Starting Solids at 6 Months: A Week-by-Week Plan for European Families

The moment your baby reaches around six months, a whole new world opens up — one filled with pureed sweet potatoes, curious first tastes, and a surprising amount of mess. If you’re feeling uncertain about where to begin, you’re in good company. Most parents feel some combination of excitement and anxiety when it comes to starting solids 6 months week by week plan. The NHS, WHO, and EFSA all recommend exclusive milk feeding (breast or formula) until around 6 months, then a gradual, responsive introduction of solid foods. This practical week-by-week guide gives European families a clear, flexible roadmap grounded in current evidence and NHS guidance.

Before You Start: Readiness Signs

The NHS advises starting solids at around 6 months, not at exactly 26 weeks to the day. More important than the calendar date are the developmental readiness signs. Your baby is ready for solids when they can:

• Sit up with minimal support and hold their head steady
• Pick up objects and bring them towards their mouth with some coordination
• Show interest in food — watching you eat, reaching for your food, or opening their mouth when food approaches

Note that tongue thrust (pushing food out of the mouth) and night waking are not indicators of readiness — both are normal infant behaviours unrelated to hunger for solids. Do not start solids before 17 weeks (4 months), as the gut and kidneys are not sufficiently developed before this point.

Week 1: The First Tastes

The goal in week 1 is simply familiarisation. Your baby is not going to take in meaningful nutrition from solids yet — that comes over months. Focus on introducing the concept of eating rather than volume.

Start with one or two small tastes once per day, ideally at a time when your baby is alert but not ravenously hungry (mid-morning tends to work well for many families). Offer a teaspoon of one of the following:

• Smooth vegetable puree: cooked and blended sweet potato, butternut squash, carrot, or parsnip
• Baby rice mixed with expressed breast milk, formula, or cooled boiled water
• Soft cooked apple or pear puree

Expect most food to come straight back out — this is normal. The tongue is still learning a new movement. Continue regular milk feeds as usual; solids do not replace milk at this stage. If using baby-led weaning instead, offer a soft steamed vegetable stick (carrot, broccoli floret, courgette) of appropriate size.

Weeks 2–3: Building Variety

Once your baby has accepted a few initial tastes, begin expanding the variety. Introducing a range of flavours — including bitter vegetables — in the first weeks has been shown to improve acceptance of a wider range of foods later. European weaning traditions tend to include a greater variety of vegetables earlier than some other approaches, which evidence suggests is beneficial.

Introduce these categories one at a time, watching for any reaction:

• Vegetables: Broccoli, courgette, peas, spinach, cauliflower, green beans
• Fruits: Mango, banana (mashed), peach, pear
• Starches: Potato, polenta, soft-cooked pasta

If you notice redness, swelling, vomiting, or hives within two hours of a new food, stop offering it and contact your GP. If the reaction includes breathing difficulty, call 999 immediately.

Weeks 4–6: Introducing Iron-Rich Foods and Allergens

By weeks 4–6, the most important nutritional task is introducing iron-rich foods. After 6 months, breast milk and formula alone do not provide sufficient iron, and iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in European infants. Priority iron-rich foods include:

• Pureed or very finely minced meat (beef, lamb, chicken, turkey)
• Mashed lentils and legumes
• Well-cooked egg (yolk and white)
• Iron-fortified baby cereals (check labels for iron content)

This window is also the right time to introduce the major food allergens systematically. Current NICE and NHS guidance recommends introducing allergens from around 6 months, one at a time, at home during the day (not just before bedtime), so you can observe for reactions:

• Cooked egg (well-cooked scrambled egg or soft-boiled egg yolk)
• Smooth peanut butter (thinned with water or mixed into puree — never whole nuts)
• Cow’s milk in cooking (yoghurt, soft cheese) — note: cow’s milk should not be the main drink before 12 months
• Wheat (soft-cooked pasta, bread fingers)
• Fish (white fish, well-cooked and boneless)

Wait 2–3 days between introducing each new allergen so that any reaction can be clearly attributed to a specific food.

Weeks 7–8 and Beyond: Moving to Two Then Three Meals

By the end of the second month of weaning, most babies are ready to move towards two meals a day, and by around 9 months, three meals. Progress through textures: from smooth purees to mashed, then minced, then soft lumps. The NHS recommends moving through textures relatively quickly — staying on smooth purees for too long can increase fussiness later.

Sample daily schedule at 7–8 months:

• Breakfast: Porridge made with full-fat cow’s milk, mashed banana
• Lunch: Mashed lentil soup with soft vegetable pieces, yoghurt
• Dinner: Minced meat or fish with mashed root vegetables
• Continue 3–4 breastfeeds or formula feeds per day

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add seasoning or spices to baby food?

Yes to mild spices — cumin, coriander, mild curry powder, turmeric, and herbs are all fine and beneficial for palate development. Avoid added salt (babies’ kidneys cannot process it) and added sugar. Honey should not be given before 12 months due to the risk of infant botulism.

My baby refuses everything I offer — what should I do?

Food refusal is extremely common, particularly in the early weeks. It takes on average 10–15 exposures to a new food before a baby accepts it. Continue offering without pressure, keep mealtimes positive, and eat together as a family where possible. If refusal persists beyond 8–9 months and your baby is not taking any solids at all, speak to your health visitor.

Do I need to offer water at mealtimes?

Yes — from the start of weaning, offer sips of cooled boiled water (tap water is fine in most UK and European countries from 6 months) in an open cup or free-flow beaker. This helps develop the skill and supports digestion. Juice is not recommended before 12 months.

When should I stop pureeing and move to family food textures?

Aim to have your baby eating soft family foods — finely chopped or minced versions of what the rest of the family eats — by around 9–10 months. By 12 months, most babies can eat most foods in modified form.

Your Next Step

Download the NHS Start4Life weaning guide (available free online) for a printable food chart, and book a weaning conversation with your health visitor before you start. Having a plan — flexible as it needs to be — makes the first weeks much less daunting and much more enjoyable.

Finally, be patient with yourself as well as with your baby. Weaning is a skill that both of you are learning simultaneously. There will be rejected meals, interesting nappy contents, and the inevitable moment when butternut squash ends up on the ceiling. Try to measure progress over weeks, not days. By six to eight months in, most babies are eating a range of foods with growing enthusiasm — and that first moment when your baby reaches eagerly for the spoon is worth every messy floor that preceded it.