Question

How much food do I need to feed my baby in the first weeks of weaning?

Answer

In the early stages of weaning, the main aim is to get your baby used to taking food from a spoon, rather than to fill them up with solids. They will still be getting most of their nutrition from milk, so don't worry if they only manage small amounts of food at first.

The first weeks of weaning
Start by giving just one meal of solids a day. Before you offer the solids, give your baby part or all of their normal milk feed. They still need as much breast milk or formula as usual at this stage.

To avoid waste, spoon out only a small amount of baby food to start with; you can always heat up more if your little one is still hungry afterwards. Go at your baby's pace and let them decide when they have had enough.

Moving on
Over the next few weeks, you can gradually increase the amount of solids you offer your baby. Once they're used to eating from a spoon, you can give them solids first and their milk feed second.

You can also move gradually from offering one meal of solids a day to two and then three meals, but be guided by their appetite and try not to rush them.

You'll see that as your baby's appetite for solids increases, they will need less milk. They will either have fewer feeds, or take less at each feed, but they still need regular breast feeds or a minimum of 500-600ml of follow-on formula milk each day from six months of age if you're bottle feeding.

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