Solid foods and milk
You'll find that as your baby eats more solid foods, the amount of milk they want will start to decrease.

Once your baby is eating plenty of solids several times a day, you may find that they take less milk at each feed or even drop a milk feed altogether. You can continue to breastfeed or you can give your baby between 500ml and 600ml (about a pint) of infant formula a day until they're at least a year old. Breastfeeding will continue to benefit you and your baby for as long as you choose to carry on.

Beakers and cups
If you're bottle feeding, it's a good idea to introduce a cup rather than a bottle from about six months onwards. By the time your baby is one, they should have stopped using bottles with teats. Otherwise, they may find it hard to break the habit of comfort sucking on a bottle.

Using an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve will help your baby learn to sip rather than suck, which is better for their teeth. Comfort sucking on sweetened drinks is the biggest cause of painful tooth decay in young children. If you use a bottle or trainer cup, don't put anything in it other than formula, breast milk or water.

Choosing a beaker or cup
It's important to choose the right kind of beaker or cup. A beaker with a free-flow lid (without a non-spill valve) is better than a bottle or beaker with a teat. Drinks flow very slowly through a teat, which means that children spend lot of time with the teat in their mouth. This can delay speech development and damage teeth, especially if they're drinking a sweetened drink. As soon as your child is ready, encourage them to move from a lidded beaker to drinking from a cup.

Drinks
Not all drinks are suitable for babies and young children. The following list explains what you should give to your child and when:

Breast milk: this is the ideal drink for babies in the first six months and beyond, alongside an increasingly varied diet.

Infant formula: usually based on cows' milk and the only alternative to breast milk in the first 12 months of your baby's life. It can be used up to the time when ordinary cows' milk can be introduced (at one year old) or beyond.

Non-cows' milk formula: only use soya-based infant formulas if your doctor advises it. Babies who are allergic to cows' milk may also be allergic to soya.

Cows' milk: whole cows' milk doesn't contain enough iron and other nutrients to meet babies' needs so it shouldn't be given as a drink to babies under one year old. It's fine to use cows' milk when cooking and preparing food for your baby. Semi-skimmed milk can be introduced once your child is two years old, provided they are a good eater and have a varied diet. Skimmed milk is not suitable for children under five. For convenience, lower-fat milks can be used in cooking from the age of one.

Goats' and sheep's milk and drinks made from oats: these are not suitable as drinks for babies under one year old as they don't contain the iron and other nutrients babies need. As long as they're pasteurised, they can be used once your baby is one year old.

Rice milk: young children (under five years) should not be given rice drinks as they contain inorganic arsenic. If your child has already had rice drinks, there is no immediate risk of harmful effects but they shouldn't have any more drinks of this kind in the future.

'Good night' milk: not suitable for babies under six months. You can start using it after this age, but you don't have to as there are no proven health benefits.

Water: fully breastfed babies don't need any water until after they've started eating solid food. Bottle-fed babies may need some extra water in hot weather. For babies under six months, use water from the mains tap in the kitchen that has been boiled then cooled. Water for babies over six months doesn't need to be boiled. If you have to use bottled water, choose one labelled as suitable for infants or which has less than 200mg of sodium per litre. Bottled water is not sterile, so it will need to be boiled and cooled if you're giving it to a baby under six months.

Fruit juices: fruit juices, such as orange juice or grapefruit juice, are a good source of vitamin C. They also contain natural sugars and acids which can cause tooth decay. Babies under six months shouldn't drink fruit juices. Vitamin C helps your baby to absorb iron. If your baby is vegetarian, you may be advised to give them diluted fruit juice (one part juice to 10 parts boiled, cooled water) with their meals after six months. (Give this at mealtimes to prevent tooth decay.)

Squashes, flavoured milk, fruit drinks and fizzy drinks: these contain sugar and can cause tooth decay even when diluted. They're not suitable for young babies. For older babies and toddlers, these drinks can lead to poor appetite, limited weight gain and, in toddlers, diarrhoea. Even those with artificial sweeteners can encourage children to develop a sweet tooth. If you want to use squashes, flavoured milk and juice drinks, keep them for mealtimes, make sure they're well diluted and always give them in a feeder cup rather than a bottle. Fizzy drinks are acidic and can damage tooth enamel so they shouldn't be given to babies and toddlers. Diet or reduced-sugar drinks are not recommended for babies and toddlers. If you give your child concentrated drinks containing saccharin, dilute them well (at least 10 parts water to one part sweetened drink).

Baby and herbal drinks: these contain sugars and are not recommended.

Hot drinks: tea and coffee aren't suitable for babies or young children. They reduce iron absorption when taken with meals and, if sugar is added, may contribute to tooth decay.