starting soon

We believe it’s best to look for signs that your baby is ready. He or she should be able to:

• Sit confidently and hold up their head steady
• Show good hand—eye co-ordination, getting all their favourite toys — among other things, into their mouth
• If your little one pushes the food back out with their tongue, just wait a week or two + try again

There are some common myths about weaning signs, too. The following aren’t necessarily indications that your baby is ready:

• Chewing fists — they've probably just discovered their little hands
• Grabbing for other people’s food — they're just inquisitive and learning about the world around them
• Waking in the night — they're babies, night-waking is what they do
• Wanting more milk — they're growing or they might just be thirsty

Once your little one is confidently eating a variety of foods, from around 6 months of age, you may find they’re less interested in their usual milk. Milk still offers a reeeally important source of nutrients to help babies grow, so try to offer around 600ml usual milk a day as well as a range of nutritious foods.

When it comes to dropping milk feeds, be led by your baby. They will often want less and less of a particular feed, for example, the lunchtime one, especially if it’s given close to a mealtime, so this feed may be the first one you drop. Your baby will probably still enjoy milk when they wake and just before bedtime.

If you find your little one is still drinking a lot more milk than 600ml and not taking much food, try offering food first and then milk, or separating milk and food feeds completely. Even when babies are 10m of age, they still need around 400ml usual milk, so it’s still super important!

The more variety of tastes you give your little one when they're weaning, the more likely they are to be a good little eater when they're older. A good way to check if you're giving lots of variety is to eat a rainbow of colours of veggies + fruits each week. Why not colour in a rainbow chart with crayons or stickers each week with your little one? When they're old enough, they can have fun with colours and stickers as they tick off all the healthy colours they've eaten.

Try to offer variety from other food groups too so your little one gets a wide range of nutrients and tastes.

• Starchy carbohydrates: pasta, oats, bread, rice, polenta, quinoa
• Protein foods: meat, fish, eggs, yoghurt (or non-dairy alternatives) + cheese, pulses (beans + lentils), soy products
• Healthy fats: oils like olive or rapeseed oil, nut + seed butters, avocado