During their first year babies move from a diet of just milk, to eating 3 meals a day with a wide variety of foods.

Of course there are several steps along the way as they get used to eating solid foods. They’ll get to try so many different tastes and textures.

Here is a quick summary of the 3 stages of weaning. Read on below to find a detailed breakdown of what to expect at each one.

It’s an exciting adventure for both of you!

When to Start Weaning – Weaning Guidelines

Official advice for parents in the UK is to start weaning your baby at‘around 6 months’ according to the NHS.

This is based on advice issued by the World Health Organisation back in 2001. However a number of parents feel that their baby is ready for solids before 6 months of age.

You can read more about the somewhat controversial topic of early weaning in our article here.

If you do decide to wean before 6 months, speak to your health visitor or GP first. And never introduce solid foods to baby before 17 weeks of age. Any solids introduced before 6 months of age must be in a smooth pureed form and not as finger foods.

Weaning Stage 1

4-6 months (not before 17 weeks)

In this first stage of weaning your baby will get their first tastes of solid food.

They will be getting used to the brand new feeling of eating off a spoon and experience some wonderful new flavours too.

Offer Soft, Smooth Foods

The key to preparing first foods for baby, is to make them soft and smooth so that they can easily manage it with their mouths. Cooked and pureed fruit and vegetables or baby rice mixed with breast or formula milk, are ideal for those very first meals.

Make it Quite Runny at First

Not all, but some babies prefer to start off with a runny texture. This is because up to now, they’re used to drinking milk which is liquid.

So for those first few days it can help if the puree has a thick, liquid-like consistency. You can do this by adding baby milk or water to pureed fruit, vegetables or to baby rice. As they get used to eating foods from a spoon, you can gradually thicken the consistency of the puree to that of a thick soup.

What to expect

Your baby may start by trying only one or two weaning spoons of solid food at first. This can build up to 1-2 tablespoons of food at each mealtime, but follow baby’s appetite. They should still have their usual milk feeds.

This stage is all about getting used to the brand new feeling of eating. And enjoying the amazing new tastes that your baby is encountering for the very first time.

If you want to read more about preparing those very first foods, we also have this guide to the 10 best first foods to give to your baby, including cooking guidance and recipes.

Weaning Stage 1 in Practice

Offer your baby a few weaning teaspoons of solids to start with. Start with one solid meal on the first day.

After the first few days or weeks – depending how your baby is taking to their new meals- you can offer solid meals twice a day. This could be at mid-morning and mid-afternoon so that it’s served between bottle feeds. However you can find the time that works best for you both and give a few spoonfuls each time.

Some things to remember with this stage are:

• Introduce new foods one at a time.
• After your baby has tried it remember to keep introducing that food regularly in between other new foods.
• Continue to breast or bottle feed as usual.

There might be days when baby eats more or less. There might be the odd days when they seem to reject everything. Don’t worry. This is all completely normal.

Eating is a brand new skill and it might take a while for your baby to get the hang of it. Be patient and keep offering new age-appropriate foods (even those they might have spat out before). Let them get used to them at their own pace.

How much your baby eats depends on their appetite, so let your baby guide you on how much food they need – never force them to eat. In the same way you follow your baby’s cues when offering them breast or bottle feeds, be responsive to your baby when giving them solid foods, and learn to recognise when they’re hungry and when they’ve had enough. Start 4 Life NHS

For more details about starting weaning including equipment, first foods and a sample baby eating schedule take a look at our article Ultimate Guide to Starting Weaning.

Weaning Stage 2

7-9 months

For a more detailed list of what foods are ideal for baby at each weaning stage, take a look at our article Baby Weaning Foods by Age.

Weaning Stage 2 in Practice

Below is an example of what your baby’s meals might look like at this stage. It’s only intended as a rough guide so adapt it as you need to for your own baby’s age and appetite.

You can gradually increase baby’s meals from 2 up to 3 a day.

Food Allergy Concerns When Weaning Baby

At this stage it’s all about letting your baby taste a wide variety of new food, textures and flavours. But what about allergies?

In the past parents were advised not to give their babies allergenic foods (such as eggs, dairy products or nuts) until they were much older. Some experts continue to advise this.

However recent research has shown that early exposure to potential allergens may actually reduce the food allergy risk in the future. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology recommends introducing these foods gradually to baby between 6-8 months of age, after other less allergenic solid foods have been introduced without baby having shown signs of a reaction, and providing there is not a history of allergies in the family.

We always recommend checking with your doctor of GP first before introducing allergenic foods to baby. If your doctor gives you the go ahead, offer the new foods to baby in small amounts and on their own so that any reactions can be more clearly connected to that particular food.

It’s also a good idea to offer these new foods at a time when baby will be awake for a while, so that you can more easily monitor them for any symptoms such as a rash or wheezing.

When you’ve seen that they don’t react badly to a particular food, you can feel more comfortable to offer it to them regularly. In this way you can increase the variety of foods that they are exposed to early on and potentially prevent allergies developing in the future.

The NHS advises:

When you start introducing solid foods to your baby from around 6 months old, introduce the foods that can trigger allergic reactions one at a time and in very small amounts so that you can spot any reaction.

These foods are:

• cows’ milk
• eggs
• foods that contain gluten, including wheat, barley and rye
• nuts and peanuts (as a smooth paste)
• seeds (as a smooth paste)
• soya
• shellfish (don’t serve raw or lightly cooked)
• Fish

Source, NHS NHS

If you are ever worried or have any concerns or questions then do always reach out to your GP or health visitor for advice.

Weaning Stage 3

10-12 months

Your baby is really getting the hang of eating solids and will be moving towards enjoying 3 meals a day. They can join in family mealtimes and all the fun of eating together.

Your baby should now be eating a wider variety of foods and be used to soft lumps and different textures. They can enjoy all sorts of new flavours.

Give your baby lots of soft finger foods and chopped baby foods that they can pick up and feed themselves with. As always, watch them closely when they are eating solids on their own.

What to expect

Your baby will be eating 3 solid meals a day. Each will now be a small bowl of food, about 6 tablespoons full. Some babies have bigger appetites than others, so go with what your baby tells you.

Spread the meals out evenly over the day so that they have a chance to get hungry between meals. It’s also great if you can make your family mealtimes at the same time as baby’s. Eating together is a lovely way to spend time as a family and also model healthy eating.

Your baby can have light snacks between meals, such as rice cakes, oatcakes and fruit. However it’s worth keeping snacks small or light so that baby will still be hungry at mealtimes. If they are too full with snacks it can lead to some early mealtime battles to get them to eat anything.

How much milk should baby be having?

Your baby will still need milk. If they are eating well at each mealtime, then you can begin to gradually cut down on how much milk you are giving them.

Milk will still be important for energy and nutrients. So your baby may still have 2 or 3 milk feeds a day, spaced out between their solid feeds. As a rough guide baby could be having about 400 mls of milk each day.

After 12 months of age your baby can also drink cow’s milk as their main milk drink. Just make sure it’s full fat as children under 2 need the extra fats and vitamins that full fat milk contains.

They will have come such a long way from mini milk guzzlers to joining in family mealtimes and eating a wide variety of foods.

If you’re just starting out with weaning, see our Ultimate guide to weaning baby with everything you need to know to get going.