Introducing solid foods

Introducing solid foods: how to start

Introducing solid foods Institute of Health Visiting: Introducing-your-baby-to-solid-foods

Premature babies and weaning

Weaning for babies who were born prematurely or sick

What to feed your baby from 6- 12 months

First Steps Nutrition Trust is an independent public health nutrition charity who endeavour to fill practical and policy-relevant information gaps and provide resources for health workers supporting eating well from pre-conception to five years.

Eating Well in the 1st Year: First Steps Nutrition Trust

Eating Well Recipe Book: First Steps Nutrition Trust

Eating well on a budget for the wider family

Eat well, spend less | British Dietetic Association (BDA)

The BBC has some useful guides to eating on a budget for a variety of dietary requirements.

Budget recipes and advice – BBC Food

Eating healthy on a tight budget: 6 top tips – BHF

Some tips to save money on food – British Nutrition Foundation

Eat well, spend less | British Dietetic Association (BDA)

Oxfordshire’s Sustainable Food Network | Good Food Oxfordshire

Some supermarkets are selling fruit and veg boxes for as little as £2.

HENRY

HENRY provides a wide range of support for families from pregnancy to age 12 including workshops, programmes, resources and online help. All of their support for families is underpinned by the HENRY approach to supporting behaviour change which helps parents gain the confidence, knowledge and skills they need to help the whole family adopt a healthier, happier lifestyle and to give their children a great start in life. Find out more about HENRY and the support they offer in Oxfordshire here:

Parents | HENRY

Pouches

You may choose pouches due to convenience, but do check the ingredients for hidden sugars, an idea is to stick to vegetable based pouches. Here is some information from First Steps Nutrition: Marketed food for children — First Steps Nutrition Trust

Check out some recipes above to replace pouches.

Recipes

Feeding information in different languages: Foreign language resources – Baby Friendly Initiative (unicef.org.uk)

Food allergies

Managing food allergies: How-to-manage-food-allergies-in-children-under-5-years

Vitamins for children

Healthy Start: (help to buy healthy food and milk): Get help to buy food and milk (Healthy Start)

Healthy Start Easy Read: Easy Read leaflet – Photography.pdf

Vitamins for children: Getting vitamins – Get help to buy food and milk (Healthy Start)

Sugar Smart: About Sugar | Sugar Smart UK

When to weigh your baby

For a well-baby, they only need to be weighed at the time of routine checks and injections (that is at around 2, 3, 4 and 13 months of age). Your baby will usually only be weighed more often than these recommendations if there are concerns about their health or growth.

Some parents ask to have their babies weighed more often than this for reassurance that their baby is healthy. However weight is a late indictor of your baby’s progress and it is more important to observe their feeding, general behaviour, stool and urine output, and whether they are growing into bigger clothes. Regular weighing is not always helpful, and can cause unnecessary worry especially if over a short period of time. For example, if one week your baby was weighed just after a big feed but the next week they were weighed after a big nap and before a feed, this could make it look as if they had not gained weight. Weights measured over a longer time are more likely to show the true weight change. This is why it is recommended that babies should preferably be weighed at the times recommended above and not be weighed more often than once a month from 2 weeks to 6 months of age, no more than every 2 months up to 1 year of age, and no more than every 3 months after that, unless there are special reasons. The time between weighing is longer for older babies because they are growing less quickly.

Your baby will usually only be weighed more often than these recommendations if there are concerns about their health or growth.

Your baby’s weight and height – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Growth charts – information for parents and carers | RCPCH

What, When and How to Measure (rcpch.ac.uk)