Your baby's first solid foods should be simple foods that they can easily digest, like vegetables, fruit or rice.
You could try:

• mashed or pureed cooked parsnip, potato, yam, sweet potato or carrot,
• mashed or pureed banana, avocado, cooked apple or pear,
• mashed or pureed rice or baby rice (mix the rice with a bit of your baby's usual milk), or
• pieces of soft fruit or vegetables that are small enough for your baby to pick up.

Once your baby has got used to eating vegetables and fruit, you can start adding other foods, such as:

• mashed or pureed meat, fish and chicken,
• lentils (dhal), split pulses or hummus,
• full-fat dairy products, such as yoghurt, fromage frais or custard (choose lower sugar varieties), and
• small pieces of toast.

Most babies can chew soft lumps, such as mashed banana, mashed vegetables or cottage cheese even if they have no teeth. Varying the texture of your baby's food will get them used to chewing and help the development of the muscles used for speaking.

See how your baby responds to different flavours and textures. How much your baby eats is less important than getting them used to the idea of food other than milk.

Finger foods
Even if your baby doesn't have any teeth, you can encourage them to chew by giving them finger foods. These are small pieces of food they can pick up and hold in their hands. When you give them finger foods, your child will learn the new skill of feeding themselves. Ideal finger foods are:

• cooked and cooled broccoli or cauliflower florets, green beans, carrot or courgette sticks,
• cubes of cheese,
• fingers of toast, bread crusts, pitta bread or chapatti,
• rice cakes,
• cooked pasta shapes, and
• pieces of peeled raw apple (large enough for your baby to gnaw on), peach, pear, melon or banana.

It's best to avoid sweet biscuits and rusks so that your baby doesn't get into the habit of expecting sweet snacks.

Don't worry if feeding your baby is messy. It's natural for babies to want to touch or play with their food when they're beginning to feed themselves. It's all part of the learning process. A plastic tablecloth, newspapers or an old sheet or towel on the floor will make it easier to clean.

Ready-prepared baby foods
It can be useful to have a few jars, tins or packets of baby food in the cupboard, but it's not recommended to use them all the time. If you buy ready-prepared baby foods:

• check the 'use by' and 'best before' dates,
• check that the seals on cans and jars haven't been broken,
• carefully read the instructions for preparing the food, and
• choose sugar-free foods or foods with no added sugars or sweeteners.

Although the labels on some baby foods say 'suitable from four months', health experts agree that around six months is the best age to start introducing solid foods.

Check the label of any food product you use to make family meals. Many sauces, soups, breakfast cereals and ready-prepared meals are high in salt and sugars. Look for healthier versions.

Choking
Babies can choke on hard foods such as raw carrot sticks or large pieces of apple, small round foods like grapes and cherry tomatoes and foods with skin (such as sausages) or bones (such as fish).

Peel the skin off fruit and vegetables and remove all bones from fish. You could also cut food into small pieces and lightly cook vegetables before feeding them to your baby. Do not leave your child alone when they're eating.