Breast and formula milk give babies all they require for the first six months so you don’t have to worry if your baby seems satisfied with milk alone until this age. By six months of age, your baby needs the additional nourishment provided by solids, and she also needs to learn how to eat.

How to Start

First solids are really just tasters to get a baby used to different textures and flavors; the main nourishment will still come from breast or formula milk. The first food should be bland and smooth, like baby rice mixed with either cooled boiled water, or formula or breast milk. To begin with offer a small amount on the tip of a clean spoon, midway through a feed, once a day. Once your baby has accepted this, you can introduce a small amount of fruit or vegetable puree, for example, banana, potato, or carrot (with no added salt or sugar), mixed with formula or breast milk.

As soon as your baby has got used to taking solids off a spoon, you can begin to introduce new foods and other solids at a second meal. If your baby obviously doesn’t like the taste of something don’t force matters. Try another food and reintroduce the rejected food at a later stage. At first the baby will simply try to suck anything off the spoon. But it won’t take long to master getting the food off the spoon and into the back of her mouth. Once your baby can do this she will be able to cope with lumpier textures, so you can begin to mash rather than puree food. Your baby will also be able to enjoy a wider variety of tastes and textures.

Advanced feeding At around eight months, you can introduce food combinations such as baby cereal and fruit, or egg yolk and tomato — remember to remove the seeds from the tomato and to cook the egg thoroughly. Food can be lumpier and more solid so that it encourages your baby to start chewing. Try mincing or mashing the food with a fork.

At nine months and over, your baby is likely to be on three meals a day as well as milk, unsweetened diluted fruit juice, or water. Giving your child food at grown-up meal-times will encourage her to learn social skills by watching others. As her appetite grows you can gradually increase the amount given at each meal. Offer finger foods such as slices or peeled apple, and banana; this will encourage her to feed herself Always stay with your child while she is eating in case of choking.

As with younger babies, don’t force unwanted foods; your child may simply not be ready for that particular taste. Don’t ever fight over it. Take the food away, but don’t offer alternatives or provide snacks between meals or let the child fill up on drinks, especially non-nourishing drinks, such as squash.

How to Bottle-feed

Store the bottles in the refrigerator until needed and make sure that any unused milk is thrown away after this time. Never reuse leftover milk because it is a potential breeding ground for bacteria. Some babies are quite happy to take their bottles at room temperature but it yours prefers warm milk, heat the bottle either in a normal bottle warmer, or by standing it in a jug of hot water. Always test the temperature on the inside of your wrist to make sure that it isn’t too hot before giving the bottle to your baby to drink.

Check that the milk is coming through the teat at the right speed. If your baby is having to work hard to get the milk, the flow is too slow and you need a teat with a bigger hole. It, on the other hand, your baby seems to be gulping a lot and the milk is leaking out of the corner of his mouth, the flow is too fast and the teat should have a smaller hole. If the teat flattens while you are feeding, pull it gently out of the baby’s mouth to release the vacuum, then insert it again.

You may want to encourage feeding by stroking the teat across your baby’s mouth. Once his mouth has opened, place the teat between his lips and your baby should start sucking. Keep the bottle tilted so that milk fills the teat completely and your baby doesn’t suck in air, which can cause wind. Never leave your baby to feed from a bottle on his own because he could vomit and choke. Don’t add solids such as rusk, cereal, or baby rice to bottle feeds — this could cause choking.

The amount of milk your baby needs at feeds will change as he gains weight. At first he may take only a couple of ounces but this will increase. Your health visitor will give you a growth chart to check on progress.

Wind can sometimes be a problem, so try stopping halfway through a feed and wind your baby by holding him against your shoulder, or propping him up on your lap while you rub his back. You may want to do this after the feed has finished as well. The baby may bring back a small amount of milk during or after a feed; this is called possetting and is quite normal. It the vomiting becomes frequent or violent, you need to consult your doctor.

Whole Foods Market has put together a great video of an interview with Lynda Fassa, founder of Green Babies. Lynda points out a number of facts about organic cotton and clothing that should be considered when shopping for your baby.

• Conventional cotton farming uses pesticides that may be harmful to your baby and the environment.
• Cottonseed oil and cotton hulls from conventional cotton (pesticides and all) is included in many snack foods.
• Pesticides from conventional farming find their way into the surrounding streams and rivers.
• The cost of organic clothing is falling and becoming more competitive with traditionally produced clothes.