Stage6–8 m
6-8 months
The first real meal, and the mess that comes with it
Solids begin. The goal for these two months is not how much goes in, but getting used to spoons, flavours and textures. Milk is still the main meal; food is practice.
What to feed
- Milk
- Still the main source of nutrition: around 800-1000ml a day across 4-5 feeds.
- Meal pattern
- Start with one solid meal a day and work up to two within two months. Offer solids between milk feeds, food first and milk after.
Can start eating
- Iron-fortified cereal (first week, from 1-2 spoons to half a bowl)
- Single vegetable purees: pumpkin, carrot, broccoli, spinach
- Single fruit purees: apple, banana, avocado, pear
- Meat purees: pork, beef, chicken — far better iron sources than vegetables
- Egg yolk, then whole egg
- Liver once or twice a week: the best value source of iron and vitamin A there is
- Plain unsweetened yoghurt and cheese (milk itself still no)
Not yet
- Salt, sugar, soy sauce, stock powder: nothing added before age 1
- Honey: never before age 1
- Whole nuts, whole grapes, large chunks of meat, raw hard vegetable sticks
- Cow milk as a main drink (yoghurt and cheese are fine)
- Juice
Worth knowing
- One new food at a time, three days each, so you know what caused a reaction
- Every meal should contain something iron-rich — cereal, meat, liver or egg yolk. This is the single most important rule of this stage
- Move the texture along: puree, then thick puree, then soft lumps. Do not stay on thin puree
- Refusal is normal. A new food takes 8-15 exposures on average. Two tries proves nothing
How much sleep
12-16 hours a day
- Daytime
- 2-3 naps, 10-12 hours overnight
Once they can sit up but not lie back down, night waking often spikes. Practising lying down during the day shortens this phase.
Vaccines in this stage
Hepatitis BDose 3
6 months · National programme (free)
Completes the series
Meningococcal ADose 1
6 months · National programme (free)
InfluenzaAnnual
Annually from 6 months · Self-paid
Self-paid. Two doses four weeks apart in the first year, then annually each autumn
What most children do by now
Gross motor
- Sits without support, freeing both hands
- Spins or pushes backwards on the tummy
- Bears weight on legs when held
Fine motor
- Rakes objects with the whole hand
- Holds one object in each hand and bangs them together
- Early signs of thumb-finger pinching
Language
- Repeated syllables: "baba", "dada", "mama" — not yet aimed at anyone
- Uses sound to express feeling
- Reacts to the word no
Social and cognitive
- Stranger wariness and separation anxiety appear
- Reaches out to be picked up
- Enjoys their own reflection
This is what most children manage in this window, not a pass mark. A few months either way is common. The signals worth acting on are in the doctor section below.
Height and weight reference for this ageWhen to see a doctor
If any of these apply, do not wait for the next routine check.
- At eight months, still cannot sit unsupported
- Does not bring objects to the mouth
- No consonant sounds, no laughing out loud
- Does not recognise or respond differently to main caregivers
- Repeated coughing or gagging to the point of going blue during meals
- Rash, vomiting, diarrhoea or lip swelling after a new food — record it and see a doctor
What to practise
- 01
Let them feed themselves
How · Cut steamed carrot or banana into finger-thick sticks longer than their fist, and let them hold and gnaw.
Why · Finger food trains fine motor control, oral muscles and the idea of feeding yourself all at once. Covered in food is the correct outcome.
- 02
Set up crawling
How · Put a toy just out of reach on a floor mat and leave them to work it out.
Why · Crawling is not taught. It is forced by wanting something that is just barely out of range.
- 03
Point and name
How · Point at an object and say its name: "This is a ball. Ball." Dozens of times a day, the same words.
Why · The volume of language input at this stage correlates directly with vocabulary at age 3, and pointing while naming beats general chatter.
Day to day
- Introduce a cup from six months, open or straw, with small amounts of water (under 120ml a day)
- Baby-proof before they crawl: socket covers, corner guards, stair gates
- Brush twice a day
- Eight-month check-up
Common questions
- Should we add salt? The food seems bland.
- No salt before age 1. Infant kidneys handle sodium poorly, and taste preferences form in exactly this year — salt now means only strong flavours will do later. "Bland" is your palate, not theirs.
- They eat almost nothing. What now?
- At this stage solids are practice, not calories. If milk intake is fine, weight is on its own curve and they are alert and happy, two spoonfuls is fine. Shift your attention from how much to whether they will sit and try.
- Will finger food make them choke?
- Gagging is not choking. Gagging is protective: the face is red, there is noise, and they push the food out themselves — do not slap their back. Real choking is silent and the face goes blue, and needs immediate first aid. Everyone who cares for the baby should learn infant choking first aid.