A slight caveat to what I’ve just said….If there’s anything that I would recommend spending a little bit on it would be a decent highchair with a proper footrest. Not only will it last you longer, but proper positioning and support make a difference to help your baby to learn to eat safely and comfortably. We got the Nup Nup Highchair which I felt was still quite hefty price at £70 from Smyths, but to be fair it had a lot of the features of some of the £300-£400 models.
In all honesty though, if money isn’t stretching quite as far as you would like (maternity pay SUCKS!!) then try things like Facebook marketplace for a second hand one or buy a basic model.
The main thing I would look for is a stable chair with a footrest. Having somewhere for their feet to rest and push against helps support better posture and stability while they’re eating, which is thought to help babies feel more secure and comfortable at mealtimes too.
Whizz it up!
Probably the only other thing that I would really recommend (and so much so that I’ve named it twice in this blog!) is the Tommy Tippee food blender.
Of course any old blender will do. I started off with a cheap hand blender. It’s just that this one keeps it all neat in the container (I was regularly scraping my walls down with the handheld job), it’s easy to wash and will puree most things. I just really like it ….that’s all there is to it !!
How to introduce allergens
Allergens really scared me as a parent. Mainly because, whilst my husband has an iron stomach, I have a nut allergy so it felt very daunting to introduce them to my daughter. I left giving her peanut until she was nearly 15 months old and then I panicked because I thought I should have done them sooner. Turns out she was absolutely fine. It didn’t matter that we waited a little longer.
The main baby food allergens are
Milk
Eggs
Peanuts
Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews and walnuts)
Fish
Shellfish
Wheat (gluten)
Soya
Sesame
Celery
Mustard
Lupin
Sulphur dioxide/sulphites
Molluscs (such as mussels, oysters and squid)
The ones to introduce early are:
Cow’s milk
Egg
Peanut
Tree nuts
Wheat
Fish
Sesame
Soya
The advice with allergens in the UK is to introduce these foods early in the weaning process to help build a tolerance. Always introduce allergens one at a time and several days apart so that you can see if there is an allergy there. Offer them early in the day (rather than bedtime) so that you can keep and eye out for reactions and introduce in small doses first.
If there is no reaction then you can increase the allergens in your babies diet regularly.
Mild to moderate allergic reactions include a raised, itchy skin rash (hives), swelling of the lips, face, or eyes, and stomach pain or vomiting. If you see these symptoms, stop feeding the food immediately and contact your GP or 111.
Call emergency services (999) immediately if your baby exhibits severe signs of anaphylaxis, such as a swollen tongue, difficulty or noisy breathing, persistent coughing, or if they become pale, floppy, or unconscious.
Even if you have an allergy it doesn’t always mean your child will have. As I said, I have a nut allergy and I was worried my daughter would have too, so I asked the health visitor how to introduce them. After establishing that I could have them in the house, she said to get my husband to eat some first and then kiss and cuddle our daughter. If she was fine then the next step was to give her about a quarter of a teaspoon of nut butter, if that was okay then we were to increase the quantity again.
If your baby has:
- severe eczema,
- an existing food allergy, or
- a close family history of allergies,
speak to your GP, health visitor or allergy specialist before introducing allergens if you’re unsure. In many cases, they will still recommend introducing these foods, but they may advise a specific approach based on your baby’s circumstances.
For more information on introducing these foods visit https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/baby/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby/from-around-6-months/#allergies
Gagging Vs Choking
They might sound like the same thing, but they are very different when it comes to weaning your baby.
Gagging
Gagging is perfectly normal and is your baby’s natural safety reflex.
Babies have a much more sensitive gag reflex than adults. It’s positioned further forward in their mouth, which helps stop food travelling too far back before they’re ready to swallow it. It might sound and feel all a little bit dramatic, but it’s all part of that learning to eat journey.
Gagging might look like:
Coughing
Spluttering
Retching
Sticking their tongue out
Making loud noises
Their face going red
Spitting food back out
As frightening as it can be to watch, if your baby is making noise, coughing or retching, let them work through it and try not to immediately stick your fingers in their mouth, as this can accidentally push food further back. Stay calm (even though every instinct tells you not to!), give them time to work it out, encourage them with a calm voice, let them spit the food out if they need to.
The more opportunities babies have to safely practise moving food around their mouths, the more confident they become.
Choking
Choking is a whole different thing.
A choking baby cannot move enough air to cough properly.
It is an emergency.
Signs of choking include:
Silent or unable to cry
Unable to cough
Difficulty breathing
Blue lips or skin
Looking distressed or panicked
Becoming floppy or unconscious
If you think your baby is choking, call 999 immediately and begin appropriate first aid if you know how.
Baby first aid
I live in constant fear of my baby choking – it’s not quite all consuming, but the thought of it certainly lives in my head rent free! To attempt to combat my utter fear and stop myself panicking every time she put something in her mouth that wasn’t my boob, I booked myself on a baby first aid course that was put on by our playgroup.
The course was run by Mini First Aid and was so helpful. Not only did it completely boost my confidence for dealing with various situations that may or may not occur as my little one grows up, but it was also filled with moms (and dads) who also allowed their inner voices to rage wildly too….hence proving to my little worried mind that I wasn’t the only unhinged mama out there!
If you can get yourself on a class, I would highly recommend it.
How to cut food safely
To help with the whole choking issue, food should always be cut safely. The NHS does an amazing guide to help you along the way here: https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/baby/weaning/safe-weaning/preparing-food-safely/
It covers most foods and tells you how to prepare and give them safely.
Portion sizes
In the beginning, how much your baby eats is less important than getting them used to the idea of eating. However it will be around 1-3 tablespoons, depending on your babies appetite. Start with small amounts and increase them slowly to allow babies stomach to adjust.
Babies are fickle creatures and will wolf meals down one day and then barely glance at them the next. It’s totally normal. Things like teething will also have an impact and you might find that they chomp food around their mouths and then spit it all back out again in a gloopy blob.
If you start to become particularly worried then always speak to your GP or health visitor.
Batch cooking
The NHS recommends that parents and guardians only use pouches and jars bought in supermarkets on the odd occasions and to try not to use them all the time. It’s not bad but it’s also not AS healthy as good old home cooked food.
To be fair, making your own is also a damn sight cheaper too!
This is where batch cooking becomes your best friend! Whenever I made a purée, I’d make extra and freeze it into small portions. Ice cube trays work brilliantly for this because each cube is roughly one baby-sized portion when you’re first starting out. Once the cubes were frozen, I’d pop them into labelled freezer bags or containers so I could mix and match flavours later on.
As your baby gets older and starts eating larger portions, you can simply defrost two or three cubes instead of one, or move on to bigger pots. I used the First Steps Food Freezing Cubes and then later on the Moonkie Silicone Baby Food Storage pots.
Reheating baby food safely
When you’re ready to use a frozen portion:
- Defrost it overnight in the fridge if possible, or use the defrost setting on your microwave.
- Heat it until it’s piping hot all the way through.
- Stir well and always let it cool before serving. Babies have very sensitive mouths, and hot spots can easily catch you out.
- Never reheat the same portion more than once.
- Throw away any leftovers that your baby has already eaten from, as bacteria from their saliva can quickly multiply.
How long can baby food be stored?
- In the fridge: Homemade purées should be used within 24 hours.
- In the freezer: Homemade baby food is best used within 1 month, although many sources say it can safely be frozen for up to 3 months. I found using it within a month kept the flavour and texture at their best
Useful resources
We already spend so much of adult life trying to decide what to have for dinner, that the thought of figuring out a whole weaning plan nearly finished me off! Luckily there are some awesome resources out there for getting started and developing your baby’s diet.
The NHS is a fantastic place to start: https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/baby/weaning/
I also used a number of cook books that came via recommendation or my own research. Here, in my opinion, are some of the best to get your teeth into………..
Packed with quick, nutritious recipes that are realistic for busy families, Wean in 15 focuses on helping parents prepare healthy meals that both babies and adults can enjoy together. Joe’s relaxed, no-fuss approach makes weaning feel much more achievable.
A colourful, friendly introduction to weaning, Ella’s Kitchen offers simple recipes, practical advice and plenty of encouragement for parents who are just getting started. It’s particularly good at making the whole process feel fun rather than intimidating.
Written by Rebecca Wilson, What Mummy Makes is centred around family meals, showing how babies can enjoy adapted versions of the same food everyone else is eating. It’s full of accessible recipes that help make mealtimes simpler for busy households.
Moon and Rue: Baby-led weaning made easy
This book provides a gentle introduction to baby-led weaning, with practical guidance on preparing safe finger foods and building confidence as your baby learns to feed themselves. It’s ideal for parents wanting straightforward advice without feeling overwhelmed.
Annabel Karnel: Finger Foods For Babies and Toddlers.
Annabel Karmel has long been a trusted name in children’s nutrition, and this book is packed with creative finger food ideas that encourage babies and toddlers to explore different flavours and textures. The recipes are simple, practical and designed to support growing independence at mealtimes.