Starting Solid Foods

What you will be able to do

• recognise the three HSE signs that your baby is ready for solid foods.
• set up a safe high chair, kit and kitchen routine for weaning.
• tell normal gagging from choking and know the standard first aid steps for babies.
• plan and follow a gentle first 2 weeks, starting with vegetables.
• introduce the allergen foods one at a time and know what to do if your baby reacts.
• build up to three balanced, iron-rich meals a day with more texture by 12 months.
• choose suitable drinks and follow the HSE advice on vitamin D drops.
• avoid the foods that are not suitable in the first year.

1. 1When to start and how to know your baby is ready

   Learn why the HSE advises starting solid foods at around 6 months, the three signs that show your baby is ready, and the common signs that are often mistaken for readiness.

   • Why around 6 months?
   • The three signs of readiness

   Is my baby ready? Readiness signs checker

2. 2Getting set up and eating safely

   Prepare your kitchen, seat and kit, learn the food hygiene basics for babies, and understand the difference between gagging and choking.

   • Your weaning kit and kitchen hygiene
   • Gagging and choking: know the difference

   Gagging vs choking card

3. 3First foods and your first 2 weeks

   Choose first foods, decide between spoon-feeding, baby-led weaning or a mix, and follow a gentle 2-week plan that starts with vegetables.

   • Spoon-feeding, baby-led weaning or both?
   • What to offer first
   • A gentle first fortnight

   First 2 weeks food plan

4. 4Introducing allergen foods safely

   Find out which foods most often cause allergies, how and when to introduce them one at a time, what a reaction can look like, and when to get help.

   • The allergen foods and why timing matters
   • How to introduce allergens and spot a reaction

   Allergen introduction log

5. 5Building up from 7 to 12 months

   Move from one meal a day to three, from smooth food to chopped family food, and build balanced, iron-rich meals your baby can share with you.

   • Moving on with textures and finger foods
   • Balanced, iron-rich meals

   Baby food diary

6. 6Milk, drinks and vitamin drops

   Understand how milk feeds fit alongside food, which drinks are suitable in the first year, and the HSE advice on vitamin D drops.

   • Milk feeds and first drinks
   • Vitamin D drops: what the HSE advises

   Baby food diary

7. 7Foods to avoid and everyday challenges

   Know which foods to avoid or limit in the first year, how to choose shop-bought baby foods, and how to handle refusal, mess, constipation and other common worries.

   • Foods to avoid or limit in the first year
   • Refusal, mess, poo and other worries

   Baby food diaryGagging vs choking card

• CheckerIs my baby ready? Readiness signs checkerCheck your baby against the three HSE signs of readiness for solid foods, and spot the situations where you should talk to your public health nurse first.
• PlannerFirst 2 weeks food planA simple day-by-day plan for your first fortnight of solid foods, starting with single vegetables and building up gently, with space to note how each day went.
• TrackerAllergen introduction logRecord each allergen food as you introduce it, one at a time, so you can spot any reaction and then keep it in your baby's diet.
• TrackerBaby food diaryA quick daily record of meals, textures, new foods and milk feeds, so you can see your baby's progress and spot patterns over the weeks.
• CardsGagging vs choking cardPrintable cards to keep by the high chair, showing how to tell normal gagging from choking, how to cut foods safely, and what to do if a baby under 1 is choking.