7 - 9 months: feeding your baby

Learn why patience and variety are key ingredients as your baby moves on to more adventurous tastes and textures.

No single food can give your baby all the nutrients they need so variety is the name of the game to make sure they get the right balance of vitamins and minerals, as well as the energy they need for all that growing and exploring they’re doing from 7 - 9 months old. It’s especially important to make sure their food and milk contains a healthy amount of iron, as the natural stores they were born with begin to run low after about 6 months.

You probably started weaning with smooth textures and gentle flavours to introduce foods slowly to your baby and now they might be ready to try some new tastes and more mashed up consistencies. This will get them interested in food as well as helping them learn to eat and develop their chewing skills.

To encourage good eating habits, it’s also an idea to get into a routine for mealtimes – perhaps with your baby sitting in their own high chair. Read more about this stage of weaning here.

Watch for non-verbal signs of communication in your baby too – like telling you they want to feed themselves by picking up food with their hands. Now is a great time to introduce them to soft finger foods to help develop their speech muscles too. And the added benefit is that although they can get a bit messy, they’ll probably eat more this way!