Weaning

Your baby may be ready to start solids if she:

can hold her head up
It's important that your baby is able to maintain a steady, upright position in order to take first foods from a spoon.
sits well when supported

You may have to support her initially -- a highchair can be pulled into action a bit later when she's able to sit up all by herself.
makes chewing motions
 
Your baby should be able to move food to the back of her mouth and swallow.
As your baby learns to swallow efficiently you may notice her drooling decrease.
At six months your baby may even have a tooth or two.

has gained a healthy weight.
Most babies are ready to eat semi-solids when they've doubled their birth weight, which may take place before or around their sixth month.
displays curiosity about what you're eating.
 
Your baby begins eyeing your meals and reaches out to try foods travelling from plate to mouth.

Most babies are ready to start solids when they are about six months old.

There are nutritional and developmental reasons why infants need solid foods from six months,
infants who are weaned at or near six months will need to be moved onto a more mixed diet,
more quickly than those weaned earlier to ensure continued development of normal feeding behaviour and continued nutritional adequacy.
Whenever weaning is started, textures and variety should gradually build up.

The first two weeks of weaning
Start with a little fruit or vegetable puree with no added salt or sugar, or baby rice.
Just a small teaspoonful is enough to start with.

Foods you might try:

commercial baby rice
vegetable or fruit puree (potato, carrot, sweet potato, parsnip, apple, pear,)
Baby rice is most widely recommended, as it can be mixed with breast or formula, the taste to baby is easier to stomach.
NEVER add salt or sugar to babys diet,her taste buds are so delicate, the natural taste is enough.

Foods to avoid:

wheat based foods, including baby rusks, these are often wheat based and can contain a lot of sugar
eggs
meat
citrus fruits
fish
nuts
salt
fatty foods
unnecessary sugar
chillies or other strong spices
artificial additives
runny honey

The next six to eight weeks
Feeds will still be mainly milk, but now gradually increase the amount of solid food after the milk feed.
At the same time move gradually from solids at one feed, to two and three.
Begin to add different foods and different tastes, you can start to introduce simple herbs.
Mash, sieve or puree a small amount without adding salt or sugar.

Foods you might try:

purees using chicken or lentils
a wider variety of fruits and vegetables- can be given with baby gravy and baby cheese sauce
natural yoghurt (be careful with yoghurt if any history of asthma or eczema.

Still avoid:

wheat based cereals, including bread
eggs
citrus fruits
nuts
chillies and other strong spices
do not use follow on milk to replace breast or formula milk before six months
baby still needs breast or formula till fully weaned.

From six to nine months
You can now move on from puree to food that’s just mashed with a fork or minced.

Once the baby has grown used to a variety of foods, the solids can be given first and the milk second.
With the total milk for the day reduced to approximately one pint.

Continue with breast or formula milk for the first year.
Pasteurised whole cow’s milk can be used after six months but only for mixing solid foods.
Diluted fruit juice (1part juice to 5 parts water) or plain water can be introduced as a drink with meals.

Foods you can now include:

wheat based foods- breads, pasta and cereals
citrus fruits
well cooked eggs

these can be introduced as finger foods under supervision, so as not to introduce too many carbs and egg at once.

Allow your child to try small amonts of salad if they seem interested.. but WITHOUT dressing.

From now your child should be eating almost as the rest of the family, but be careful when introducing new foods,
as allergies and intolerance can upset a small childs eating habits.

Nuts etc should never be introduced until the child is much older, and only tiny tastes at a time.

once the child is eating family foods, dont be tempted to start intoducing sugars etc,
and you will encourage a lifetime of healthy eating.