Best foods for a 7 to 9 month old baby

Knowing when to stop breastfeeding your baby is important, but that does not mean you deprive the baby or force him or her to eat solid foods. Weaning is a delicate and long process, and you’ll have to continue breastfeeding your baby until it’s complete. At the same time, it’s very important to remember that your baby depends on breast milk antibodies for protection against all types of diseases until his or her immunizations are done.

Read more: Diet for breastfeeding mothers

This is the reason why paediatricians recommend that babies be breastfed throughout the first year, which is roughly the time till when the antibodies also last in breast milk. If you’re a working woman or have a disease that stops you from breastfeeding the baby directly, you could use a breast pump to express the milk and store it properly to feed your baby. During the period between the seventh and ninth month, your baby will require roughly three to four breast milk feedings in a day.

While you should continue to breastfeed your baby, make sure you introduce half a tablespoon of solid foods that are mashed or pureed at least twice a day. This way, the baby will learn to eat solid foods better and you too will know what suits your baby and what doesn’t. It’s also very important to eat your own food in front of the baby at this stage, because this will pique his or her curiosity about solid foods. The baby is likely to give the following signs to indicate that he or she is interested in trying out more and more solid foods:

• Eating with the fingers
• Reaching for a plate or spoon to eat from it
• May start holding spoons or cups to mimic your feeding habits
• Will want to eat finger foods you are eating in front of him or her

Your baby might need to eat the following amounts of food, including breast milk, every day:

• Breast milk or infant formula: three or four feedings per day
• Infant cereals: two to four tablespoons
• Fruits or vegetables: two to four tablespoons
• Water: 90 ml
• Proteins or dairy products: one to two tablespoons

These are the maximum estimates made by the Cleveland Clinic in the US. If your baby eats less or more than these amounts, there should be nothing to worry about. Still, you know your baby best. If you are concerned about something, or if your baby's food requirements change suddenly, consult your paediatrician.

The baby will continue to need three-four sessions of breastfeeding in any case, so this will remain the main source of nutrition at this stage. Remember not to actively discourage your baby from breastfeeding in the hopes that it’ll speed up the weaning process.

This is the right time to be introducing a wide variety of foods to the baby with a range of nutrients. Since breastmilk is not the best source of iron, you should ensure that the first solid foods you introduce to the baby are rich in this vital nutrient. It’s also important to remember that the solid foods you introduce to the baby cannot be consumed by the baby unless they are mashed or pureed, and that you should offer very little food to the baby in the beginning. 

Mixing a little breast milk or formula milk to make the purees and mashes thinner at this stage is a good idea, and it’ll also ensure that your baby recognises at least a bit of the flavour. The taste your baby develops for solid foods in these early months will influence his or her eating habits for the rest of their life, which is why it’s important to introduce vegetables before fruits, avoid sugar and excess salt, and eat fresh foods instead of bottled or packaged ones. You can introduce the following foods to your baby during these months:

1. Vegetables for your 7-9 month old baby
2. Fruits for your 7-9 month old baby
3. Cereals and grains for your 7-9 month old baby
4. Protein foods for your 7-9 month old baby
5. Dairy products for your 7-9 month old baby

Introducing new foods to your baby can be exciting, and it definitely makes for amazing pictures and memories. But you need to take all possible precautions to ensure that these memories don’t turn sour as babies can have severe reactions to certain foods. Keep the following things in mind while feeding a seven- to nine-month-old baby.

• Honey can cause botulism and should not be given to the baby before he or she turns one year old.
• Cow’s milk proteins can be difficult to digest and babies can develop allergies to cow's milk. Hence, it’s best not to introduce cow’s milk to the baby before a year is up.
• Introducing water at this age is a good thing, but don’t force the baby to drink too much of it. He or she will get enough fluids from breast milk, and the introduction of water at this age is to get them used to the taste rather than to quench thirst.
• Always maintain a gap between the introduction of two new solid foods—this will give you time to figure out if your baby has any food allergies.
• Always use a soft-edged spoon to feed the baby as sharp edges can injure the mouth.