Giving the food Sit your baby in an upright position halfway through her feeding. Scoop up some food on a small spoon and insert it gently between her lips. Don’t push the spoon in too far or your baby may gag. She may take a month or so to get used to using a spoon.

Messy baby Your baby may push more food out than she takes in. Gently scrape the excess onto her lips; she will turn away once she’s had enough.

During your baby’s first year there will be a time when you will have to start to wean her onto solid foods, although not before she’s four months, and possibly quite a bit later that that. Before this, your baby’s digestive tract is incapable of digesting and absorbing complex foods.

Breast milk (or its formula equivalent) is the only food that your baby needs in the early months, and if a baby is introduced to solids too young it can lesson her desire to suck. Breastfed babies will take less milk from your breasts, and you will respond by producing less milk. Either way your baby will end up having an unsatisfactory diet for her needs.