Choking
- Always watch your baby while they are eating foods on which they could easily choke, such as raw carrot sticks, apple slices or grapes.
- Make sure you peel the skins from foods such as sausages, and remove any bones from meat or fish.
Allergies
- If you have a history of eczema, asthma or hayfever in your family then it’s particularly recommended to breastfeed for the first six months.
- When weaning your baby, introduce foods that most commonly cause allergies (milk, eggs, wheat, nuts and fish) one by one so you can spot any reactions.
Germs
- Always wash your hands before preparing your baby’s food and check his hands are clean before eating!
- Clean surfaces and tableware before you use them. If you are preparing raw meat, keep a separate chopping board for this.
- Remember you need to sterilise all of your baby’s feeding equipment, including spoons, bowls and cups, until he is one year old.
- Don’t re-use food that your baby has left at another meal. It may cause a tummy upset.
- Always wash and peel fruit and vegetables.
Storage
- Keep cooked and raw meats covered and away from each other and other foods in the fridge.
- Cooked food should only be re-heated once, and then thrown away if not eaten.
- Make sure food has cooled right down before putting it in the freezer, and make sure it’s fully thawed when defrosting.
- When re-heating food make sure it is piping hot all the way through (allow it to cool down before feeding it to your baby).
For further weaning advice, speak to your healthcare professional.