Baby food seven month old

When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods | Nutrition

For more information about how to know if your baby is ready to starting eating foods, what first foods to offer, and what to expect, watch these videos from 1,000 Days.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children be introduced to foods other than breast milk or infant formula when they are about 6 months old. Introducing foods before 4 months old is not recommended. Every child is different. How do you know if your child is ready for foods other than breast milk or infant formula? You can look for these signs that your child is developmentally ready.

Your child:

Sits up alone or with support.
Is able to control head and neck.
Opens the mouth when food is offered.
Swallows food rather than pushes it back out onto the chin.
Brings objects to the mouth.
Tries to grasp small objects, such as toys or food.
Transfers food from the front to the back of the tongue to swallow.

What Foods Should I Introduce to My Child First?

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that for most children, you do not need to give foods in a certain order. Your child can begin eating solid foods at about 6 months old. By the time he or she is 7 or 8 months old, your child can eat a variety of foods from different food groups. These foods include infant cereals, meat or other proteins, fruits, vegetables, grains, yogurts and cheeses, and more.

If your child is eating infant cereals, it is important to offer a variety of fortifiedalert icon infant cereals such as oat, barley, and multi-grain instead of only rice cereal. Only providing infant rice cereal is not recommended by the Food and Drug Administration because there is a risk for children to be exposed to arsenic. Visit the U.S. Food & Drug Administrationexternal icon to learn more.

How Should I Introduce My Child to Foods?

Your child needs certain vitamins and minerals to grow healthy and strong.

Now that your child is starting to eat food, be sure to choose foods that give your child all the vitamins and minerals they need.

Click here to learn more about some of these vitamins & minerals.

Let your child try one single-ingredient food at a time at first. This helps you see if your child has any problems with that food, such as food allergies. Wait 3 to 5 days between each new food. Before you know it, your child will be on his or her way to eating and enjoying lots of new foods.

Introduce potentially allergenic foods when other foods are introduced.

Potentially allergenic foods include cow’s milk products, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame. Drinking cow’s milk or fortified soy beverages is not recommended until your child is older than 12 months, but other cow’s milk products, such as yogurt, can be introduced before 12 months. If your child has severe eczema and/or egg allergy, talk with your child’s doctor or nurse about when and how to safely introduce foods with peanuts.

How Should I Prepare Food for My Child to Eat?

At first, it’s easier for your child to eat foods that are mashed, pureed, or strained and very smooth in texture. It can take time for your child to adjust to new food textures. Your child might cough, gag, or spit up. As your baby’s oral skills develop, thicker and lumpier foods can be introduced.

Some foods are potential choking hazards, so it is important to feed your child foods that are the right texture for his or her development. To help prevent choking, prepare foods that can be easily dissolved with saliva and do not require chewing. Feed small portions and encourage your baby to eat slowly. Always watch your child while he or she is eating.

Here are some tips for preparing foods:

Mix cereals and mashed cooked grains with breast milk, formula, or water to make it smooth and easy for your baby to swallow.
Mash or puree vegetables, fruits and other foods until they are smooth.
Hard fruits and vegetables, like apples and carrots, usually need to be cooked so they can be easily mashed or pureed.
Cook food until it is soft enough to easily mash with a fork.
Remove all fat, skin, and bones from poultry, meat, and fish, before cooking.
Remove seeds and hard pits from fruit, and then cut the fruit into small pieces.
Cut soft food into small pieces or thin slices.
Cut cylindrical foods like hot dogs, sausage and string cheese into short thin strips instead of round pieces that could get stuck in the airway.
Cut small spherical foods like grapes, cherries, berries and tomatoes into small pieces.
Cook and finely grind or mash whole-grain kernels of wheat, barley, rice, and other grains.

Learn more about potential choking hazards and how to prevent your child from choking.

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A Cheat Sheet for Parents

7-month-old baby food: What’s right?

Just like with adults, every child is slightly different and thus has a unique appetite. Babies are born with the innate ability to self-regulate feeding capacity. In other words, they know when they are finished or full.

You’ve probably already taken note of this during breastfeeding. They’ll latch on when they’re hungry and stop when they’re satisfied. If you’ve had trouble with this, consider looking into how to use a nipple shield while breastfeeding to address latching issues.

You’ll likely be able to tell when your baby is ready for solid food, since they’ll show obvious signs of agitation and hunger after breastfeeding. Usually, this happens at about the 6-month mark, and baby food for a 7-month-old frequently starts to consist of more solid foods. The signs of readiness for solid foods include hand-to-mouth coordination, decreased tongue protrusion reflex, sitting without support, and opening mouth to spoon. You may continue breastfeeding, as well, until you decide an appropriate time to stop.

Perhaps you’ve already been feeding your baby solids for a month or so, but you want to make sure you have your information straight, or maybe you’ve been wondering how many jars of baby food for a 7-month-old is appropriate. You’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a closer look.

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Baby food list for a 7-month-old

When you’re ready to start feeding your baby solid food, you’ve got an array of options to choose from. These foods help ensure that your baby gets sufficient amounts of the nutrients and vitamins they need to continue down the road of healthy development.

Before you dive into the list, make sure you only introduce a little bit of one food at a time — about 1–2 tablespoons to start is good. New foods should be introduced individually and about a week apart in order to identify any allergies and intolerance the baby may have. It’s best to introduce foods from most bland to sweetest.

If you haven’t already started feeding your child solids, start with the following baby food for your 7-month-old:

Pea puree: Peas have iron, protein, calcium, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C, which are all important for encouraging and promoting the healthy development of your child.
Baby brown rice cereal: This cereal is easy to digest and it’s unlikely that your child will suffer an allergic reaction to it.
Baked sweet potato puree: Adults benefits from sweet potatoes, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that your baby will benefit from this antioxidant, nutrient, and vitamin blend.
Banana Puree: Bananas are easy to digest and won’t upset the stomach. However, avoid feeding your child too much, as a lot of banana can result in constipation, which isn’t fun for you or your baby.
Carrot Puree: Babies usually love carrot puree because of the sweet taste. It’s also packed full of antioxidants and various vitamins and minerals.
Avocado Puree: This can provide a pleasant texture and introduce good fats into your child’s diet.

If you’ve already introduced solid baby food for your 7-month-old, you may begin slowly presenting more thick purees and foods to your child’s diet, including:

Pumpkin thyme puree: It’s loaded with iron, potassium, and beta carotene.
Varieties of veggies: Puree different vegetable combinations, such as spinach with yams.
Fruits: New fruits may include pears, papayas, and blueberries. Blend them into a puree for easy eating.

Avoid foods that are choking risks, including small fruits, raw vegetables, nuts, candy, gum, and whole grapes. Children under the age of five are at risk of choking on grapes and similarly shaped foods, and parents should cut them in half or quarters.

How to know if your baby is ready for solids

Most babies are ready for solid foods by 6 months of age. Yet, there are tell-tale signs that can help you determine if it’s the right time to introduce them.

Certain developmental stages should be reached before you feed your baby solid foods. They should be able to sit up unsupported, as well as keep their head stable and upright. Your baby should not be pushing the solid food out of their mouth, and they should have good hand-to-mouth coordination.

You may also be ready to alter your 7-month-old baby food menu when your child begins taking increasingly longer breastfeeding sessions. They may still seem hungry after your normal duration, indicating that it’s time to start introducing other foods besides breast milk.

If your 7-month-old isn’t ready for solids, don’t panic. It’s absolutely normal for different babies to be ready at different times. Most babies’ development won’t be impacted if they continue with just breast milk until 9–12 months of age.

7-month-old baby food recipes

If your baby is all set and ready to eat solids, it’s cooking time. There are a variety of 7-month-old baby food recipes you can begin to create, including the following three. Similar to storing breast milk, these purees can be frozen but should be used within about six months.

Pea puree: This one is great for newbies to solid food. In other words, if your child has just begun eating solids, this is a good one to start with — and it’s simple. Take 3 cups of frozen peas and half a cup of breast milk. Boil water, lower the heat, and add the peas, steaming them for about 15 minutes. Blend the peas and the breast milk in a food processor, filtering any lumps that remain using a strainer. Freeze the batch in an ice cube tray. When you’re ready to feed your little one, simply take out one pea puree ice cube and heat it up until warm. Make sure it’s not too hot!
Spinach and white yam puree: You’ll need about a half pound of washed spinach and a half pound of white yams, as well as either 1.5 cups of water or sodium-free vegetable broth. Chop up the yams into small cubes. Bring them to a boil in the liquid of your choice, then let them simmer for about 10–15 minutes. Put the spinach in and wait until the spinach is cooked, which should only take a few minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat, then blend it all in a food processor. You can freeze it in a similar way to the pea puree recipe.
Blueberry and beet mash-up: Grab 2 mid-sized beets and a half cup of fresh or frozen blueberries. Remove the skin of the beets and chop them up into small cubes. Place the cubes in a saucepan with the blueberries, and pour just enough water to cover the contents. Cover and cook for about 10–15 minutes on medium-high heat. Make sure the beets are tender before removing them from the heat. Blend everything in a food processor and freeze them similar to the above recipes.

How much baby food does a 7-month-old need?

Now, you’re probably wondering how much baby food for a 7-month-old is enough? The answer is that it varies depending on the baby. While all babies are a bit different, a typical 7-month-old will have three meals a day. These meals may be anywhere from less than a tablespoon to two tablespoons in size. Some babies may consume up to eight or twelve tablespoons per day; it depends on their size and appetite.

In terms of breastfeeding, usually a 7-month-old baby nurses for 3–4 hours a day. Your baby may consume a total of about 25 ounces of breast milk every day at this age.

The daily caloric requirements for babies aged 7–9 months is around 825 kcal/day for boys and around 765 kcal/day for girls.

7-month-old baby food menu: Feeding tips

Lastly, let’s leave you with some feeding tips and tricks regarding 7-month-old baby food.

Strict guidelines don’t exist for baby food or when to feed your baby. It depends on where your baby is at in development, though most doctors recommend steering clear of processed foods and sticking to simple purees as outlined above.

Some foods should be avoided. 7-month-old baby food to avoid includes honey, cow’s milk, raw vegetables, nuts, small fruits, candy, gum, and any other food that could pose a choking hazard.

Don’t force it. The general rule is to feed at the earliest sign of hunger and stop at the earliest sign of satiety. If your child doesn’t want solid food, they may not be ready or may not be hungry.

If you’re struggling with it, allow your baby to handle a small spoon after breastfeeding. This may help your child associate the spoonfed foods with the comfort that comes with breastfeeding.

Ensure your child is sitting upright. This prevents choking. Consider using a high chair if necessary.

If you’re having trouble breastfeeding or notice you feel sore on one side, consider switching positions. Various breastfeeding positions exist and can make the whole process easier for you and your baby.

Check with your healthcare provider before attempting to feed your baby solid foods. Your doctor knows what is good for you and your baby and can give good advice regarding your specific situation. Doctors are able to offer advice and recommendations on medicine you can take while breastfeeding, other breastfeeding issues or problems, the types of foods that are safe for you and your baby, how much solid food you should start with when feeding your child, and what foods you should stay away from at the 7 month mark.

Enjoy this time and explore foods that you know are safe to feed your little one at 7-months-old. Don’t forget to introduce only small amounts of new foods at first and remember that every baby is unique. If your child isn’t ready for solid foods yet, it’s not necessarily a reason to panic. Every child develops at their own pace. Before you know it, they’ll be eating all on their own!

Diet for a child aged 7 months

When compiling a diet for a seven-month-old baby, distribute the products so that you get a certain prototype of the menu of an already grown-up child with breakfast and lunch.

At this age, the yolk of a boiled chicken egg, a valuable source of fat, vitamin B12, A, phosphorus and selenium, is introduced into the child's diet. Chopped yolk can be added to porridge or vegetable puree.

At the age of 7 months, you can already give your baby a cracker (in the form of dried bread) and baby biscuits.

The volume of fruit puree and juice is increased to 70 g.

It is still better to give preference to commercially produced complementary foods, given their high degree of safety and variety. If the baby does not perceive a new product the first time, it can be mixed with an already familiar product.

Approximate diet for a child aged 7 months.

I feeding 6 hours	Breast milk or VHI*	200 ml
II feeding 10 hours	Dairy-free or milk porridge ** Butter Boiled egg yolk Supplementation with breast milk or VHI	150 g about ½ tsp. ¼ pcs 50 ml
III feeding 14 hours	Vegetable puree Vegetable oil Meat puree Fruit juice	170 g approx. 1 tsp. 30 g 70 ml
IV feeding 18 hours	Fruit puree Baby biscuits Breast milk supplement or VHI	70 g 1-2 pcs 130 ml
V feeding 22 hours	Breast milk or VHI	200 ml

* - infant formula
** - dairy-free porridge should be diluted with breast milk or infant formula that the child receives. Milk porridge is diluted with water.

Approximate diet of a 7-month-old child with cow's milk protein allergy:

I feeding 6 hours	Breast milk or formula for infants with intolerance to cow's milk proteins	200 ml
II feeding 10 hours	Dairy-free porridge* Vegetable oil Fruit puree (apple, pear)	130 g approx. 1 tsp. 70 g
III feeding 14 hours	Vegetable puree Vegetable oil Meat puree (rabbit, turkey)	170 g approx. 1 tsp. 30 g
IV feeding 18 hours	Vegetables or dairy-free porridge** Vegetable oil Meat puree	180 g approx. 1 tsp. 20 g
V feeding 22 hours	Breast milk or medicated formula for infants with cow's milk protein intolerance	200 ml

* - dairy-free porridge should be diluted with breast milk or formula for children with intolerance to cow's milk proteins.
** - you can either alternate porridge or vegetables, or offer a mixed dish - porridge with vegetables.

Baby menu at 7 months: what is possible and what is not yet

- Anastasia Ivanovna, what are the nutritional features of children at 7 months?

- The menu for a baby at seven months is different from the menu for a newborn and a baby at one year old. This difference exists due to the fact that a number of body systems, including the gastrointestinal tract and oral cavity, have not yet been formed in a newborn, he is only learning to suck. From four to six months, the diet begins to include complementary foods - food that is different from breast milk or infant formula. In the year of the child, in ideal conditions, they are transferred to a common table.

Some pediatricians recommend introducing complementary foods from five to six months, sometimes even from four. But the enzymatic system of the baby's body has not yet been formed, so pedagogical complementary foods are possible at four or five months, and pediatric complementary foods by six months.

— How to combine breastfeeding or bottle feeding with complementary foods?

— Pediatricians and nutritionists recommend separating these meals and giving the main dairy food and complementary foods in separate meals so that the child understands what he is eating.

If complementary foods started at 4-5 months

— What rules of baby food should parents know?

— The functions of the gastrointestinal tract are formed in such a way that the body needs to adapt to the incoming products. With proper complementary foods, it is important to monitor the child's condition in the food diary and, if necessary, consult a doctor.

Basic feeding recommendations for seven-month-old babies

One new product is given in small doses at the beginning of the day every four days to monitor for allergies, constipation, peeling and other reactions.
One new food can be given per feeding.
Water is best offered between feedings and not given with complementary foods.
Do not force-feed: if the child refuses a certain dish, it can be offered at another time and in a different form.
The child is not given unfamiliar food when he is not in a very good mood, teething, or has just been vaccinated.

- How to identify food allergies and find the allergen?

- Observant mothers will see or hear the problem. The baby will have something on the body, constipation or indigestion will begin. A restless child will cry. To track the allergen, it is advisable to keep a food diary and keep your finger on the pulse. If there is a connection with the pediatrician, ask questions and, taking into account the vaccination calendar, the physiology of the development of your child, offer him certain products so as not to once again provoke an immune response.

What foods can be given at 7 months

Read also

Why it is necessary to introduce meat complementary foods into the baby's diet and with what products it can be combined.

- What purees and cereals can be given at 7 months?

- If this is the first complementary food for a baby, then monocomponent purees, dairy-free and milk porridges with one cereal in the composition are good: they are easier to digest and it is easier to track the reaction of the body using them.

— In what order can complementary foods be given?

— If your baby is overweight by the age of seven months, it is better to feed him vegetable puree. If everything is in order with weight, then preference can be given to cereals. All new products are introduced gradually: they begin to feed in the amount of 5-10 g, gradually increasing the volume to 50 g. By seven months, a portion of porridge at one time can reach up to 200 g. The third option for complementary foods, if parents want, can be fruit. It is in this sequence, because fruits are sweet, and the child does not always eat unleavened vegetables or cereals after them.

Each product will also have its own processing specifics:

vegetables and fruits are given in the form of puree;
purchased cereals are prepared according to the instructions;
homemade porridges are boiled in water, then milk or mixture is added if desired;
cottage cheese is properly stored in the refrigerator, tracking the expiration date;
dairy, vegetable broths are brought to a single consistency (puree) so that the child develops the correct perception of the product.

— How many times to feed a baby at 7 months and how much food to give?

- You need to focus on five feedings per day. If your baby cannot tolerate the interval between meals, it is worth supplementing with breast or formula after the introduction of complementary foods.

How to calculate complementary foods

A baby at seven months should weigh about eight kilograms. 1/8 of the child's weight is the daily amount of food, that is, approximately a kilogram of food, taking into account all feedings, or 200 grams per meal.

Sample menu for a 7-month-old baby (Russian Federation)

— At what age can semi-solid and solid foods be introduced into a child's diet?

- By 6 months, most babies are ready for a new food: the baby realizes that something is hard in his mouth. By the age of seven months, the skill of palmar grip is formed: the child is able to hold solid food in his hand, and he can be given biscuits and crackers to grind. Allergists and pediatricians consider 6-10 months as the optimal period to begin the introduction of semi-solid and solid foods. But if the swallowing apparatus is not formed, there may be problems with chewing and swallowing disorders up to the gag reflex.

— What should parents do if their child refuses to eat? How to create food interest?

— It is necessary to understand the reasons for the baby's refusal to eat, among which may be: The pediatrician will track changes in health by analysis and, if necessary, adjust the diet.

At seven months, significant changes occur in the work of the gastrointestinal tract, the child actively shows interest in "adult" products, in new tastes. It will be easier for the baby to readjust if you choose products that will match his physiology and fully cover his needs for growth and communication.