Here are some tips i’ve collected from our own experience and from our friends and family.

• Make sure you and your baby are sitting comfortably, ideally in familiar surroundings.
• Start by feeding your baby half of their usual portion of milk. After all, this is what they really want at first and they might get upset or frustrated if they don’t get it!
• Now get some of your pre-prepared baby rice and get a little bit on a plastic spoon. Just offer the spoon to your baby’s lips so they can feel it and taste it.
• If they are a little unsure at first, mimic eating the food off the spoon yourself accompanied by enthuiastic “mmmm!”s. Or try feeding your baby with the tip of your finger.
• Once your baby has eaten a spoonful or two of the food, finish the rest of the bottled milk you saved to finish the meal.
• Do not rush this feeding process as your baby’s digestive system needs the time to process this new food.
• At first, start with bland foods like baby rice and prepare them with more liquid than the instructions state. you can then reduce the liquid to the right proportion over a week or two.
• make sure you have bibs and baby wipes to hand. This can be a messy business!

Do not :

• Do not try feeding your baby semi-solid food in a bottle.
• Do not add salt to your baby’s food.
• Be sure not to place the spoon too far in the babies mouth as to cause them to gag. By making this an unpleasant experience for your baby could delaying their weaning progress.

Congratulations on feeding your baby solid food for the first time! Once your baby starts to feel comfortable with this new way of feeding, you can begin to introduce new and exciting flavours by adding a pureed fruit or vegetable to their baby rice.

Now it is time for you to try the many weaning recipes for babies on this site!

Try them out and share your own!

1. Lisa Says:
   November 5th, 2010 at 9:13 am

   Hi. This is my third child and I am keen to do Baby Led Weaning this time round. Did you feed your baby purees and self-help food at the same time. Did you start with purees and then move onto the do-it-yourself or did you combine them? Thanks, Lisa.

2. admin Says:
   November 5th, 2010 at 1:27 pm

   Hi Lisa, I personally followed the baby led weaning technique while also providing my own home made purees. This ensured my children experienced a wide range of textures, flavours and nutrition.

   There is no hard and fast rule to following one or the other technique. As long as you stick to the rules of presenting solid food to your child, you will be fine!

   http://www.weaningbabyfood.com/2010/01/baby-led-weaning/

   Good Luck!