Weaning Plan (UK): How Much a 6 Month Old Eats, and a Simple 14-Day Plan

Search for "weaning plan" and you'll find charts, 10-page guides and spreadsheets. If you've got a baby who is nearly 6 months, you probably just want to know: how much do I actually put in front of them, how often, and for how long before I add more? This is that answer, in the simplest UK version we can write.

The short answer: start solids at around 6 months, when your baby can sit and hold their head steady, pick food up and get it to their mouth, and swallow it rather than spit it back. Begin with a few teaspoons once a day, before or after a usual milk feed, and build up over two weeks to two short meals a day. Breast milk or first infant formula is still the main source of nutrition until around 12 months. There are no NHS gram weights per meal — let your baby's cues set the amount, not the clock or the pouch.

When to start

The NHS says introducing solids, sometimes called weaning or complementary feeding, "should start when your baby is around 6 months old". The three readiness signs it lists need to be there together: your baby can "stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady", can "co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth by themselves", and can "swallow food (rather than spit it back out)". Starting earlier than 6 months is still a conversation with your health visitor or GP, and never before 4 months.

How much a 6 month old eats

Not very much, at the start — and that's fine. The NHS says: "In the beginning your baby will only need a small amount of food before their usual milk feed." It describes offering "just a few pieces, or teaspoons of food". There is no official gram or millilitre figure per meal in the first weeks, because the point isn't to hit a number: it's to let your baby learn the mechanics of chewing and swallowing while milk still carries the nutrition.

In practice, in our fortnight plan below, a first "meal" is one or two teaspoons; by the end of two weeks, you'll often see three or four tablespoons across a meal. Expect a lot to end up on the bib, the floor and the baby. That is weaning working as intended.

How many meals a day, by age

The NHS doesn't publish a strict schedule for the first weeks, but its progression is roughly:

• Around 6 months: start with one small "meal" a day, built around a usual milk feed.
• Around 7 months: most babies are up to two meals a day.
• From about 10 months: three meals a day, often with a snack or two, alongside milk feeds.

Milk feeds come down as food goes up, not the other way round — don't drop milk to make room for solids in the first weeks.

A simple 14-day weaning plan

Pick a time of day when you're both not tired or hungry (mid-morning or late lunchtime work well), and when you're not in a rush. Offer the food before the milk feed if you want them to try it, or after if you want to keep calories reliable while they're learning. Both are fine. Nothing in the plan below is prescriptive — slow down a day or two if your baby isn't ready for more, and skip ahead if they clearly are.

Days 1 to 3: one taste a day

• One meal a day, either before or after an existing milk feed.
• Portion: one or two teaspoons of a single, soft, cooked vegetable — think steamed carrot stick, cooked parsnip, or a soft spear of broccoli your baby can hold. Or a teaspoon or two of smooth mash.
• Sit your baby upright in a high chair, with you right next to them. Let them touch the food, make a mess, and show you when they're done.
• Milk feeds carry on as usual.

Days 4 to 7: a new food every day or two

• Still one meal a day, same time.
• Add one new vegetable or fruit every day or two. Soft, cooked, no salt added. Finger food they can grip, or a small spoon of mash — many families do both.
• Portion: whatever they eat is the right amount, somewhere between a teaspoon and a few tablespoons. Stop when they turn their head away, bat it off the spoon, or go still and uninterested.
• Offer a few sips of cooled, boiled tap water from an open or free-flow cup with the meal if you want to; it's not essential while they're still mostly on milk.
• If a food goes down happily, repeat it a couple of times — that's how you spot an allergy.

Week 2: starting a second meal

• Keep the first meal, add a second small meal on another day's schedule — many families go for an early lunch and a late breakfast.
• Keep each meal small. Four to six tablespoons across a meal is already quite a lot at this stage, if the baby wants it. Don't push.
• Start introducing the "allergen" foods one at a time, well cooked and in a safe form: smooth peanut butter stirred into porridge, mashed well-cooked egg (red lion mark, cooked solid), tiny bits of plain yoghurt, cooked flaked fish checked for bones, cow's milk in food (not as a main drink). The NHS says to introduce these early, one at a time, and watch for a reaction.
• By the end of two weeks you'll have a shortlist of 10 to 15 foods they've tried, two short meals a day, and the same milk feeds you started with.

Milk alongside solids

Breast milk or first infant formula is still "the main source of nutrition" until around 12 months, so milk feeds come first in the day and solids slot around them. Follow-on milk, "growing-up" milk and plant-based drinks are not needed in place of first infant formula. The NHS says cow's milk can be used in food from 6 months, but shouldn't be the main drink before 12 months.

First foods to try

In the first fortnight, aim for a bit of variety: a few vegetables, a couple of fruits, some soft protein. For a longer list by week and the pros of baby-led vs purees, see our baby weaning chart and schedule. In the short:

• Vegetables and fruit: cooked carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, courgette, sweet potato, parsnip; ripe banana, pear, avocado, mango — soft enough to squash between finger and thumb.
• Starchy foods: baby cereal mixed with their usual milk, porridge, soft toast fingers, well-cooked pasta.
• Protein: red-lion mark eggs cooked solid, flaked white fish checked for bones, well-cooked meat shredded or in a soft mince, lentils in a mild dhal, mashed beans.
• Dairy: plain full-fat yoghurt, soft cheese (pasteurised, not mould-ripened).

Foods to avoid at 6 months

• Salt. The NHS says: "Babies should not eat much salt, as it's not good for their kidneys." Don't add salt to the food, cooking water, or use stock cubes or gravy.
• Sugar and sweeteners. "For children aged 4 years or younger, avoid giving them food and drink with sweeteners or sugar."
• Honey. "Do not give your child honey until they're over 1 year old." It can cause infant botulism.
• Whole nuts and large pieces. "Whole nuts should not be given to children under 5 years old, as they can choke on them." Smooth nut butters stirred into other food, or crushed/ground nuts, are fine from 6 months.
• Raw or runny eggs that aren't British Lion marked. Eggs without the red lion stamp "should be cooked until both the white and yolk are solid".
• Soft mould-ripened and blue cheeses (brie, camembert, ripened goats' milk cheese, soft blue cheese) and unpasteurised dairy.
• Rice drinks. "Children under 5 years old should not have rice drinks as a substitute for breast milk or infant formula."
• Shark, swordfish and marlin. "All babies and children under 16 years old should avoid eating shark, swordfish or marlin." Raw shellfish is also out.
• Cow's milk as a main drink before 12 months (it's fine in food from 6 months).

Choking vs gagging

These look alike and feel very different. The NHS puts it simply: "Gagging is a totally normal reflex as your baby learns to chew and swallow solid foods. Gagging is loud." And then: "Choking is quiet." Gagging is noisy, red-faced and usually passes in seconds; it's how babies push food forward to try again. Choking is silent, with laboured or no breathing. If your child is choking and can't breathe, the NHS says to shout for help, get them out of the high chair, "support their chest and chin with one hand and – with the heel of your hand – give 5 sharp blows between the shoulder blades". It's worth reading the full NHS first-aid advice before you start weaning, or doing a short baby first-aid course. Always stay with your baby while they're eating.

Keeping track without the spreadsheet

In the first fortnight, the useful thing to notice is which foods have been tried, how your baby reacted, and whether milk is holding steady while solids go in. CubTrack logs meals and milk feeds side by side on the free tier, so you can glance back and see "oh, we tried egg on Tuesday and she was fine" or "milk's dropped two feeds and she hasn't quite made it up in food yet". Both parents see the same timeline for free, which is handy when one of you is doing the lunchtime meals and the other the morning milk.

Related reading

• The full baby weaning chart and schedule (6 to 12 months)
• How much milk should a baby drink?
• Newborn feeding schedule
• Baby poo colours and what they mean
• How to track feeds, sleep and nappies

Frequently asked questions

How much should a 6 month old eat?

In the first week or two, a few teaspoons once a day is plenty. By the end of a fortnight, two short meals of a few tablespoons each is a common pattern. The NHS doesn't publish a gram or millilitre target because the amount is cues-led: when your baby turns away, loses interest or goes still, they're done.

How many meals a day should a 6 month old have?

One a day to start with. By about 7 months most babies are on two meals a day, and from about 10 months, three. Milk feeds come down gradually as food goes up — don't cut milk to make room in the first weeks.

What should I give my baby on day 1 of weaning?

Something soft, cooked and single-ingredient: a steamed carrot stick, a spear of soft-cooked broccoli, or a teaspoon or two of smooth sweet-potato mash. Sit your baby upright, next to you, and let them explore. The amount they eat isn't the point on day 1.

Do I feed solids before or after milk?

Either. The NHS describes solids as going "before their usual milk feed" at the start — but a tired, hungry baby won't try new food, so after milk is fine too. Most families drift towards offering solids about an hour after a milk feed once a routine settles.

Can I start weaning at 4 or 5 months?

The NHS says around 6 months. If you think your baby is ready earlier, talk to your health visitor first — never start before 4 months. Our full weaning guide has the longer answer.

Do I have to do baby-led weaning?

No. The NHS doesn't require one approach: finger foods, spoon-fed purees and a mix of both all work. Most UK families end up with a bit of each. The weaning guide walks through the pros of each.

Should I give my baby water with meals?

You can offer a few sips of cooled, boiled tap water from an open or free-flow cup with a meal from 6 months. It's not essential while they're mostly on milk — but it's a good habit to start.

How do I introduce peanut safely?

Stir a thin layer of smooth peanut butter into porridge or yoghurt — never a spoonful of neat peanut butter (too sticky) and never whole or chopped nuts under 5 years. Offer it once, in the day, when you can watch for a reaction. The NHS says to introduce the common allergen foods one at a time from around 6 months.

Weaning and feeding information checked against the NHS in November 2026 (NHS, "Baby's first solid foods", reviewed 19 February 2026, and NHS, "Foods to avoid giving babies and young children", reviewed 18 February 2026). This is general information, not medical advice; speak to your health visitor or GP about your baby. CubTrack is made by OakFox Limited.