Many parents have heard of bottle propping, also known as prop feeding. And most of us have seen babies sucking quietly away on their own.

Bottle propping is when, instead of the baby being held to drink their bottle, they are on their own. The bottle is supported by a pillow or blanket, even a soft toy so that it’s angled with the milk filling the neck of the bottle and the teat. The baby lies in their cot/pram/on the floor sucking away on their own.

There’s so much information about when to introduce solid foods to babies that it’s easy to become confused. And everyone has their own opinion about when this should happen. But when deciding what advice to follow about important things, evidence should always be the basis for making up our minds.