How your baby's feeding develops

For the first six months of your baby's life, they only need breast milk or first infant formula.

Before then, your baby has not developed enough to eat or drink other food.

Before introducing solids, you should wait until your baby can:

• sit up with minimal support
• hold up their head
• reach out to grab and bring items to their mouth
• move food from the front of the mouth to the back to swallow

Once your baby can do these things, it is likely that their gut is developed enough to digest food and is ready to have solids.

Before introducing solids, you should wait until your baby is around 6 months old. This is because:

• they will need nutrients from solid foods, as well as milk
• their body systems will be mature enough to digest and use solid food
• they will be able to move food around their mouth with their tongue
• they will be able to cope with lumpier foods

At 6 months old, your baby can also:

• copy what others are doing
• feed themselves finger foods, learn to use a spoon, and start to drink from a cup
• tell you they are not hungry by pushing food away or turning their face away
• react to new foods by screwing up their face and spitting food out — if this happens, try giving them the food again so they can get used to the taste
• eat more safely because of their gag reflex

Your baby has a small stomach, so they only need small amounts of food.

Page last updated: 18 July 2023