Not yet, but soon: getting ready for your baby's first foods

Your baby watches every forkful travel from your plate to your mouth. Their mouth opens when yours does. A grandmother suggests a little pap, rice water or cereal in the bottle to help them sleep. It is natural to wonder whether it is time for food. For most babies, the answer is: not quite yet, but this is a wonderful season to get ready.

Why around six months?

The World Health Organization and many national health services recommend giving only breast milk or infant formula for about the first six months, and then introducing solid foods alongside milk. By around six months most babies' bodies are ready to sit up, handle food in their mouths and digest a wider range of foods. Breast milk or formula still provides all the nourishment your baby needs before then.

If your baby was born prematurely, or has a medical condition, ask your health visitor or doctor when to start, as the advice may be different.

The three signs of readiness

Look for all three of these together, usually around six months:

1. Your baby can stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady, with some support.
2. Your baby can coordinate eyes, hands and mouth, looking at food, picking it up and putting it in their mouth.
3. Your baby can swallow food rather than pushing most of it back out with their tongue.

Signs that are often mistaken for readiness

• Chewing fists
• Waking more at night
• Wanting extra milk feeds
• Watching you eat with great interest

These are all normal behaviours for a baby this age and do not, on their own, mean your baby needs food. Waking at night is often about development, not hunger. Do not add cereal, pap or any food to a bottle. It can be a choking risk and does not help babies sleep longer.

What to prepare in the weeks before

• A safe high chair with a harness, so your baby can sit upright and supported.
• Soft baby spoons, a few bowls and bibs, plus a wipeable mat or old sheet for under the chair.
• An open cup or free-flow cup for sips of water with meals once you start.
• A plan for first foods. Simple soft vegetables and fruits, mashed or as soft finger-sized pieces, and iron-rich foods such as well-cooked meat, fish, eggs, beans and lentils as the weeks go on.
• Baby first aid. Learn what to do if a baby chokes, through a course, your clinic or a reputable first aid organisation. You will probably never need it, but you will feel calmer knowing it.

Good to know before the first spoon

• Do not add salt or sugar to your baby's food, and avoid stock cubes and salty sauces.
• Do not give honey before 12 months.
• Whole nuts and peanuts are a choking risk for young children. Smooth nut butters can be offered once your baby starts solids, unless advised otherwise.
• Foods that can trigger allergies, such as egg, peanut, milk, wheat, fish and sesame, can be introduced one at a time from around six months, in tiny amounts, so you can spot any reaction. If your baby has eczema, a known food allergy, or there is a strong family history of allergy, talk to your doctor before starting.
• Always stay with your baby while they eat, with them sitting upright.
• Milk remains the main drink and main nourishment for now. Food is about learning, tasting and exploring.

If your baby has swelling of the lips, face or tongue, or breathing difficulty after eating, call emergency services immediately.

A season for everything

There is a lot of pressure, from relatives, social media and our own eagerness, to rush the next milestone. Weaning is one place where waiting for your baby's readiness really is the wise choice. The Preacher wrote:

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:" (Ecclesiastes 3:1, KJV)

There is a time for milk alone, and a time for first tastes. You do not have to rush your baby, or yourself, into the next season. Enjoy where you are, and prepare with peace.

A prayer before weaning

Lord, thank You for feeding my baby so far, through my body or through the bottle. Give me wisdom to recognise when my baby is ready, and patience to wait well. Bless our table and the first foods to come. Amen.