Weaning: When and How to Start Solid Foods

Weaning is one of the genuinely fun milestones — and one of the most over-complicated by marketing. Here's the evidence-based core, and the short list of kit that earns its place.

When to start: the three signs

NHS guidance says around 6 months, and the age matters less than three signs of readiness appearing together:

1. Baby can stay sitting upright with steady head control
2. Baby can coordinate eyes, hands and mouth — look at food, grab it, bring it to their mouth
3. Baby swallows food rather than reflexively pushing it back out with their tongue

Chewing fists, waking at night and wanting extra milk are not signs of readiness — they're normal baby behaviour. Starting before these signs (and never before 17 weeks) isn't recommended; milk provides everything needed until around 6 months.

Purées, baby-led, or both?

The purée-vs-BLW debate is mostly noise. The evidence supports either — or the mix most UK families actually do:

• Traditional (spoon-led): smooth purées progressing to mashed and lumpy textures. Don't linger on smooth purées; texture progression matters for chewing development.
• Baby-led weaning (BLW): baby self-feeds soft finger foods from the start — batons of steamed veg, banana, toast fingers. Expect glorious mess and very little actually eaten at first.
• Combination: spoon-fed breakfast, finger-food lunch. Completely fine.

Whatever the method: baby sits upright in a highchair, always supervised, and food is soft enough to squash between your finger and thumb.

First foods that work

Start once a day, at a relaxed time, with single soft foods: broccoli florets, carrot batons, avocado, banana, pear, sweet potato. Vegetable-first (especially bitter veg) may improve acceptance later — and "first foods" don't need to be bought pouches; mashed bits of your dinner without added salt are ideal.

Skip: honey (before 12 months, always), added salt and sugar, whole nuts (choking — ground or as butter is fine), and watch shapes: halve grapes lengthways, flatten blueberries.

Allergens: earlier is now the advice

Current guidance is to introduce the major allergens — peanut (as smooth butter or puffs), egg, dairy, wheat, fish, sesame — one at a time, from around 6 months, in small amounts, so you can spot any reaction. Delaying allergens does not prevent allergy; for higher-risk babies (existing eczema or egg allergy), talk to your health visitor or GP first.

The kit list (short, honestly)

• A wipeable highchair with a footrest — the footrest genuinely matters for stability and chewing
• Long-sleeved bibs and a floor mat (or a dog)
• Soft-tipped spoons and an open cup from day one — babies can sip from an open or free-flow cup at 6 months, and it's better for teeth than valved sippy cups
• Batch-freezing trays if you're making purées

Everything else — food processors "for baby", branded weaning systems, powdered baby rice — is optional at best.

The mindset

"Food before one is mostly for fun" undersells iron (which matters from 6 months — hence eggs, meat, beans, fortified cereals) but gets the anxiety level right. Milk remains the main nutrition source for months; some days baby will eat three florets and throw the rest. That's weaning going well.