The Department of Health recommends exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age and it is advisable to wait until then; however some babies may be ready earlier than this. Signs which suggest they might be ready include;

• Hungry even after a feed
• Showing an interest in food
• Sitting without support
• Puts toys/fist in their mouth

Weaning should never start before 17 weeks, even if these signs are present and should have started by six months. Find out more on the HiPP website.

The key is to prepare. You don't need much equipment but you will need:

• Bibs
• Small baby bowls - or you can use cups, plastic lidded pots or ramekin dishes
• Small, shallow, rounded baby spoons
• Baby wipes, muslins or tissues
• It's easier if you can sit your baby somewhere such as a bouncing cradle or reclining highchair suitable for a young baby
• Some suitable starter food

Try to pick a time when it is quiet and your baby is content - after a feed is usually good. Spoon a tiny amount of food out into a bowl and place your baby in a chair or on your lap. At this point a bib might be useful! Put a small amount of the food onto a plastic spoon - and offer it to them.

At first your baby will still be getting all of its nutrition from milk so don't worry if they aren't interested or don't have too much.

Around 7 months is the time when lumps can start to be introduced. At first, start with softer lumps by mashing ripe fruit, cooked veg and fish. Some babies don't like the lumps at first and can spit them out or look like they are gagging on them - but persevere as they will get used to them. Try fork-mashing foods first before trying foods with specific lumps in.

Once weaning starts more fluids are generally needed.

Once your baby is starting to have 3 'meals' a day the amount of milk given, and number of feeds, can start to be reduced and non-milk drinks given. As a guide, 6-month old babies will generally still need around 500-900ml of milk a day.

From 6 months unsoftened tap water is ideal for babies. Once weaning is well-established a milk feed can be swapped for fruit juice at a mealtime. It should be well diluted (one part juice to ten parts water) and given with a meal - as the vitamin C will help to absorb iron in the foods.

Yes, babies can be weaned as vegetarians – however it is important to make sure the diet is well-balanced. This means making sure that they will be getting all of the nutrients which usually come from meat such as protein, iron and vitamin d, from other sources.

Weaning infants should, as a guide, be getting two servings of protein rich foods per day such as lentils, beans, tofu, soya or egg. If possible these should be eaten with a vitamin-C containing food or drink to help absorb the iron in these foods.