You should start giving your baby solid foods, often called "weaning", when they are around six months old. Many health experts agree that this is the best age. Before this, your baby's digestive system is not developed enough to cope with solid foods. If you're breastfeeding, feeding only breast milk up to around six months of age will give your baby extra protection against infection. Breastfeeding beyond six months alongside solid foods will continue to protect your baby for as long as you carry on. If you're bottle feeding, you should give your baby infant formula until around six months and continue it afterwards, along with solid foods. If your baby seems hungrier at any time before six months, give them extra milk feeds. Babies born early (prematurely) may be ready for solids at different times. Ask your health professional for advice about what's best for your baby.

Signs that your baby is ready for solids include:

• They can stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady.
• They can co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so that they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth, all by themselves.
• They can swallow food. Babies who aren’t ready will push their food back out, so they get more round their face than they do in their mouths.

Some foods that can be bad for your baby are listed below:

• Too much salt is bad for your baby’s kidneys. Avoid adding extra salt, stock cubes or gravy to foods you will feed your baby.
• Honey may contain bacteria that causes botulism (a serious illness affecting the intestines) in babies. Avoid honey until your baby is 12 months old.
• Low-fat and reduced-fat yoghurt and cheese should be avoided in favour of full-fat varieties. Fat is important for your baby’s growth.
• Junk foods and processed foods like crisps, ham and other cold-cuts, meat pies and sausage rolls, fast-foods, cakes and sweets should be limited.
• Shark (also known as flake), swordfish and marlin are types of fish that should be avoided, because they may contain large amounts of mercury.
• Raw shellfish can cause food poisoning so it’s best not to give it to babies.
• Raw or under-cooked eggs with runny yolks or whites should be avoided. Only give your baby eggs that have been cooked until the yolk and white are both solid.

It’s very normal for babies aged four to five months to start waking during the night as they may be in a very light sleep and wake easily. If you think your baby is hungry you can try offering larger milk feeds during the day but if this doesn’t satisfy him then you can begin weaning.

Your baby will reduce the amount of milk they drink as they eat more food. Once your baby is eating solids three times a day you may find they begin drinking less of their milk feeds. When you start offering two courses as his main meals you may find he is not interested in a milk feed after the meal and you can drop this feed. Your baby still needs at least 500 -600mls of formula feed a day until he is 12 months old. If you’re breastfeeding, on the other hand, you can keep feeding on demand.

When your baby is first starting out on solids, offer the same food once or twice a day in addition to breastfeeding or bottle feeding. As your baby’s interest and skills develop, you can offer food more often. When she’s ready, your baby should be joining the family at the table and eating. She can use the kidsme Food Feeder and her fingers to eat some of the same soft, easy-to-chew foods everyone else is eating.

It's really quite simple. With the cap on, open the snap lock. Using a spoon, fill the feeder with wholesome foods for your baby. After shutting the snap lock, remove the cap and give them the Feeder. You could even simply place the Feeder in front of them and encourage them to pick it up on their own. These actions will contribute to effective development of fine motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination.