Starting your baby on solids
Your baby's delicate little tummy is used to milk, so his first tastes should be made with pure and mild-tasting ingredients mixed to a smooth blend.
Start with Baby Rice
For your baby's first spoon-feed, try mixing some Cow & Gate Pure Baby Rice with breast or formula milk to the consistency of thick soup. Because it's mild tasting and gluten free, most health professionals recommend it as the ideal first weaning food. It's easy for small tummies to digest and has the familiar taste of milk, which your baby finds very comforting.
Just a few teaspoonfuls at first
It's a good idea to try a few spoonfuls once a day. Offer a small amount on the end of a spoon at a time he isn't too hungry - maybe halfway between feeds. Your baby will naturally suck the food into his mouth, just like it's sucked from the bottle or teat. It will take some time for your baby to adjust to the new sensations of getting its meal from a spoon; so don't worry if your baby spits it out at first - it takes time and patience for some babies to get the hang of it.
Keep it pure and simple
Smooth pureed fruit such as banana, cooked apple, pear or mango, or vegetables like carrot, parsnip and potato make great starter foods. If you do prepare your own fruits, make sure to cook all vegetables and peeled fruits first before pureeing them (with the exception of bananas - ripe ones can be mashed very finely). Make sure not to add salt to your veg and ripe fruit should not need any added sugar.
Alternatively, try our Baby Balance 'A Taste of Carrot' or 'A Taste of Apple' which are perfect first weaning foods. Made using only the finest baby-grade ingredients, these simple fruit and vegetable purees have exactly the right smooth consistency to start with.
Cow & Gate Stage 1 Babyfoods »
Variety is important
You may hear lots of advice suggesting you stick with a new fruit or veg for 3 or 4 days before offering baby any more new tastes. But doing this will lengthen the weaning process and your baby may be less willing to accept new tastes later. Recent research suggests that introducing a variety of tastes at this stage can make babies learn to accept new tastes more readily.
Find out more about feeding your baby at this stage »
