Guide to Weaning | Kiddylicious

Your guide to weaning

Everything you need to know about starting your little one’s weaning journey. We’ve got top tips from parents and experts on how to get their taste buds tingling.

What is weaning?

Weaning is the transition from milk to solid food. At around six months of age, your baby will start to need nutrients that aren’t available in adequate amounts in their milk alone. It’s important they’re introduced to solid food that starts to meet these additional nutritional needs while breast or bottle feeding continues up to two years of age or beyond.

Once your little one reaches this milestone, it’s natural to have lots of questions, so explore the weaning sections and look out for top tips from our Expert Panel and other families.

Is my baby ready for weaning?

There are a number of things to consider as you approach the weaning or complementary feeding stage, for example:

Can your little one sit up? (It’s ok if they need a little extra support from you)
Can they grasp objects and bring them to their mouths?
Are they interested in your food and perhaps try to grab from your plate?
Can they hold their head steady and move around from side to side?

Kiddylicious Wafers are a great starting point – as little ones can learn to gum, chew, swallow and practice self-feeding.

Where do I start with weaning?

If weaning with purees, start with thin purees and build up to ones with a thicker consistency and eventually minced or chopped foods. Then try larger pieces of food from protein and carbohydrate groups, like fish, chicken and potato.

Going down the puree route? Start with single flavours based on a range of vegetables. Try and focus on vegetables over fruit, as little ones have a preference for sweeter tastes so it’s good for them to become accustomed to savoury flavours early on.

Good first vegetables to include early on:

Spinach

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Pumpkin

Over time your little one will progress from purees to first finger foods to moving food and soft lumps around their mouth as well as using their lips to clear food from a spoon. Soon enough they’ll be accepting a wide range of food, as eaten by the entire family.

The importance of solid food

Chewing improves the strength and coordination of the jaw area, which is essential for speech development. The more texture and shapes they are given in food at a younger age, the more receptive they will be to a wide range of food later in life. If you keep your little one on the puree stage for too long, it may be more difficult for them to accept lumps and finger foods. Great finger foods:

Soft cooked vegetables

Cubes of hard cheese

Flaked fish

Hard boiled egg wedges

Foods that should be avoided in the first year:

Honey

Honey may lead to infant botulism, as it contains bacteria which can cause this illness in little ones under 12 months.

Fruit juice

Due to its high sugar content which can lead to tooth decay.

Processed meat

Due to its high salt content.

Whole nuts

Due to the possible choking risk.

How much food should I give my little one?

The complementary feeding or weaning stage provides new tastes, textures and nutrients as well as introducing your little one to the social element of eating with family.

To begin with it may only be a few teaspoons, but as they grow, more will be eaten at each meal

Be led by your baby and let them regulate their own appetite. Allowing them some control is key. If they are curious and attempt to grab the spoon too, then don’t stop them – be prepared for the fact that it will get messy!

This varies so much, depending on how they feel each day

Every day is different: factors like if they are teething or feeling tired, as well as how much they’ve moved around, can all affect how much they eat.

Aim to recognise signs when your little one has eaten enough.

They might refuse to open their mouth, or they turn their head away to avoid further food. It’s useful to note that all babies are different, and they can differ in the amount they eat, so persistence is vital.

Top tips

Halve foods such as grapes and cherry tomatoes to minimise the risk of choking and you should always check for any bones in fish or meat before cooking and serving.

From 6 months it’s fine to use crushed nuts or nut butters in meals, however try and choose those with no added salt or sugar.

Perfect weaning snacks

Whether you are baby-led or trying more traditional methods we have the ideal range of first snacks for your little one. They have a delicate texture so they melt-in-the-mouth and are easy for little hands to hold.

Wafers Blueberry

Soft Biscotti Apple

Melty Buttons Raspberry & Beetroot

Parent Corner

Check out our latest articles here to discover advice, tips and info on how to make your little one’s weaning journey easy and hassle-free.

My child has an allergy, food intolerance or special diet. Are Kiddylicious snacks suitable for him/her?

We take your child’s safety very seriously and want you to be confident that the snacks you give your children are suitable and safe. The most up to date allergen information on all of our products is available on their respective packaging or on the product page online.

Should I be worried that my child gags on different foods?

The first year is vital to exposing little ones to new foods, flavours and textures. These early days are also about trying new textures whether that be from whole cooked or soft raw foods (if following the baby led weaning approach). Or if offering purees first, then your little one will progress from eating runny, thin and thicker purees through to mashed, lumpy, minced and chopped food.

These early days of offering first foods can be really apprehensive and scary for us as parents. However it’s good to remember that gagging is a natural reflex that happens when there’s a risk of choking. They are learning lots of new skills, particularly how to chew, swallow, and how much food to take into their mouth in one go. To minimise risk of choking, ensure to cook food well so it’s a soft texture and cut into suitable sized pieces (e.g. halve grapes and cherry tomatoes) and always stay with your baby at meal times whilst they’re eating.

Also we recommend doing a first aid course for babies and children to further put your mind at rest at this time.

How can I encourage my little one to eat vegetables?

Where you can try and sit as a whole family and eat and enjoy your meal (and vegetables!) all together, so your child can see you enjoy all the foods on your plate.

Children need to try foods such as vegetables many times until they are familiar and accept them. This is tough to witness as a parent, but don’t give up and try offering it again!

In the meantime make sure to include some vegetables within meals (e.g. grated courgette or carrot in a pasta sauce) so you know they are getting some vegetables into their diet.