This page will include information on weaning to solids, including how to know when baby is ready for solids, what the developmental signs are which show that baby is ready, why the recommendation is now to exclusively breastfeed - or at least exclusively milk feed - to the middle of the first year before introducing solid foods, what foods to offer, a section on baby led weaning, a section on potential allergens, a page on weaning without wheat, a diary of a mother introducing solids to her little one using baby led weaning, and all sorts of other useful items.
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\How to know when baby is ready for solid foods

The Department of Health says that babies should be exclusively fed on breastmilk or infant formula until the middle of thie first year - so around the time your baby is six months old. At this point you can begin to include solid food into their diet which will begin to provide additional nutrients which their growing body will need. For example, a full term baby is born with iron stores which become depleted when being solely milk fed - however it is important to note that the iron contained in breastmilk is highly bio-available, in contrast to the less well absorbed iron whic is added to infant formulae.

Waiting until six months to introduce solid foods into your baby's diet will help minimise the risk of her developing adverse reactions to foods and allergies . This is particularly important if you have a family history of allergies, as the incidence of adverse food reactions, allergies and coeliac disease does decrease if you delay weaning until this time.

If you feel your baby needs to start solids before six months, do discuss it with your health visitor first. This is particularly important if your baby was born prematurely . The Department of Health states that solid foods should not be introduced before the end of your baby's fourth month (17 weeks). If you do decide to wean your baby onto solids before six months, there are a number of foods that need to be avoided , such as those containing gluten, eggs, cheese, dairy products, fish and shellfish - eesentially you need to treat your child as if they were a highly allergic infant if introducing foods early, just to be on the safe side.

Developmental signs of readiness for solid foods

Key to remember is that we really can't see by loooking at the outside, whether baby's gut and digestive organs are ready on the inside, and some of the set dates for introducing solids, or the old fashioned 'double their birth weight' doctrines, and a bit arbitrary. However following research into babies who did and did not develop allergic responses to weaning following different strategies for assessing readiness, we now know that babies are less likely to develop problems with food intolerance, and have more mature digestive organs, if the following cues are observed:

• can make a grabbing and / or pincer movement

• has lost the 'tongue thrust' reflex - where everything put in the mouth is shoved out again

• can sit unsupported with good head control

• makes chewing motions - with or without teeth!

• displays curiosity about what you're eating.





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