Infant Feeding
Formula Feeding Basics
Safe formula feeding from the first bottle to 12 months: making up feeds, sterilising, amounts by age and a simple feeding log.
£12.99Buy
Infant feeding courses, from first feeds to first foods
Step-by-step help with bottle feeding, expressing, mixing breast and bottle, and starting solid foods, following NHS and Start for Life advice.
- 6 courses
- Tools in every course
- Certificate included
However you feed your baby, the basics are worth getting right. NHS advice is that breast milk alone is all a baby needs for around the first 6 months, and that if you use formula, first infant formula is the only kind needed in the first year. Each bottle of powdered formula should be made up fresh, using water that has boiled and cooled for no more than 30 minutes so it is still at least 70°C.
Weaning usually begins at around 6 months, when a baby can sit and hold their head steady, pick food up and bring it to their mouth, and swallow food rather than push it back out. Waking in the night, chewing fists or wanting extra milk are not signs of readiness. Foods that can trigger allergies, such as egg, peanut and wheat, can be introduced from around 6 months, one at a time and in small amounts.
NHS Start for Life, your health visitor and, in England, local Family Hubs all offer free feeding support, and Parent Club has weaning information for families in Scotland. Our courses sit alongside those services and help you keep track, with feed logs, storage charts, allergen logs and planners you can share with anyone who helps with feeds.
All infant feeding courses
Infant Feeding
Combination Feeding Education
Breast and bottle together, done calmly: plan your feeds, protect your milk supply and learn paced bottle feeding step by step.
£14.99Buy
Infant Feeding
Expressing & Storing Breast Milk
Hand expressing and pumping explained, with a pumping planner, a storage times chart, milk labels and a cleaning checklist.
£14.99Buy
Infant Feeding
Returning to Work While Breastfeeding
Keep breastfeeding after maternity leave with a routine that fits your job, a calm 5-minute expressing audio and a milk hygiene checklist.
£12.99Buy
Infant Feeding
Starting Solid Foods
From readiness signs to the first fortnight of foods, with an allergen log, a baby food diary and a gagging vs choking card.
£14.99Buy
Infant Feeding
Baby-Led Weaning Education
Finger foods made calm: safe shapes and sizes, gagging vs choking know-how and a first foods tracker, from about 6 months to family meals.
£14.99Buy
Pick the course for your feeding stage
- Formula feeding: Formula Feeding Basics covers choosing formula, making up feeds safely, sterilising and responsive bottle feeding.
- Mixing breast and bottle: Combination Feeding Education explains how to add bottle feeds while protecting your milk supply.
- Expressing: Expressing and Storing Breast Milk covers hand expressing, pumps, storage times and labelling.
- Going back to work: Returning to Work While Breastfeeding helps you plan a pumping routine and talk to your employer.
- Weaning with spoon-fed and finger foods: Starting Solid Foods includes a first 2 weeks food plan and an allergen log.
- Baby-led weaning: Baby-Led Weaning Education focuses on safe shapes and sizes and how to tell gagging from choking.
What the infant feeding tools do
- Formula prep card and sterilising checklist: the NHS steps in order, ready to stick inside a kitchen cupboard.
- Feed logs: record times and amounts, which is useful when more than one person shares feeds.
- Breast milk storage chart and labelling sheet: how long milk keeps in the fridge or freezer, and space to date every bottle.
- Readiness signs checker: the three NHS signs that a baby is ready for solid foods.
- Allergen introduction log and gagging versus choking card: track each new allergen and know what to do at mealtimes.
When to call your health visitor, GP or 999
Speak to your health visitor or GP if your baby:
- has fewer wet or dirty nappies than usual, or is sleepy and hard to wake for feeds
- is not gaining weight as expected, or often brings up large amounts of feed
- gets a rash, swelling or tummy upset after trying a new food
Call 999 if your baby has swelling of the lips, face or tongue, noisy or difficult breathing, or becomes floppy or pale after eating. If your baby is choking and cannot cough, cry or breathe, follow NHS choking first aid and call 999.
Babies born early, and babies with eczema or a known food allergy, may need a different approach to weaning: talk to your health visitor or GP before you begin.
Infant feeding courses: your questions
When should I start weaning?
The NHS advises starting solid foods at around 6 months, once your baby shows all three signs of readiness. If your baby was born prematurely, ask your health visitor when to start.
Do I need follow-on formula?
No. First infant formula is suitable for the whole first year, and the NHS says follow-on formula is not necessary. From 12 months, whole cows' milk can be your baby's main drink.
Can I use bottled water to make up formula?
Tap water is recommended. If you have to use bottled water, check that it has less than 200mg of sodium and no more than 250mg of sulphate per litre, and boil it first, just like tap water.
Does my baby need vitamin drops?
Breastfed babies should have a daily vitamin D supplement of 8.5 to 10 micrograms from birth. Babies having more than 500ml of formula a day do not need one, because formula is fortified. From 6 months to 5 years, the NHS recommends daily drops containing vitamins A, C and D unless your child has more than 500ml of formula a day.
Can I combine purées and baby-led weaning?
Yes. Many families offer some spoon-fed meals and some finger foods. What matters most is following the safety advice on textures, shapes and supervision.
What should a baby not have before their first birthday?
Honey, added salt and sugar, and raw or lightly cooked eggs that are not British Lion stamped. Whole nuts and rice drinks are not suitable until age 5. The courses list the full NHS advice.
Official sources
Feel ready for the next feed
Choose the course for your stage and print the prep card or readiness checker before the next feed or first meal.