Feeding at 7 to 9 months

- Your baby will gradually move towards eating 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), offering a wide variety of different foods is important to ensure they get enough energy and nutrients (such as iron).

- Babies do not need salt or sugar added to their food (or cooking water) – salty food is not 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 do not seem to like, and let them get used to it in their own time.

7 to 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.

Vegetables

- Try to move your baby on to mashed, lumpy foods and finger foods as soon as they can manage them, cook to soften them, then mash or blend veggies to a suitable texture for your baby – or give them as finger foods, offer a variety including ones with bitter flavours.

*Veggies includes:

• broccoli

• cabbage

• carrots

• cauliflower

• courgette

• green beans

• peas

• peppers

• spinach

Fruits

- Mash or blend soft ripe fruits to a suitable texture for your baby, or give them as finger foods. Harder fruits will need to be cooked to soften them, wash and remove any pips, stones and hard skin.

*Fruit includes:

• apples

• bananas

• blueberries

• kiwi

• mango

• melon

• oranges

• papaya

• peach

• pears

• pineapple

• raspberries

• strawberries

Starchy foods

-These can be cooked, where necessary, and mashed or blended to a suitable texture for your baby or offered as finger foods.

- Cereals can be mixed with breast milk or first infant formula – or with pasteurised whole (full-fat) cows' milk.

*Starchy foods include:

• baby rice

• bread

• cornmeal

• maize

• oatmeal

• oats

• pasta

• porridge

• potato

• quinoa

• rice

• sweet potato

• toast

Protein foods

- This food group includes meat, fish, eggs, beans and pulses, and is suitable from around 6 months.

- As well as giving your baby protein, these foods contain other useful nutrients, such as iron and zinc, which are important for babies.

Dairy

-Pasteurised dairy foods,like pasteurised full-fat yoghurt and cheese, are suitable foods for your baby from around 6 months.

-Full-fat, unsweetened or plain yoghurts are a good choice because they do not contain added sugars.

-Whole pasteurised (full-fat) cows' milk, or goats' or sheep's milk, can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months old, but not as a drink until your baby is 12 months.

Drinks

- During meal times, offer your baby sips of water from an open or free-flow cup. Using an open cup, or a free-flow cup without a valve, will help your baby learn to sip and is better for their teeth.

- Cows' milk is not a suitable drink until your baby is 12 months old, but it can be used in cooking or mixed with food from 6 months of age.