First Foods & Baby Weaning Guide UK When to Start, What to Give, and How to Do It
The complete UK guide to starting solid foods — covering the NHS timing guidance, the three signs of readiness, what to offer at each stage, what to avoid and when, allergen introduction, and the equipment you actually need.
① When to Start Weaning — The NHS Guidance
The NHS recommends starting solid foods at around 6 months of age — not before 17 weeks (4 months), and ideally not significantly after 26 weeks (6 months). The 6-month recommendation reflects the developmental stage at which most babies are physically and neurologically ready to begin processing solid foods alongside breast or formula milk.
Before 6 months, a baby’s gut is not sufficiently mature to handle many solid foods safely, and their kidneys cannot process the salt load that solids introduce. Early weaning (before 4 months) is associated with increased risk of gastrointestinal problems and allergies. The NHS guidance has aligned with World Health Organization recommendations since 2003 and the 6-month recommendation remains current.
The important qualifier is “around” 6 months — the signs of readiness (see below) are more meaningful than the calendar date. A baby born at the end of one month and assessed at 6 months chronological age may be developmentally equivalent to a 5.5-month-old in terms of weaning readiness. The three signs of readiness, not the date, should guide your timing.
② The Three Signs of Readiness
The NHS and most paediatric organisations use three specific signs to determine whether a baby is developmentally ready to begin solid foods. All three signs should be present — not just one or two.
Signs that are not reliable readiness indicators: waking more frequently at night (this is normal developmental behaviour and not hunger-related in most cases), watching you eat (normal curiosity, not food readiness), and chewing fists (a normal mouthing behaviour at 4–5 months). These are commonly misinterpreted as weaning readiness signals — they are not.
③ Puree, Baby-Led Weaning or Combination?
There are three main approaches to introducing solids, and the right choice depends on your baby, your confidence and your practical circumstances. None is medically superior to the others when done correctly.
Traditional puree weaning
Smooth purees are offered by spoon, progressing to lumpier textures as the baby adapts. The advantage is precise control over what the baby ingests and easier quantification of intake. The limitation is that it requires more preparation and the transition to family textures needs to be actively managed — babies kept on smooth purees for too long can develop a preference for smooth textures that makes the transition harder.
Baby-led weaning (BLW)
Soft finger foods are offered and the baby feeds themselves from the outset — no spoon-feeding, no purees. The advantages are that babies develop fine motor skills, learn to self-regulate their intake, and are exposed to family food textures from the beginning. The limitation is that intake in early weeks is minimal and some parents find the lack of quantifiable intake anxiety-provoking. See our full baby-led weaning guide for the complete approach.
Combination approach
Spoon-fed purees alongside appropriate finger foods from the beginning. This is the approach most commonly used in practice in the UK — it combines the reassurance of some controlled intake with the developmental benefits of self-feeding. Health visitors and dietitians generally support all three approaches when done safely.
④ Stage 1 — First Tastes (6–7 Months)
The goal of Stage 1 is exposure and exploration, not nutrition — breast or formula milk continues to provide the vast majority of your baby’s nutrition at this stage. Solid foods are complementary. Expect most food to be spat out, played with or rejected entirely at first. This is normal and appropriate. Persistence and variety exposure matter more than the quantity ingested.
Puree textures: smooth, lump-free, thin enough to drop from a spoon. Progressively introduce slightly thicker textures as the baby adapts.
Finger food textures (BLW or combination): soft enough to squash easily between two fingers — well-cooked vegetables, soft ripe fruit, banana, avocado. Pieces should be large enough to grip — approximately the size of an adult finger, not small pieces that cannot be gripped.
Good first foods: cooked and pureed or mashed root vegetables (carrot, sweet potato, parsnip, butternut squash), cooked apple or pear, banana, avocado, porridge oats made with breast or formula milk, baby rice (useful for texture transition, not nutritionally essential).
Timing: one meal per day, at a time when your baby is alert and not overtired or extremely hungry. Mid-morning after the first milk feed of the day works well for many families.
⑤ Stage 2 — More Texture (7–9 Months)
By 7–8 months most babies are ready for lumpier textures and a broader range of flavours. The key developmental shift in Stage 2 is moving from exploration to genuine nutritional contribution — solid food should be providing a meaningful proportion of energy and nutrients by 9 months.
Textures: mashed rather than smooth, with soft lumps. Finger foods become more varied — soft-cooked pasta, pieces of soft cheese, bread, cooked fish, strips of well-cooked meat. Progress textures gradually — babies who are kept on smooth purees beyond 7–8 months can develop difficulty accepting lumps later.
Meals: move towards two to three meals per day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner by 8–9 months is the goal. Milk feeds remain important alongside meals — do not replace milk with food, offer food alongside milk at this stage.
Variety: expose your baby to as many flavours and food groups as possible at this stage. Research consistently shows that variety exposure in the 6–12 month window is the single most effective predictor of a less fussy toddler. Offer rejected foods multiple times — a food may need to be presented 15–20 times before acceptance is consistent.
⑥ Stage 3 — Family Foods (9–12 Months)
By 9–10 months most babies are ready to eat modified versions of what the rest of the family eats. The primary modifications are removing or reducing salt (see below), ensuring food is soft enough to gum safely (babies do not need teeth to manage soft foods), and avoiding foods on the under-12-months avoid list.
Three meals plus snacks: by 10–12 months aim for three solid meals per day with one or two snacks. Milk feeds reduce to around 500–600ml per day total as solids provide more nutrition — but milk remains important through the first year and should not be eliminated.
Self-feeding: by 9–10 months most babies can manage a spoon with some guidance and want to feed themselves. Supporting this — even when it is messy — builds independence and a positive relationship with food. Preloading a spoon and handing it to the baby is a useful bridge between spoon-feeding and full self-feeding.
Texture target: soft finger foods of all kinds, soft lumpy mash, family stews and casseroles, pasta, rice, bread, soft fruit and cooked vegetables. The goal by 12 months is full participation in family meals with minimal modification.
⑦ Allergen Introduction
The UK’s 14 major allergens should be introduced individually during weaning so that any reaction can be identified and attributed. Current NHS and BSACI (British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology) guidance recommends introducing allergens from around 6 months — not delaying them as was previously advised. Early introduction of allergens, particularly peanut and egg, is now known to reduce rather than increase the risk of allergy.
The 14 allergens to introduce individually: celery, cereals containing gluten (wheat, barley, rye, oats), crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soya, sulphites and tree nuts. Introduce each new allergen in a small amount on a day when the baby is well and you are at home for 2–3 hours to observe for a reaction. Do not introduce multiple new allergens on the same day. See our dedicated allergen introduction guide for the full protocol.
⑧ Foods to Avoid Under 12 Months
A note on salt
Babies’ kidneys cannot process significant amounts of salt. The maximum recommended intake for babies under 12 months is 1g per day — which is reached easily by adult foods. Do not add salt to food prepared for a baby. When offering family food, set the baby’s portion aside before adding salt. Check labels on processed foods — bread, cheese, stock cubes and processed meats are often high in salt. Unsalted butter and cheese in small amounts are fine.
⑨ Milk Feeds During Weaning
Weaning does not mean stopping milk — breast or formula milk remains the primary source of nutrition through the first year. The relationship between milk and solids evolves through the three stages:
6–7 months: milk feeds remain as before. Solid food is additional and exploratory — do not reduce milk feeds in response to solid food intake.
7–9 months: as solid food intake grows, appetite for milk may naturally reduce slightly. This is normal. Follow the baby’s lead — do not force additional milk if intake is sufficient from solids and the baby is growing well.
9–12 months: aim for approximately 500–600ml of breast or formula milk per day alongside three solid meals. Milk feeds naturally reduce as solids increase. Do not drop below approximately 500ml per day of breast or formula milk before 12 months without health visitor guidance.
From 12 months, full-fat cow’s milk can replace formula as the main drink. Breastfeeding can continue for as long as mother and baby wish.
⑩ Equipment You Actually Need
Equipment you do not need: a separate blender (a handheld stick blender and a sieve covers everything), an electric food steamer (saucepan is equivalent), branded weaning “starter sets” (individual pieces selected to your approach are more practical), or special weaning pouches as a primary feeding method (occasional use is fine, but pouch feeding as the main delivery method reduces texture exposure significantly).
Follow the signs, not the calendar. Variety early. Salt never. And don’t panic when they throw it on the floor.
Weaning is one of the most anxiety-provoking parts of early parenting — there is a lot of conflicting advice, a large industry selling products and meal plans, and a very real fear of getting it wrong. The honest reassurance: the fundamentals are simple. Start at around 6 months when all three readiness signs are present. Offer a wide variety of flavours and textures from the beginning. Never add salt. Introduce allergens individually and early. Keep milk going through the first year. Everything else is detail.
Use our Weaning Readiness Checker to assess whether your baby is showing the three signs, and our baby-led weaning guide if you want to explore the BLW approach in detail.
