Weaning

When to wean

The Department of Health now advises that babies should be fed exclusively on breast milk for the first six months, as it provides all the nutrients they need. So there's no need to hurry to wean your baby onto solids.

Having said that, all babies are different. If yours seems to be constantly hungry and is waking again at night, then he could be ready, but check with your health visitor first.

Don't wean before four months (17 weeks); his digestive and immune systems won't be developed enough to cope.

First foods should be easy to digest and unlikely to provoke an allergic reaction. Try:

• Ripe fruits, such as apples and pears.
• Naturally sweet vegetables; carrots, sweet and normal potato, parsnip, butternut squash and swede are popular.
• Baby rice mixed to a thin liquid with breast or formula milk. Baby rice also combines well with fruit and vegetable purées.

Making purées

Steam or microwave the peeled, chopped fruit or vegetable to preserve nutrients. Multi-layered steamers save time because you can prepare three different purées at once. Once the food is soft, stick an electric blender in it to pulp it.

Put fruits and vegetables with hard-to-digest fibres, such as sweetcorn and dried apricots, through a Baby Food Grinder
Preparing food in batches and freezing it in food cube trays means you only need to cook once a week and can mix cubes together after defrosting, eg: one cube apple and one cube pear.

After defrosting thoroughly, always heat until piping hot before cooling to serve at room temperature or lukewarm. Don't reheat any previously warmed food.

Open wide

Choose a quiet time when your baby is hungry. Sit him on your lap or in a bouncy chair and don't forget the bibs/muslin squares/apron for you.

Start with a little milk feed to take the edge off his appetite and then offer half a teaspoon of liquidy purée on a soft, shallow weaning spoon. Finish with the rest of the milk feed.

Start with one or two teaspoons and gradually increase the amount each day. Be guided by your baby's appetite.

Moving on

As soon as he's used to fruit and vegetable purées, introduce nutrient-rich meat, chicken, fish, cheese and lentils. Iron and protein are vital for his development, and at six months the store of iron he was born with is running out.

He needs some fat, too. Try mashed avocado, fruit mixed with yoghurt, or a little butter/cheese sauce with his puréed vegetables.

Gradually increase the amount of solid food given with milk feeds until your baby is up to three meals a day. Don't add salt or sugar, even if it tastes bland to you.