When is the right time to start to feed baby solid foods? You may want to start the weaning process as early as possible. After all, this is the first step towards eating solid foods and the baby’s speech skills benefit greatly from this and will develop earlier.

The straight answer to the question, and the general consensus is that your baby’s digestive system will not be ready for solid food until they are at least four months old. After four months you may want to start to feed your baby solid foods.

Your baby will give you some signs they’re ready to start solid foods – they might still be hungry after drinking a full 9oz bottle of milk, or you may find them waking up more regularly during the night for feeds.

You may also find your baby taking a keen interest in the food you eat. These are natural signs of your baby desire to try things other than milk. Maybe it’s time to dig out the blender from the back of that cupboard!

Here are some tips i’ve collected from our own experience and from our friends and family when we went through the weaning process:

• 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.
• 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.
• Do not rush this feeding process as your baby’s digestive system needs the time to process this new food.
• make sure you have bibs and baby wipes to hand. This can be a messy business!

Do not :

• Do not try to feed your baby semi-solid food in a bottle.
• Never add salt to your baby’s food. They will get enough natural salt in their diet.
• Be sure not to place the spoon too far in the babies mouth as to cause them to gag. Making this an unpleasant experience for your baby could put them off.

Congratulations on feeding your baby solid foods 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 baby weaning recipes for babies on this site!

The first thing you may want to try is baby rice mixed with your baby’s usual baby milk or breast milk. It is easily digestible and provides a good dose of nutrients and vitamins. if this is the first time, try making the mixture a little thinner to make it easy for your baby to digest.

Once your baby is comfortable with baby rice, start to introduce different flavours to the rice by adding a pureed fruit or vegetable. You may find your baby developing likes and dislikes for certain flavours. This is an enjoyable part of weaning as your baby is using their tastebuds for the first time and may be pleasantly surprised but what you’re giving him!

A perfect recipe to start off with is the Pureed banana with Rice and Milk Weaning Recipe.

Don’t be perturbed by your baby’s refusal to eat a certain food. You can always try the same food again in a week or so.

You could also approach the weaning process by using the baby led weaning technique.

To ensure the best start for your baby, try and make you source organic foods. It may cost a little more but it’s worth it to give your little ones a healthy and nutritious start to life!

We would recommend limiting your baby’s intake of sugar by only feeding them one or less sweet foods per day.

If there is a history of allergies, asthma or eczema in your or your partner’s family, try to avoid milk products (cow’s milk, cheeses and yogurts), any fish including shellfish, citrus fruit and their juices or eggs, until your baby is around eight months old. We would also recommend avoiding peanuts or sesame seeds if your family suffers from such allergies, until up to the age of three years. You should also not feed egg white until they are at least one year old as they cannot process the protein effectively.

You may also want to consider avoiding foods containing gluten such as wheat, oats and rye in order to reduce the risk of coeliac disease. This includes any breads, pastas or cereals made from these ingredients until eight months old.

Note : Please do NOT add salt or sugar to your babies food or to any of the baby weaning recipes found on this site. Your baby’s kidneys cannot process it effectively and may cause damage. There is plenty of natural salt in the food for now.