First foods should be rich in iron. Try iron-fortified cereal and cooked beef, lamb, pork, chicken, tofu, legumes or egg.

Include other healthy foods like vegetables, fruit, grains and dairy. For example, try banana, avocado, pear, pumpkin, peas, oats or yoghurt. Include foods that can cause allergies, like cooked egg and peanut butter. You can mix foods and introduce them in any order.

First foods can be smooth or finely mashed. Gradually move on to roughly mashed or minced foods and then chopped foods. Try broccoli, carrot, flaky fish with no bones, pasta, rice, couscous, berries, citrus fruit and stone fruit.

Step 1: to make pureed or mashed baby food, wash fruit and vegetables and peel any skin. Trim fat from meats. Remove skin from chicken or fish.

Step 2: steam, microwave or boil the foods until soft and cooked. Set aside some of the cooking liquids.

Step 3: puree or mash food, adding cooking liquid if needed. In the early days, chop meat finely or puree. Remove bones from fish.

Store baby food in sealed, clean containers. Keep for up to 2 days in the fridge or 30 days in the freezer. Label containers with contents and date of cooking.

To freeze, spoon pureed or mashed baby food into clean ice cube trays. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and label. Store in the freezer for no more than 30 days.

To serve, pop out food cubes into a bowl or saucepan. Warm food in the microwave or on the stove. Stir well to get rid of hot spots. Test temperature with a clean spoon on your lip before serving to baby. Discard any leftovers – don’t reuse later.