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weaning

Moving on to solid foods

Is your baby ready for solid foods? Here's how do it!

Currently, the UK Department of Health recommend that most babies are ready to have solid food - the term 'solid' means any food that's not milk - between four and six months of age.

By this age, your baby can tolerate other foods without too much work for his digestion. He can probably chew at least a little as well as suck, and he's getting curious enough to enjoy new flavours and textures. He also likes to do what you're doing, and being sociable.

Ask your health visitor about solids, too, and get some ideas and support from her.

Starter foods

'Baby rice' is available in a packet, and it's useful as you can mix it with other foods, and expressed milk, formula milk or water. But fruits and vegetables can be almost as easy, and as long as you mash or sieve them, you baby will cope fine. Don't add seasoning, salt or sugar. Try:

• cooked potato
• cooked carrot
• soft pear, peeled
• dessert apple, peeled
• shredded banana

Offer tiny amounts, and stick to one or two new foods every few days. He may even turn his head away and refuse after a small taste. Don't worry. He'll come round gradually - it's not worth forcing the issue.

When and how often should you try?

Do what's easiest for you. Try once a day, and then build up quantity and frequency over a few days or weeks. As you go along, you can aim to have your baby's meals coincide with your own, and you may find he needs fewer breast or bottle feeds.

Foods to introduce later

If you think your family has a tendency to allergy, it can be a good idea to wait until six months before introducing wheat (including bread), citrus fruits, cheeses and fried foods, eggs, meat. This is to ensure your baby's gut is mature enough to take these foods without setting up an allergy.

Bought baby foods

Most babies enjoy bought baby foods, and they're certainly convenient. But you do get what you pay for. Cheaper baby foods have a high water content, and this means they need starchy thickeners to bulk them out as a result. While these are safe, they are low in food value. Some foods are very high in sugars.

Read the labels on baby foods. Remember the main ingredient is listed first . If you see a long list of foods you wouldn't normally find in your own cupboards, then you're looking at highly-processed food that's a long way from its natural state.

Finger foods

These are foods your baby can pick up and eat himself, without any help for you. Some babies always prefer managing themselves instead of being spoon-fed.

Lots of foods can be offered as finger foods. Simply cut or slice the foods up into a shape your baby can hold easily. Always stay with your baby when he's feeding himself.

This Factsheet © Heather Welford 1999

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