Food for 7 mos old baby

Giving Baby Finger Foods at 7-8 Months

Written by Rebecca Felsenthal Stewart

Reviewed by Dan Brennan, MD on August 09, 2022

Month 7, Week 3

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Once your baby is a pro at eating soft mashed foods, they may be ready to move on to finger foods around 8 months. They have the dexterity to pick the food up and release it or mash it, and will become more efficient and independent as they master the pincer grip around 9 months. At that point they'll be able to use their thumb and forefinger to pick up the small chunks of food.

Your baby may grab at everything on your plate, but follow these guidelines for healthy and safe feedings.

Start with menu items like pieces of soft cheese; small pieces of pasta or bread; finely chopped soft vegetables; and fruits like bananas, avocado, and ripe peaches or nectarines. These foods should require minimal chewing, as your baby may not yet have teeth. Do NOT let them have hot dogs, raw vegetables, nuts, meats, hard candy, or sticky textures such as nut butters that have increased choking risks at this stage.
Introduce new foods one at a time in case there are any concers about allergies.
Chop all foods into soft, bite-sized pieces, 1/2 inch or smaller.
Watch out for choking hazards: Avoid round, firm foods like carrots, grapes, and hot dogs and skip anything like raw veggies and peanuts. Raisins and popcorn are dangerous for babies.
Keep up your formula or breastfeeding schedule, but as your baby eats more solids, they’ll naturally start to take less milk. Your baby needs to start eating more solids and drinking less milk for the nutritional value at this stage.

Your Baby's Development This Week

Your baby is getting stronger and may even be moving around, whether they are sliding around on their belly in reverse, scooting on their behind, or actually crawling forward. If you haven’t childproofed your house already, don’t wait any longer!

You may notice these growing signs of motor development:

Your baby is probably now able to sit on their own for several minutes, without using their hands for support and they may be able to get up into a sitting position all by themselves.
While you offer them support, they should be able to bounce up and down, and possibly even pull up to a stand.
Their little hands are increasingly agile -- they are getting better at passing a toy back and forth from one to the other.

You might wonder about:

Their vision. Your baby should be able to see nearly as far as an adult by now and can track moving objects with their eyes.
Stranger anxiety. You’re not imagining it: They may fear new people and situations. So give them time to warm up and reassure them if they are upset.
What they can understand. Your baby might comprehend more than you realize, so it’s important to keep talking to them about everything you’re doing and try to be consistent about the words you use for familiar objects.

Month 7 Week 3 Tips

tips

If food allergies run in the family, talk to your pediatrician about introducing highly allergenic foods like peanuts and eggs.
Fried foods are not good choices for babies. If you offer them at all, do so rarely.
Avoid feeding your baby juice unless it is fresh-squeezed.
By now, your baby’s diet should include grains, fruits, vegetables, and meats, and they should be eating two to three meals a day.
In addition to rice, barley, or oat cereal, you can introduce grain products your baby can grab, such as toast, crackers, and dry cereal. Avoid any colorful, sugary cereals.
Sit baby in their high-chair for feeding time. If they eat finger foods while crawling around, they are more likely to choke.
You’re not done with breast feeding or bottle feeding. Your baby is starting the transition, but breast milk and formula are still key.
Pureeing or mashing vegetables may make them easier for your baby to eat when they are first transitioning from a liquid diet to solids.

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The Best First Foods for Babies 6 to 9 Months – Happiest Baby

By Happiest Baby Staff

You've spent the first six months of your baby's life making sure that they are nourished with breastmilk or formula. As they grow and thrive, you might notice that your little sprout shows you some signs that they are ready to graduate from the bottle or breast to solid foods. If your baby can sit up and hold their head up, that's a great first sign! What's more, if they bring objects to their mouth and show an interest in what you are eating, your curious kiddo might be ready to start eating solid foods.

But what should you feed your baby? Here’s a list of perfect starter foods for your baby from ages 6 to 9 months.

Best Baby Foods at 6 Months

At 6 months, babies may be starting to chew. Though this skill won’t be mastered just yet, they are typically ready to get messy with some mushy, pureed eats—helping them learn about flavor and texture. At this age, the goal is not to satiate your baby with full meals of solid foods but rather to get your child curious and excited about their culinary options.

Because babies are growing so fast, their needs for iron are high to prevent iron-deficiency and support their overall health. Offer your little one iron rich foods like—infant cereal (read up on why you may want to skip rice cereal), well-cooked meat, poultry, mashed beans, and lentils. To keep your baby safe from choking, avoid adding solids like cereal to baby bottles.

Here are some great first foods for Baby to try:

Infant oat, grain, or barley cereals mixed with breastmilk or formula and spoon-fed to your baby
Sweet potato puree
Squash puree
Pea puree
Carrot puree
Mashed banana
Mashed avocado
Mashed or pureed beans
Mashed or pureed lentils
Pureed meats (beef, chicken, or turkey)
Soft, falling apart meats (salmon, beef, chicken, turkey)

Check out more of our favorite first food purees. Or, if purees aren’t your thing, read up on how to start baby-led weaning.

Best Baby Foods at 7 Months

By 7 months old, your baby will probably be eating more solids but not enough to replace breastmilk or formula as their primary source of food. The goal for this month is to keep introducing solid foods to your baby. What's fun is by 7 months, you can get more creative with mixing flavors and adding textures.

Here are a few nutritious and delicious food combos to try with your baby:

Peas pureed with breastmilk (or formula), sweet potatoes, or squash
Kale pureed with blueberry, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, pears, or bananas
Apples pureed with cauliflower, carrots, pears, prunes, or beets
Beef pureed with broccoli
Chicken pureed with carrots and potatoes
Chickpeas pureed with bananas, apples, or sweet potato
Sweet potatoes pureed with red bell pepper

Seven months is also the perfect age to start giving your baby a plate, bowl, and plastic utensils so they can begin to practice feeding themselves. If your baby is teething, you can place frozen chunks of fruit in a sieve feeder/mesh bag that allows them to gnaw on the fruit without choking. Learn more about helping your baby use a fork and spoon!

Best Baby Foods at 8 Months

By 8 months, your baby is likely eating more solids and relying a little less on milk as a primary meal (though it’s still where they get the bulk of their nutrition!). And they’re probably having lots of fun learning how to use their hands to feed themselves. Something else to consider: Babies should be exposed to potential allergen foods (like peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and fish) before their first birthdays to help prevent future food allergies. Starting at 6 months of age, peanut butter is safe to introduce as long as you are comfortable giving it to your baby.

In fact, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans says that babies can begin having these foods when they start eating solids. But many families often feel more comfortable waiting to introduce these foods until around this age. Of course, consult with your little one’s pediatrician if you have concerns about potential allergen foods.

Here are some foods to add to your repertoire:

Whole eggs, scrambled
Nut butter thinned out with water and mixed with cereal (nut butters are sticky and can cause choking)
Fully cooked fish, like salmon or tuna
Full-fat yogurt

Here are some preparation ideas:

Well-cooked (think over-cooked until falling apart) pasta such as elbows or alphabet shapes
Mashed meat with mashed or ground vegetables such as peas and potatoes or kale and squash
Rainbow on a plate: Using tiny pieces of soft, strained, pureed, and mashed food options, look for a variety of colors to offer. Some fun options could include banana, avocado, sweet potato, peas, blueberry, raspberry, cheese, and chicken.

Best Baby Foods at 9 Months

Though there’s a greater variety of foods babies eat now, formula or breastmilk continues to be their primary source of nutrition until age 1. At 9 months old, babies get more comfortable with self-feeding and eating the foods their families enjoy. After all, eating solid foods is a sensory wonderland of texture, smells, and tastes. Not to mention all that fun making messes with those adorably curious fingers.

As you begin to focus on meal planning for your baby, there are few things to keep in mind:

Babies need four to five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. A serving size for a 9-month-old is less than a quarter cup.
"Eat the rainbow" is excellent advice because it gives your baby exposure to lots of different fruits, vegetables, grains, and starches.

Here are a few menu ideas to help meal plan for your baby…

Breakfast Ideas for Babies

These morning meals pack a nutritional punch—and don’t forget to check out all of our favorite breakfast ideas for babies:

Soft fresh fruit cut up in small pieces (think: banana, raspberries, or blueberries)
Whole-grain waffles or pancakes
Unsweetened oatmeal made with breastmilk or formula combined with cut-up and cooked apples and pears or banana slices. (It is essential to steam the apples or pears to make them soft enough for your baby to mash with their gums.)
Full-fat yogurt mixed with mashed or pureed berries such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, or raspberries
Soft scrambled eggs
Veggie frittata

Lunch Ideas for Babies

Spread hummus on soft crackers or bread
Grilled cheese sandwich with cooled tomato soup
Macaroni and cheese with cooked veggies like peas and carrots mixed in
Pizza bites with chopped bits of spinach in the sauce and melted shredded cheese
Quesadilla made with pureed spinach, squash, or beans

Snack Ideas for Babies

Babies this young won’t likely need to snack too much (remember, breastmilk or formula will provide the majority of your little one’s nutrition). Still, it’s not a bad idea to have snacks on hand for when your mini muncher needs something to eat that’s not quite a meal. A few baby snack ideas:

Apple and carrot slaw
Cheese slices
Full-fat plain yogurt
Hard-boiled egg
Avocado slices
Muffins made with fruits, veggies, and/or whole grains
Fruit and veggie pouches
Sugar-free, whole-grain cereal, like plain Cheerios

Dinner Ideas for Babies

To help your baby get and stay excited about eating solid foods, serve a version of whatever the family is having for dinner. Remember to steam or mash, grind or chop foods into appropriate softness and sizes to prevent choking. Some baby dinner ideas:

Pasta with softened vegetables
Well-cooked rice, soft veggies, and chicken
Baked sweet potato with butter or cheese
Beans or lentils served with rice and veggies
Flaky fish served with steamed zucchini

There are endless variations on what you can serve your baby for dinner. As long as your baby is safe and happy, try to encourage lots of food exploration!

You must not feed any child under the age of 1 year honey, cow’s milk, juice, hard foods like candy, raw vegetables, popcorn, or sticky foods like peanut butter, as these each present choking hazards.

Learn more about feeding your baby:

The Happiest Baby Feeding Guide
The Benefits of Homemade Baby Food
The Best Store-Bought Baby Food

***

REFERENCES

Unlocking Opportunities in Food Design for Infants, Children, and the Elderly: Understanding Milestones in Chewing and Swallowing Across the Lifespan for New Innovations. Journal of Texture Studies, August 2017
Complementary Feeding: A Position Paper by the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) Committee on Nutrition, Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, January 2017
Infant Formula Feeding Practices Associated With Rapid Weight Gain: A Systematic Review, Maternal & Child Nutrition, July 2018
Solid Food Introduction and the Development of Food Allergies, Nutrients, November 2018
US Department of Agriculture: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025

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Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider.

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.
A 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 what products can be combined with it.

— 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 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 fruits. 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 a 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 (mashed) so that the child develops the correct perception of the product.

— How many times to feed a child 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. You need to carefully monitor the reaction of the body to each new product for 4-6 days.

* Breast milk is the best food for babies. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child's life and continued breastfeeding after complementary foods are introduced until the age of 2 years. Before introducing new products into the baby's diet, you should consult with a specialist. The material is for informational purposes and cannot replace the advice of a healthcare professional. For feeding children from birth.

7 month old baby menu: expanding diet

Lyubov Troshina

Author of "Daily Baby", mother of two girls

#lure

A seven-month-old baby is already a real gourmet, able to distinguish zucchini from broccoli, and buckwheat from rice. But there are still many interesting flavors and new sources for growth and development ahead. About what other products it is time to introduce the child, when it is better to give them and how to cook them correctly, we will tell in the article.

How the baby's menu changes at 7 months

A seven-month-old child has already tasted dishes from some products. How rich the baby's diet is depends on how early he was introduced to complementary foods. This usually happens at 6 months, the age most pediatricians consider ideal for introducing new foods. But sometimes they feed even earlier, especially if the baby is on artificial nutrition.

For "artists" an early start is considered preferable, because formula milk, unlike breast milk, cannot fully meet the child's need for biologically active substances. In addition, it is believed that the digestive system of formula-fed babies matures earlier for the digestion of complementary foods.

The minimum age to start complementary foods is 4 months. Before this period, the child is simply not ready to eat anything other than breast milk or formula.

Vegetables

A baby fed from the age of six months usually already knows the taste of zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower. At 7 months, it's time to diversify the menu with carrots and pumpkin. Each of these vegetables is rich in beta-carotene, which is important for the development of the child, and in general - a real vitamin factory. At the same time, these products are characterized by increased allergenicity, so they must be introduced into the menu carefully and without fanaticism.

A child who has been fed earlier is likely already familiar with carrots and pumpkin. If there is no allergy, he continues to enjoy their sweet taste and recharge with a vitamin-mineral complex.

At 7 months, you can gradually add potatoes to the children's menu. Before this age, it is not advised to give it to a child - there is too much starch, which is poorly digested and can cause allergies. But potatoes are tasty and contain a lot of potassium, iron, iodine, phosphorus and other useful elements.

Introduction to potatoes is the same as with all other products. In the morning, usually at the second feeding, the baby is given a taste of half a teaspoon of mashed potatoes. As a result, parents have a whole day to observe the reaction: the slightest sign of an allergy or discomfort in the abdomen is a reason to postpone the introduction of the product into complementary foods. If everything is fine, the next time the trial portion is doubled. But it is necessary to feed the child with potatoes no more than 2-3 times a week, so that the digestive system has time to rest from such heavy food.

Cereals

Cereals are already on the menu of a seven-month-old baby. Standard set - buckwheat, rice, corn. Depending on the time of the introduction of complementary foods, the baby either continues to get acquainted with these cereals, or can already eat any of them in full - now it is about 150 ml.

At 7 months, when the cereals from the “traditional trio” are mastered, you can try oatmeal. It is necessary to cook it, like other first cereals, on the water. In ready-made porridge, you can add a little breast milk or formula, as well as butter - 1-3 g.

By the way, oatmeal is advised to be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of 8-10 degrees.

Eggs

Eggs are a very important food for a growing body. They contain B vitamins, vitamins A, E, D, selenium, phosphorus and many other useful elements. But protein is a strong allergen, so children under one year old should not be given it. Now it's time to try the yolk. Since it is also allergic to it, first we give a little bit - at the tip of a teaspoon. With a normal reaction, increase the portion to the norm - half a yolk 2 times a week.

Babies are given only chicken or quail eggs and only hard-boiled eggs. Waterfowl eggs - ducks, geese, etc., as well as eggs that have not undergone sufficient heat treatment are dangerous due to the possibility of Salmonella infection.

Meat

At 7 months, the baby usually begins to taste meat. The meat contains protein, amino acids, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, fluorine and easily digestible heme iron, which maintains normal hemoglobin, which is necessary for the child to grow.

Start with low-allergenic, lean meats such as rabbit or turkey. Chicken and beef often cause allergies, so they are introduced into complementary foods later - after a few months.

Fruit

Fruit puree is best given to a baby after meat appears on his menu. Apples and pears are suitable for dating. But only not in raw form, but baked or boiled. First, all fruits must undergo heat treatment so that the aggressive acids contained in them do not harm the delicate intestines of the baby. A little later, at the eighth month, it will be possible to treat the child to “live” fruit puree.

How to cook for a seven-month-old baby

At 7 months, you can already prepare mixes of vegetables that are confidently entrenched in the diet. It is especially good to combine potatoes with other vegetables: a separate dish from it turns out to be heavy, but this vegetable gives the mix a pleasant taste and the necessary density.

Before cooking potatoes, it is advisable to soak them for an hour in cold water - this will partially get rid of starch and nitrates. By the way, all store-bought vegetables are advised to soak.

Vegetables can be boiled in a small amount of water, baked and steamed. The last two methods are considered the most useful. It is important to remember that the longer the vegetables are thermally processed, the less useful substances remain in them. Watch the cooking time: the puree should be soft, but not overcooked.

It is important to grind the finished vegetables thoroughly with a blender so that no small pieces remain: the baby's food should now be of a homogeneous puree-like consistency. It is impossible to salt, sweeten, and even more so pepper puree. But you can add 1-3 g of vegetable oil.

Meat goes well with vegetables, so vegetable and meat puree is often given to the baby together. Especially if the taste of meat is not approved by the picky eater. It is convenient to use canned meat for baby food, but you can cook mashed meat yourself. You will need a very small piece of meat without bones, fat, veins, films and skin.

Rinse the meat thoroughly, put it in a saucepan, cover with water, put on medium heat. When the water boils, drain it and add new water - it should completely cover the piece of meat. Cook until done. Finely chop the finished piece and bring to a puree-like consistency with a blender. To make it easier to do this, add vegetable broth or boiled water to the meat. Meat broth is bad for babies.

Porridge can be bought ready-made, which can be simply diluted with warm water. But you can also cook on your own. To do this, rinse the cereal thoroughly, dry it and grind it to a state of flour. Pour cereal flour into boiling water at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 100 ml. Cook until tender, stirring constantly.

How to plan a 7 month old baby's menu

The basis of a 7 month old baby's menu is breast milk or adapted formula. The interval between each feeding should be approximately 4 hours. You need to feed your baby 5 times a day.

A child's day begins as usual with breast milk or formula.