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No two children are the same – such a truism particularly when it comes to weaning. My first born child, a boy, was a nightmare ! I devoured the advice on weaning, equipped myself with colourful bowls and spoons, bibs, messy mats and highchairs; I slaved over a cooker making nutritious foods using the ultimate baby recipes, pureed my days away, froze the results in ice cubes – but he just refused to take the tiniest spoonful. We had to distract him with toys – even a battery operated helicopter we attached to the ceiling so that when he looked up in wonder, open mouthed we shovelled in the contents of his bowl as fast as we could ! My daughter on the other hand was a dream to wean – from 6 months old, she led the way, enjoying every mouthful from finger foods, to pureed veggies, sipped water from a beaker and did everything expected of her the text book way.

Was he a fussy eater, did my anxiety over the introduction of solids affect him, who knows ? But they both got there in the end and both love their food now, particularly their veggies, so I must have done something right ! There is a lot of conflicting advice out there so it can be very confusing particularly for new parents.

At  6 months old a baby is ready to cope with digesting solid food then more textures and tastes around 7 months and a wider variety of family food between 9-12 months. The advice is to let the baby lead the way and how your baby eats depends on their appetite so never force them to eat. Allow plenty of time, go at your baby's pace and stop when they show signs they've had enough. In the same way you follow your baby's cues when offering them breast or bottle feeds and learn to recognise when they're hungry and when they've had enough.

At six months your baby’s tummy is tiny and there’s only so much food they can fit in. However, they’re growing fast so make sure they get enough calories by giving full-fat versions of milk and dairy products. If they’re not interested in finishing all their dinner, don’t force it, their tummy might be full. Or baby could be taking time to get used to this new dining experience.

You will need a high-chair as the baby needs to be sitting upright so they can swallow properly, a beaker or cup to help the baby learn to sip, soft weaning spoons, plastic bowls with a suction base, easy to clean pelican bibs and most importantly of all a messy mat to collect the detritus under the feeding chair! It does get messy!!

It may take 10 tries or more for your baby to get used to new foods, flavours and textures and some days they eat more, some less, and then days when they reject everything. It is normal as I well know but try and be patient and allow at least ten attempts for the baby to get used to new foods. Wean with vegetables first, no fruit, for the first few weeks to help set up healthy food habits for life introducing single flavours so your baby learns each vegetable’s taste and you can note any reactions.

The advice is to begin with simple vegetables like pureed sweet potato or carrot and try to feed before their usual milk. Then introduce a new single ‘bitter’ vegetable every day, e.g. broccoli, parsnip, beetroot, courgette, asparagus, and kale for one week. Then repeat this process for the second week. No salt or sugar either, as these are not recommended for babies. At stage one of weaning baby is eating very small portions, so they still need nutrients from milk and alongside milk water is best and plenty of it during the day.

It isn’t easy as I well know, but stay calm, be patient, follow the cues and you’ll get there – sooner or later !