By Jo Lenz, Registered Dietitian (HCPC registered), in conversation with Mulu, founder of V&Me · Published July 2026
Start with smooth purées, finger foods, or a combination of both. There is no right or wrong method. What matters is what happens next: if you start with smooth purée, treat it as roughly a two week phase, then start thickening, because staying smooth for too long makes the end goal of family food by 12 months harder to reach. Registered dietitian Jo Lenz talked V&Me founder Mulu through exactly how to start, and here is that guidance for parents at day one.
Is my baby ready at 6 months?
The NHS recommends starting at six months, and most babies at that stage are ready and able to manage different textures for lots of physiological reasons. That includes managing without teeth: the gums are hard, and babies use their jaw muscles and tongue to squash food against the roof of the mouth. So readiness is not the worry it feels like.
The overwhelm, on the other hand, is real. Jo remembers feeling completely overwhelmed herself, still grappling with milk feeding and suddenly adding food, how many times a day, how much, what portion. Her advice is to make it as simple as possible: write a little plan for the first two weeks, a bit of vegetables just once a day, at a time of day when you are relaxed and it fits in for your family.
Purées or baby led weaning?
An individual choice, and both are absolutely fine. Some parents are keen to try baby led weaning from the get go, introducing finger foods right from six months. Others feel less confident with that and are happier and more relaxed introducing smooth purées. There is no right or wrong method. A lot of parents do a combination, a purée alongside a finger food, and a combination is often quite a nice way of doing it.
Whichever you choose, Jo recommends finger foods as early as possible even alongside purées: soft cooked vegetables in finger shapes, never chunks of raw vegetables. Her top three first finger foods and the squish test are here.
Why bitter vegetables first?
Babies have an innate liking for sweet foods, so there is research around introducing bitter tastes right from the get go: vegetables like courgette and broccoli in those first two weeks. Your baby might pull faces, and that is just them getting used to something different. It does not mean they do not like it, and it is not your sign to never offer it again. If you did not start this way, do not feel guilty or worried. It is about introducing evidence based things if you can.
Free texture progression guide download
A simple guide designed by Jo Lenz, ready to be printed and stuck to the fridge.
What happens after the first two weeks?
This is the part most parents are never told. If you started with smooth purée, the progression is not a jump to lumps. It is starting to thicken up those purées, gradually, while continuing finger foods alongside. That gradual thickening is what texture progression actually means, and it continues month by month towards two meals a day around 7 months, three by 8 to 9 months, and family food by 12. The full month by month map is here.
Starting weaning in London?
Our Ultimate Weaning Kit was built for exactly this stage: five weeks of dietitian designed meals cooked fresh each morning in our Battersea kitchen and delivered across London, with the textures and the bitter vegetables handled for you from day one. See the Ultimate Weaning Kit.
FAQs
Q: What texture should I start weaning with at 6 months?
A: Smooth purées, finger foods, or a combination. All are fine. If starting smooth, begin thickening after roughly two weeks.
Q: How many meals a day at the start of weaning?
A: One, at a relaxed time that suits your family, for roughly the first two weeks while everyone gets used to it.
Q: What are the best first foods for a baby?
A: Bitter vegetables are an evidence based first choice, because babies already have an innate liking for sweet foods. Faces pulled at bitter tastes do not mean dislike.
Q: Is baby led weaning or purée feeding better?
A: Neither. There is no right or wrong method, and a combination of purées with finger foods alongside is often a nice way in.
This article is based on a recorded conversation between Jo Lenz, registered dietitian, and Mulu, founder of V&Me. It is general guidance, not a substitute for individual medical advice. If you are concerned about your baby's feeding, speak to your GP, health visitor or a paediatric dietitian.
Jo Lenz is a registered dietitian with 19 years of experience, including 13 years in the NHS, and has worked with V&Me since it began. V&Me cooks fresh baby and toddler meals every morning in its Battersea kitchen and delivers across London.
