A complete guide to weaning baby

A complete guide to weaning your baby: When to start weaning and the different weaning methods

What is weaning?

Weaning is the process of introducing your baby to solid foods alongside their usual breast milk or formula. Take a look at our comprehensive weaning guide based on NHS recommendations, including baby-led weaning, meal prep approaches and introducing allergy foods.

 

 

When to Start Weaning Your Baby

• Age: Begin weaning around 6 months old. By this age, babies are usually ready to start solid foods while continuing to receive breast milk or formula.
• Signs of Readiness: Your baby might be ready if they can:
  • Stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady.
  • Coordinate their eyes, hands, and mouth (e.g., looking at food, grabbing it, and putting it in their mouth).
  • Chewing their fists or fingers
  • Baby appears unsatisfied after feeds
    
    

Weaning Approaches

• Traditional Spoon Fed Weaning: Typically involves starting with smooth purees and gradually introducing mashed, then chunky foods as your baby gets used to eating solids.
• Baby-Led Weaning: An alternative method where you let your baby feed themselves right from the start with finger foods such as soft steamed veggies etc.
• Combined Weaning: This method combines both spoon fed weaning and baby led weaning in order to offer baby both finger foods and purees together. This approach offers balance between nutrition and food exploration. Your baby may not actually eat much of the finger foods but allows them to experience texture and to help develop their fine motor skills by feeding themselves. Purees offered alongside will enable baby to consume more of the food easily and get the nutrition they need.
  
  

Choosing the best weaning approach for you and your baby

 There is no right or wrong approach, some might say the combined approach offers the best variety from the start. Some parents feel daunted by the idea of giving baby finger foods from the off but if you follow correct guidance on how to prepare foods safely for your baby, this method is perfectly safe and widely recommended by health experts 

 

How to prepare first foods for both weaning approaches

• Traditional Weaning:
  • Start with smooth, pureed foods like mashed vegetables (carrots, potatoes) or fruits (bananas, apples).
  • Offer small amounts (a teaspoon or two) once a day, gradually increasing the quantity.
• Baby-Led Weaning:
  • Offer soft finger foods that your baby can grasp and bring to their mouth. Suitable options include:
    • Soft-cooked vegetable sticks (carrots, broccoli)
    • Soft fruits (banana, pear, avocado)
    • Strips of soft-cooked meat or fish
    • Pieces of toast or well-cooked pasta
  • Let your baby explore and eat at their own pace. They might not eat much at first, but they’ll gradually learn to chew and swallow.
    
    

Weaning Recipe Ideas

Follow along to some of our best weaning recipes for spoon fed weaning and baby led weaning using the Babymoov Nutribaby Food Prep Machine:

Cheesy Leek and Cauliflower Purée

Baby's First Squash & Lentil Curry

 7 First Tastes for Baby's First 7 Days of Weaning

Cherry Chia Pudding

 

 

Introducing New Foods

• Variety: Offer a wide variety of foods to ensure a balanced diet. Introduce one new food at a time and wait a few days before trying another to monitor for allergies.
• Textures: Whether following traditional or baby-led weaning, gradually introduce different textures to help your baby develop their chewing skills.

Drinks

• Water: Introduce sips of water with meals from a cup or beaker from 6 months old.
• Breast Milk/Formulas: Continue breastfeeding or offering formula while introducing solids. After 12 months, full-fat cow's milk can be introduced as a main drink.

Foods to Avoid Before 12 Months

• Salt: Avoid adding salt to your baby’s food as their kidneys can’t handle it.
• Sugar: Avoid sugary snacks and drinks to prevent tooth decay.
• Honey: Avoid honey until after 12 months due to the risk of infant botulism.
• Whole Nuts: Avoid whole nuts and peanuts due to choking hazards (finely ground nuts are safe).

Allergy Awareness

• Common Allergens: Introduce common allergenic foods one at a time, such as eggs, milk, peanuts, fish and gluten-containing foods, and monitor for any reactions. Speak to your GP if you have a family history of allergies also.

Weaning Accessories List

Checkout our weaning hot list of weaning accessories and items to get you started

• Baby Highchair
• Baby food storage including reusable pouches
• Baby meal sets: Silicone plates, bowls, baby cutlery and drinking beaker
• Baby Food Maker such as Nutribaby+
• Baby bibs

Tips for Baby-Led Weaning

• Supervision: Always supervise your baby during meals to ensure safety and prevent choking.
• Messiness: Expect mess as your baby explores different textures and learns to eat. Use a bib and place a mat under the highchair for easier clean-up.
• Patience: Your baby might take some time to actually eat and swallow food. It’s normal for them to play with and explore food at first.

Seek Advice

• If you're unsure about any aspect of weaning, whether traditional or baby-led, consult your health visitor or GP for guidance and support.

 

Using the Nutribaby+ Baby Food Maker to Aid Weaning

 

• Preparation Made Easy: The Nutribaby+ baby food maker is a versatile multifunctional cooking machine that simplifies the weaning process. It allows you to steam, blend, defrost, and reheat food, all in one appliance.
• Steaming: Steaming preserves the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, ensuring your baby gets the most out of their meals. You can steam a variety of foods simultaneously, making it easy to prepare balanced meals.
• Blending: For traditional weaning, the Nutribaby+ makes it easy to create smooth purees or gradually chunkier textures as your baby progresses. You can control the consistency to match your baby’s stage of weaning.
• Batch Cooking: The Nutribaby+ lets you prepare larger quantities of food in one go, which can be stored in the fridge or freezer for future meals. This is particularly handy for busy parents.
• Reheating and Defrosting: The Nutribaby+ also helps you reheat or defrost food safely and quickly, ensuring your baby’s meals are always fresh and ready when needed.

• Food variety: One of the key design features of the Nutribaby+ for parents is the ability to prepare a variety of foods at once with ease. As well as steaming, blending and reheating the Nutribaby food maker features a removable cooking juice collector in the bottom of the steamer. Not only for collecting lost nutrients from steamed veggies to add back into your purees but this is also the area you can cook rice, pasta, porridge, pulses and similar foods alongside your steamed foods.

• Cleaning up after: With one blender jug and the steamer bowls, prep and mess is contained. No more pots and pans to clean at the end, simply pop your steamer bowls and blender jug into the top level of the dishwasher for ease from start to finish.

• Allergies: If your baby does have any known allergies, you might be thinking about making their meals from scratch anyway. Nutribaby offers an easy solution to prep all their meals, while helping you keep a track of everything they are eating. Even some of the healtheir shop bought purees today can have added extra's...additives, preservatives and sugar to prolong their shelf life. In reality, the healthiest foods in their rawest form do have a shelf life should only last up to a week or so.

• Introducing New Foods: With its ease of use, you can introduce a variety of foods and textures effortlessly, helping your baby explore different tastes without the hassle.

By incorporating the Nutribaby+ food maker into your weaning journey, you can streamline meal preparation, ensure your baby enjoys a variety of healthy foods, and make the process enjoyable for both you and your baby.

Discover the full Nutribaby+ food maker range and check out our Nutribaby Buying Guide which easily compares the different models and features available.