How to get started with weaning onto solids

When your baby is first born, they drink nothing but milk. But once they’re a little older, parents start wondering about weaning them onto solids. When can I start giving them foods other than milk?

Are there any particular steps to follow? 

Find your balance

First and foremost, there is no specific date: whilst the general consensus is that the minimum recommended age is 6 months, there’s no reason why you can’t start later or sometimes a little earlier. Our paediatrician is here to help with expert advice.

Nevertheless, before weaning, your baby drinks milk and nothing else. This forms the basis of their food!

Start slowly

The transition onto solids should be gradual: to start with, try introducing your child to the flavour of vegetables by adding small amounts of stock or vegetable purées mixed into the milk in their bottle. We do not recommend adding salt. Then gradually increase the amount of vegetables whilst reducing the amount of milk in the bottle.

Next, move onto spoon-feeding your baby with simple purées made from one or two different ingredients. Continue with vegetables, then start to introduce fruit in the form of compotes. Start with small amounts at first, and gradually increase the quantities.

Be patient

Finally, you should only start weaning onto solids when you are ready and you feel that your child is ready too. We can’t stress enough that this exploring stage needs to be a pleasurable experience for both of you. Don’t rush things! And if your child pulls a face the first time they try a type of food, simply try again at a later date but without forcing them!

What about you, how old was your child when you started weaning them onto solids? How did it go? Any tips or little secrets? We’d love to hear from you, so why not share your experiences by leaving us a comment below?

To find out more, see our « When should you start weaning your baby onto solids? » page.