Your Complete Guide to Baby Weaning

Starting your weaning journey with your little one is such an exciting milestone! As parents, we understand you might feel a mix of emotions – excitement, nervousness, and maybe even a touch of sadness as your baby takes their first steps toward solid foods. Let's walk through this adventure together!

When to Wean a Baby

According to the NHS and UK Department of Health guidelines, you should start weaning around 6 months of age. Before this, your baby is developing so they can cope with solid foods when the time is right. Consider the following a checklist. Is a baby…

• Sitting upright and holding head steady
• Coordinating eyes, hands, and mouth
• Swallowing food, instead of pushing it out
• Picking up food and moving it to their mouth?

Every baby is different, so watch for these signs of readiness rather than focusing solely on age. On a personal note, all of our babies had bad reflux and we were advised to start weaning a little earlier than 6 months to ease this. So it goes without saying, it’s always a good idea to consult with your healthcare professional before starting weaning, especially if you're considering starting before 6 months.  After all, they are the experts who will have guided hundreds of parents!

How to Wean a Baby

Let the fun begin! The transition to solid foods is a gradual process that requires patience and observation. Start by offering small amounts once a day, when your baby is alert and happy – ideally between milk feeds.

Remember, those first few attempts might look more like a messy art project than mealtime! At the beginning your baby will still be getting most of their nutrition from their regular milk intake so first steps are really about getting them used to the idea of food. 

Did you know - your baby might push food out with their tongue at first – this is a natural reflex that will gradually disappear as they learn to eat.

 

Record every food milestone with our ‘all my first’ weaning print

What foods to wean your baby on?

From our experience weaning our own children, we know how important it is to offer a range of nutritious first foods so we called on an expert Nutritional Therapist to give us their qualified advice on what foods to start with on the weaning journey.

Over to Mariana Sheppard BA(Hons), DipCNM, mBANT, CNHC,  a registered Nutritional Therapist and part of the NatureDoc clinical team with a special interest in baby, toddler and children's cognitive and mental health...

'Starting your baby on solid foods, is a big milestone! One which can feel both
exciting and a little daunting at the same time. But what foods should you start with?

Single vegetables for the first 2 weeks of the process offered as purées or soft finger foods (or a mixture!), are a great place to start. While sweet vegetables like carrot and sweet potato are popular first tastes and should be included, there’s real benefit in trying slightly bitter vegetables earlier on. Think broccoli, spinach, kale or courgette, before moving on to things like swede, avocados or butternut squash.

This is because babies are naturally drawn to sweet flavours (breast milk is sweet), so introducing more savoury or earthy tastes early helps them get used to a wider range of flavours. Babies who experience these flavours often are more likely to enjoy vegetables as they grow.

Once your baby has explored single tastes, you can start experimenting with combinations and adding different food groups together, such as mixing salmon with potatoes. You can also begin to gently introduce herbs and spices like parsley, dill or mild paprika to make dishes more interesting and help your little one develop a love for varied flavours right from the start.

The importance of iron-rich foods

At around 6 months, your baby’s natural iron stores start to decrease, so this means it’s especially important to include iron-rich foods in their diet to support healthy growth and energy.

Good first sources of iron include:
• Soft cooked meats like chicken (the brown meat is richer in iron than chicken breast)
• Lentils and beans (well-cooked and mashed)
• Eggs (well cooked, offered in small pieces or mashed)
• Dark green vegetables like spinach

Including these alongside fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C (peppers, broccoli, berries or citrus fruit) can help the body absorb iron more effectively.

Exploring textures matters too

As your baby becomes more confident, it’s also important to gradually move from smooth purees to mashed foods, soft lumps, and finger foods. This helps develop chewing skills, and encourages babies to explore food in a hands-on way.

By around 7-8 months, most babies can handle a wider range of textures and flavours and
hopefully by this point you’ll have also gained some confidence.

Remember that all babies are different though and go at different pace. Keep offering new foods - little ones often need to try a food up to 10 times or more before accepting it.

Above all, enjoy the journey! Weaning is about exploration and fun, helping your little one build positive experiences with food that will set them up for healthy habits for years to come.'

Find out more about Mariana Sheppard here.

What is Baby-Led Weaning?

Baby-led weaning is an approach where you skip purees altogether and let your baby feed themselves finger foods right from the start. Instead of spoon-feeding, you offer soft, finger-sized pieces of food that your baby can grasp and explore independently.

This method helps develop hand-eye coordination and chewing skills early on, while letting your baby control how much they eat. Experts recommend serving softly cooked veg the size and shape of an adult finger. Once this is mastered, you can offer tofu strips, shredded chicken and egg yolks. Just remember to always supervise your baby during meals and ensure food pieces are soft enough to squish between your fingers.

Our Baby Weaning Essentials

Make life easy and prep for weaning to create a relaxed and fun atmosphere for you and your baby to start their food journey. From our experience the following will be helpful if not essential…

• High chair -prioritise safety features like a sturdy base and a five point harness
• First cup - select a easy-to-grip design that encourages a sipping motion
• Spoons & Bowls - always BPA-free!
• Ice cube trays - again make sure they are BPA free
• Lots of bibs - make them comfy and easy to clean
• Messy mat - your floor saviour!
• My Baby Days weaning print so you can capture all of those firsts!

Our Favourite Weaning Recipes

Finding inspiration for weaning can be exciting, and social media is full of wonderful ideas. We particularly love the recipes of Lucinda Miller's, a Naturopath & Functional Medicine Practitioner. Lucinda has over 25 years of experience supporting babies and children and has published 3 books of recipes for babies and children.

Having weaned five children between us, Lucinda's recipes are the ones we turn to time and time again. Here are our family favourites:

Pear & Blueberry Millet Porridge

A perfect nourishing way to start the day for baby and the whole family.

This was an everyday favourite for my son when weaning. I love that it supports gut health and helps introduce cows milk whilst tasting so yummy! - Alexandra

You can find more information, ingredients and instructions for this recipe here.

Strong Bones Broccoli Tots

A yummy snack packed full of protein, calcium and healthy fats, these are brilliant first weaning foods.

This was a go-to recipe for all of my children when weaning and universally enjoyed! I still make them and add them to lunchboxes, which they love - Laëtitia

You can find more information, ingredients and instructions for this recipe here.

Don't Forget to Make Weaning Fun!

Weaning should be an enjoyable experience for both you and your baby. Create a relaxed atmosphere during mealtimes – babies pick up on our energy! Try making funny faces, singing songs, or playing airplane with the spoon. Remember, at this stage, it's all about exploration and learning.

Remember to document this special journey with our beautiful weaning milestone print! Capture those precious first tastes and messy moments with our customisable print, recording dates of foodie firsts. The perfect keepsake for your weaning adventure! 

 Here's to many happy mealtimes ahead! 🥄👶