Nursery Guide to Weaning

Each parent and child will approach weaning differently, but from many years of experience our advise is as follows. Begin by using soft spoons and plastic bowls. It is recommended that babies begin weaning at around 6 months unless instructed otherwise by the health visitor. Weening should be done alongside the children still having their normal infant feeds.
Many parents choose baby led weening, but it is also important to introduce a spoon to get the children used to this.
Babies begin with puree of simply fruit and vegetables cooked and blended; Babies will begin with small amounts until they get used to the textures. Once used to some of the texture the babies can then be given blended dinners to a smooth paste. These should not replace milk feeds (breast or formula)
At around 10 months some parents will begin to leave lumps in the food to give it more texture and help the babies with their gag reflexes. This will help them learn how to move food around the mouth, chew, and swallow.
By 12 months babies should be ready to have chopped up food as they should have the ability to chew and swallow food in small pieces. It’s also important to understand that all children are different, and some may take longer than others to meet these weening stages.
Breast milk and infant milk is important to a child up until the age of 12 months after this if ready the child can be introduced to cow’s milk. It’s not recommended that a baby under 12 months has cow’s milk.

Please click on the picture to see the NHS Guide to Weaning video.