What is the food for 7 months baby
Giving Baby Finger Foods at 7-8 Months
Written by Rebecca Felsenthal Stewart
In this Article
- Month 7, Week 3
- Month 7 Week 3 Tips
Month 7, Week 3
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
- 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.
What To Feed Your Baby | 7 to 9 mths | Weaning
Baby's age
- Around 6 months
- 7 - 9 months
- 10 - 12 months
- 12 months+
7 - 9 months
By now, your baby will have had some good practice learning how to eat! Eat together as much as possible – they learn a lot from watching you.
Your baby will gradually move towards eating 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and tea). Offering a wide variety of different foods is important to ensure they get enough energy and nutrients (such as iron). Babies don't need salt or sugar added to their food (or cooking water) – salty food isn't good for their kidneys and sugar can cause tooth decay.
Remember, it may take 10 tries or even more for your baby to get used to new foods, flavours and textures. There'll be days when they eat more, some when they eat less, and then days when they reject everything! Don't worry – this is perfectly normal. Just be patient, keep offering a variety of foods, even the ones they don't seem to like, and let them get used to it in their own time.
Babies under 12 months don't need snacks, if you think your baby is hungry in between meals, offer extra milk feeds instead.
Smooth or lumpy?
Hopefully your baby will now be more confident exploring new textures. Offer more mashed, lumpier foods as well as a variety of finger foods.
Giving your baby finger foods helps them learn to feed themselves, develop hand-eye co-ordination and learn to bite off, chew and swallow small pieces of soft food.
Babies take different amounts of time to get used to lumps, but it's an important skill they need to learn. Just keep offering them lumpy textures and finger foods and stay with them so you can be sure they are swallowing it safely.
What is baby-led weaning?
Baby-led weaning means offering your baby only finger foods and letting them feed themselves from the start (rather than spoon feeding them puréed or mashed food). You can offer a range of small, finger-sized, pieces of food.
Some parents prefer baby-led weaning to spoon feeding, while others combine a bit of both. There's no right or wrong way – the most important thing is that your baby eats well and gets all the nutrients they need.
Should I still give my baby breast milk or first infant formula?
Yes. Breast milk or first infant formula is still important for energy and nutrients during the first year, and should be their main drink until 12 months.
You can continue breastfeeding for as long as you both want. As time goes on and your baby eats more solids, they may naturally want less breast milk or first infant formula.
If you're breastfeeding, your baby will adapt their feeds according to how much food they're having. Formula-fed babies may need around 600ml of milk a day, but just use this as a guide. Remember your baby's tummy is tiny and fills up quickly, so offer milk feeds after solids and don't force them to finish the bottle.
Drinks?
Complementary foods at 7 months, what foods to introduce into complementary foods for a child from the network of months
02.08.2022
≈ 6 min read time
Contents
- How do you know when it's time for your baby to expand complementary foods?
- What foods are too early to introduce at 7 months
- How to continue introducing complementary foods at 7 months - features and general rules
- Complementary feeding regimen at 7 months
- The diet of a child on breastfeeding and artificial feeding - what is the difference?
- Sample food menu
- What to do if the child refuses complementary foods?
If complementary foods started from six months, as the World Health Organization advises, then by 7 months the baby is already “experienced” enough to try new, more “difficult” foods for digestion.
For example, only from this age can one offer a chicken egg yolk.
It is extremely important that the menu expands: during this period, taste preferences are already laid that will remain with a person for life.
A growing child's nutritional needs are constantly increasing, but their amount must be strictly verified. For example, with a lack of protein in the diet, the development of a child may suffer, but an excess of protein negatively affects the functioning of the kidneys. And the need for calories per kg of body weight from 7 months is even slightly reduced compared to earlier, infancy. True, the baby gains weight, therefore, of course, consumes more and more calories.
Energy and nutrient requirements of a 7-month-old baby (per kg of body weight)
| Energy | Squirrels | Fats | Carbohydrates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 110 kcal | 2. | 5.5 g | 13 g |
9 g You can understand that you need to introduce new products by certain signs. Your baby:
- willingly eats different types of vegetables, as well as not only gluten-free, but also gluten-free cereals;
- eats not only single-component, but also multi-component products - for example, cereals from different types of cereals;
- "mastered" different types of meat and fruit purees.
The child's digestive system continues to change. In particular, the length of the intestine increases, and by 7 months the small intestine “becomes” in the same place as in an adult. However, the consistency of food should still remain homogeneous, homogeneous.
- Juices . The National Feeding Optimization Program advises introducing them after the main complementary foods. Juices have insufficient nutritional value to cover the needs of a growing organism.
In addition, if you give your child juice between feedings, the risk of caries may increase, and excess of the norm creates the preconditions for excess weight. - Unadapted kefir, yoghurt, biolact . Their turn will come only from 8 months. Cottage cheese can be administered earlier, but after consulting with the pediatrician.
- Fish puree . For a child of this age, meat has more nutritional value than fish, so you also need to wait another month with it.
- Cow's milk . Due to the high protein content, which differs significantly from breast milk protein, experts do not recommend offering this product for the entire 1st year of life.
The main fundamentally new product at the age of seven months is the egg yolk. Previously, nutritionists were wary of the fact that the egg contains cholesterol, the excess of which can be potentially dangerous for the heart and blood vessels. But now science has confirmed that eggs do not increase plasma cholesterol levels.
The egg contains:
- fats;
- proteins;
- vitamin A, B vitamins;
- iron, phosphorus, zinc.
However, 2% of babies are allergic to eggs. That is why the product is administered no earlier than 7 months of age. And only the yolk: the molecules that can cause intolerance are concentrated in the protein. But vitamins and minerals are in the yolk. Already by the age of 3, hypersensitivity to the product disappears in half of the kids.
The pattern of continuing complementary foods is already familiar:
- we offer an unfamiliar product in the 1st half of the day - there will be time to follow the reaction;
- offer a small amount, the product must be crushed. If the baby refuses, you can mix a little new product with an already familiar one;
- in 5-7 days we increase the portion of the new product to the volume recommended in 7 months - no more than 1/4 of the yolk;
- we give only one new product at a time;
- we do not introduce a new dish during stressful circumstances: illnesses, vaccinations, moving.
You have to wait 3-5 days.
When expanding the diet with new cereals, vegetable and fruit purees, meat, it is better to use the products of licensed companies. It is ready to use and passed the safety control at the proper level.
The complementary feeding regimen at 7 months is five times feeding. The first morning and the last evening - breastfeeding or infant formula. At other feedings, mother's milk or mixture is present as supplementary food.
Complementary feeding chart at 7 months
| Dishes and products | Weight (g, ml) |
|---|---|
| vegetable puree | 150 |
| Porridge | 150 |
| Meat puree industrial production / boiled meat | 40–50/ 20–30 |
| fruit puree | 70 |
| Yolk | 1/4 |
It is recommended to add oil to vegetables - 5 g per day, to cereals - 4 g per day.
Important: dosages are approximate, it is necessary to focus on the satiety and food interest of the child.
Domestic pediatricians recommend continuing breastfeeding up to 1.5-2 years, and WHO experts - up to 2 years and even longer. Breast milk is the ideal food for a baby, it is called the “child health programming factor”. Therefore, although mother's milk no longer provides all the nutritional needs of a 7-month-old baby, it continues to fulfill its protective functions. The "contribution" of mother's milk to the health of a child from six months to a year is at least half of the nutrients. Therefore, it must necessarily be preserved against the background of the introduction of complementary foods.
It is advised to resort to artificial mixtures when breastfeeding is excluded. Manufacturers, when developing mixtures, are guided by the composition of breast milk, but it is simply technically impossible to repeat it in full. Modern infant formula does not contain as many biologically active substances as in breast milk.
It is believed that the scientifically proven ability of a particular mixture to reduce the risk of allergies, prevent acute intestinal infections and provide the baby with additional functional benefits is much more important - so that growth and development, if possible, do not lag behind and "go" at the same pace as with breastfeeding.
There are some peculiarities in the introduction of complementary foods.
Complementary foods at 7 months breastfed
Complementary feeding at 7 months with breastfeeding suggests that every time after the baby has tried a new food, it must be applied to the breast. Even if he is already full, this will help maintain lactation.
In addition, breast milk has the ability to influence the taste preferences of the baby. This is explained by the fact that in the mother's milk there is a taste of the products that she eats. If the child does not want to try new food, you can first “introduce” the baby indirectly: the mother can add products to her menu that she wants to introduce into the child’s menu. If he does not accept the offer the first time, this is absolutely normal. You need to methodically offer to try the next feeding - and so many times.
Formula-fed complementary foods at 7 months
Complementary foods at 7 months on artificial feeding are introduced in the same way as in breastfed babies. Moreover, it is interesting that modern infant formulas take into account how the composition of mother's milk changes with the growth of the baby. For example, the amount of protein in it is gradually reduced - and milk formulas recommended for a child after six months may also contain less protein. But some vitamins and minerals will be added to them compared to mixtures for an earlier age.
By the second half of the year of life, the baby "met" almost all the key complementary foods, albeit in the form of puree or thick slurry. Therefore, the approximate menu of complementary foods at 7 months is already varied enough to make it possible to alternate dishes, not often repeating, and offer new tastes.
Complementary foods at 7 months. Menu for the day
| 6.00 1st feeding | Breast milk or infant formula | 200 ml |
| 10.00 2nd feeding |
| 150 g
1/2 teaspoon 1/4 piece
50 ml |
| 14.00 3rd feeding |
| 150 g 1 teaspoon 40–50 g |
| 18. 4th feeding |
| 70 g 1–2 pcs. 130 ml |
| 22.00 5th feeding | Breast milk or infant formula | 200 ml |
Weekly menu
Experts from the Union of Pediatricians of Russia advise distributing products in the diet of a seven-month-old baby in such a way that “you get a prototype menu for an already grown child with breakfast and lunch.”
If we take into account that the day begins and ends with breastfeeding or artificial formula, then between them the feeding of a child at 7 months can be varied (by supplementing with breast milk / formula) like this:
| Day of the week | Morning | Day | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Rice porridge cooked with breast milk or infant formula + butter + boiled egg yolk
| Zucchini puree + vegetable oil + turkey puree | Apple puree + complementary breast milk/infant formula |
| Tuesday | Buckwheat porridge cooked with breast milk or infant formula + butter + boiled egg yolk | Puree of several vegetables + vegetable oil + puree of rabbit | Pear puree + complementary breast milk/infant formula |
| Wednesday | Multi-grain porridge made with breast milk or infant formula + butter + boiled egg yolk | Broccoli puree + vegetable oil + chicken puree | Mixed fruit puree + complementary breast milk/infant formula |
| Thursday | Oatmeal cooked with breast milk or infant formula + butter + boiled egg yolk | Puree from different types of vegetables + vegetable oil + beef puree | Peach Puree + Complementary Breast Milk/Infant Formula |
| Friday | Multi-grain porridge made with breast milk or infant formula + butter + boiled egg yolk | Pumpkin puree + vegetable oil + different types of meat puree | Vegetable and fruit puree + complementary breast milk/infant formula |
| Saturday | Corn porridge cooked with breast milk or infant formula + butter + boiled egg yolk | Puree from different types of vegetables + vegetable oil + turkey puree | Apple puree + complementary breast milk/infant formula |
| Sunday | Wheat porridge cooked with breast milk or infant formula + butter + boiled egg yolk | Carrot puree + vegetable oil + rabbit puree | Pear puree + complementary breast milk/infant formula |
The kid may refuse a particular product, happy to try others. But it can also refuse complementary foods in general.
If the baby refuses some new foods, this is completely normal. According to experts, this is one of the manifestations of the so-called. "neophobia", "fear of the new". There is an assumption that evolution has formed it as a defense mechanism to protect the baby from possible poisoning. But in infancy, this mechanism can make it difficult to expand the diet. Studies have shown that most foods that children refuse will be more favorably received if they are offered repeatedly, and sometimes a dozen times.
But sometimes a child does not eat complementary foods for 7 months, i.e. unwilling in principle to switch to food other than mother's milk or formula. Experts believe that the ideal age to start complementary foods is 4-6 months and call this interval the "tolerance window" when new foods are introduced as easily as possible. Those. starting to introduce complementary foods to a seven-month-old baby is already some lag behind the “schedule” recommended by doctors.
The reason for refusal may be:
- diseases;
- difficulty swallowing;
- food intolerance;
- improper feeding.
Be sure to check with your pediatrician. Due to the delayed feeding, the baby will lack nutrients that are extremely important for growth and development, it will be more difficult for him to master the skill of chewing and swallowing thick food. In addition, new foods will then have to be introduced at a faster pace, and this will increase the burden on the immune system.
References
- The program for optimizing the feeding of children in the first year of life in the Russian Federation. Moscow, 2019. https://minzdrav.midural.ru/uploads/document/4908/optimizatsii-vskarmlivaniya-detej-pervogo-goda-zhizni.pdf
- Approximate diet of a child at the age of 6 months.
Union of Pediatricians of Russia https://www.pediatr-russia.ru/parents_information/soveti-roditelyam/ratsiony-pitaniya-v-razlichnye-vozrastnye-periody/7%20%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%81%D1 %8F%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%B2.pdf
- Age features of the digestive system. Sechenov University. https://www.sechenov.ru/upload/iblock/32e/lektsiya-_3-vozrastnye-osobennosti-anatomii-pishchevaritelnoy-sistemy.pdf
- Nutrition of children of the first year: topical issues and new trends. Ed. I.N. Zakharova https://remedium.ru/doctor/pediatrics/Pitanie_detey_pervogo_goda_aktualnye_voprosy_i_novye_trendy/
- HE. Komarova, A.I. Khavkin. Causes of food refusal in young children: differential diagnostic search and methods of correction. Questions of modern pediatrics. 2014 https://vsp.spr-journal.
ru/jour/article/view/194/121
- I.N. Zakharova, Yu.A. Dmitriev. Neophobia in infants: how to form their taste preferences? Questions of modern pediatrics. 2013 https://vsp.spr-journal.ru/jour/article/view/257/185
- Sophie Rehault-Godbert,* Nicolas Guyot, and Yves Nys. The Golden Egg: Nutritional Value, Bioactivities, and Emerging Benefits for Human Health. Nutrients.2019 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6470839/
How to properly feed your 7-month-old baby with solid food
Learn how to make a menu, what to include and what to avoid when you introduce solid food into your baby's diet.
Carolina Plavina
Рixabay
Collected detailed information about what and how much to feed a 7-month-old baby. Also included are some interesting recipes that allow you to diversify the complementary foods menu.
Contents of the article
Do not self-medicate! In our articles, we collect the latest scientific data and the opinions of authoritative health experts. But remember: only a doctor can diagnose and prescribe treatment.
How do you know when a 7-month-old baby is ready for solid foods?
The signs below will help you determine if your baby is able to digest solid foods:
- He holds his head well.
- Can sit upright on a high chair or feeding seat (no or little support).
- Tries to reach out (leans forward) for solid food.
- Opens mouth and willingly eats solid food when offered.
- The fingers are capable of grasping objects.
Delaying the introduction of solid foods can affect a child's healthy weight gain. Therefore, encourage your child to eat solid food as soon as he shows signs of readiness.
A 7-month-old baby's diet can include a variety of healthy foods such as grains, legumes, meat, fish, poultry, fruits, and vegetables. With constant breast or milk feeding, children can consume these products in the form of a well-cooked puree or gruel.
How often should I feed my baby when weaning?
Feed 7-month-old babies nutritious foods and drinks every two to three hours to support proper growth and development. If on some days the baby eats less than usual, refrain from force feeding. We have a separate article on maternal nutrition during breastfeeding.
Remember that the main source of nutrition even for a seven-month-old baby is breast milk or formula. They can get solid food, but in small amounts, as they need time to get used to the taste, texture, and digestibility of weaning food.
How much food should a 7-month-old baby eat?
The Association of American Pediatricians recommends that mothers continue breastfeeding until at least 12 months of age. Therefore, the baby can be given alternately both breast milk and solid food.
Portion sizes per day
At 7 months, a baby needs a portion of food per day, which is approximately ⅛ of body weight. This is 1000-1200 ml of food, excluding water, juices, children's tea. Divide this amount by 5 feedings and you will get an estimated amount of food per meal - 200-210 ml.
7-month-old meal options
Traditionally, parents start with single-grain cereal or vegetables and fruits (blended, pureed, or cooked soft). When your baby is seven to nine months old, you can include a variety of foods from different food groups in your diet.
Vegetables
Broccoli, cauliflower, peas, spinach, asparagus, parsnips, peppers, carrots, cabbage, avocados, green beans and squash.
Fruit
Banana, apple, mango, blueberry, kiwi, pear, strawberry, papaya, melon, peach, plum and orange.
Starchy foods
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, porridge, oatmeal, oats, corn, millet, quinoa, cornmeal and bread.
Protein-rich foods
Meat (chicken, lamb, boneless fish), eggs, legumes, lentils, beans.
Dairy products
Pasteurized full fat kefir, curd without sugar or sweeteners.
What is the right way to prepare food for a 7 month old baby?
Boil and mash hard fruits such as apples before serving them to a child. You can mix fruit and vegetable purees with formula or breast milk. When choosing meat, you can also consider serving meat broth.
All foods should be soft so that the baby does not choke. Make sure your child eats slowly and in small portions.
Recipes for 7-month-old children
Omlet with onions
You will need:
1 Small bulb, cleaned and chopped
1 Egg
½ teaspoon of oil
How to prepare: 9000
how to prepare: egg. Cut the onion into small pieces and add it to the egg. Whip them together.
Place the butter in a frying pan. When the pan is hot, add the mixture and let it cook through.
Let the omelet cool down. Cut it into thin slices and serve to the child.
Berry porridge
You will need:
2 tablespoons of oatmeal porridge
¼ banana
Frozen blueberries (you can use fresh blueberries)
1 tablespoon oatmeal and water in a saucepan. Cook until the mixture thickens and becomes soft.
Top with finely chopped or pureed bananas and blueberries before serving.
Spicy Chicken Fingers
You will need:
skinless chicken breast
juice of ½ lemon
How to cook it:
Take the skinless chicken breast and cut into medium-sized pieces.
Preheat oven to 200°C (approx. 400°F).
Place the chicken pieces on a baking sheet and squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over them.
Roast the chicken for 25 minutes. Once baked, it can be crumbled or given as finger food.
Avocado and Banana Puree
You will need:
½ avocado
1 banana, peeled
How to make:
Take it to the saucepan and put it in the avocado. Add a banana to it and make a puree.
You can also add formula or breast milk to the puree and mix before serving.
Sample menu for the day
Breakfast (morning). Solid food :
● Porridge for infants
Liquid :
● Breast milk or formula
Snack (late morning). Solid food :
● Fruit puree such as banana, kiwi, strawberry, boiled apple, boiled pear with unsweetened yogurt (low fat).
Liquid :
● Breast milk or formula
Lunch. Solid food :
● Boiled and finely chopped chicken,
● Cooked and mashed vegetables such as pumpkin, potatoes, spinach, squash, etc. with cooked and mashed rice.
Liquid :
● Breast milk or formula
Snack (evening). Solid food :
● Boiled and mashed pear
● Boiled and finely chopped carrots or mashed beans. Dinner. Solid food :
● Boiled vegetables.
Liquid:
● Breast milk or formula
Start with one or two tablespoons of food and see if your baby shows signs of hunger or satiety. Remember that their tummies are still small! You can alternate between solids and liquids depending on your child's hunger signals. You can learn more about breastfeeding here.
Try to include foods with a variety of colors and textures in your child's diet. By the end of seven months, you can also slowly start introducing finger foods to develop the habit of self-feeding.
Seven-month-old baby feeding schedule
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), complementary foods (foods other than breast milk) can be given to babies between six and eight months of age up to two to three times a day. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends giving your child something to drink or eat every two to three hours, or about five to six times a day (10).
Precautions for feeding a 7 month old baby
Here are a few things to keep in mind when feeding your baby.
- move one ingredient at a time. Give this product for three to five days, during which time do not give any other new food. Monitor your child for signs of an allergy.
- Gradually increase the variety and quantity of food ingredients; start with a teaspoon and then move on to a tablespoon.
- You can also try finger food if your child seems ready. Your child may begin to grasp objects with his fingers when he is ready for finger food. Make sure you are present during meals to avoid the danger of choking.
- Wash, peel, remove seeds and seeds before giving fruits and vegetables to your child.
- Use a spoon to feed your baby. Make sure that during feeding the child sits on a chair with a table. Observe and respond to your child's hunger cues. Try to develop a predictable schedule for your child for all meals and snacks, and limit the time of each meal to 15-20 minutes.
- Avoid adding salt, sugar and butter when preparing baby food at home.
