Food routine for 7 month old

[JoannaNorton]

Hi there

I have a 7 and a half month old baby and would really like to know what foods I should be feeding her, as I typically just give her vegetables, weetabix and fruit. I live in Bermuda and have been told to hold off on giving her meat until she is 9 months old.

Also, is any kind of yoghurt ok to give her now or should it be plain?

Look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks.

Hi, poultry and fish are definitely fine from 6 months, although I've read it's often best to wait until 9 months to introduce other meats. You should introduce them gradually though, or just buy the jars suitable from 7 months - you'll find lots of these have meat in them.

I don't think processed meats such as bacon are ever recommended, particularly under the age of 1, as they're so salty.

My son is now 6 months and I'm going to start giving him meat from now on. Other foods I will introduce are pasta, wheat, cheese, more fruits (though some say steer clear of strawberries and citrus til babies are 1 as they can trigger allergies), all vegetables, legumes such as lentils and chickpeas.... You could make meals for yourself and give your baby some of yours, making it to the right consistency for her and remembering that babies shouldn't have added salt or sugar.

There are also plenty of good weaning books available which will give you good, basic advice and recipe suggestions and I would suggest you would benefit from one of these. I understand your concerns though - I've got two good books on weaning and I'm still doing circles in my mind about what to feed ds

As for the yoghurt, I've got a similar query myself actually. Is any yoghurt ok? In particular, can we give our babies plain live yoghurt?

If there is no history of allergies or eczema I would say there is no problem with meat. Lamb is good because it is difficult to be allergic to it. I live in NZ and so the meat marketing board here say from 6 months. Funny how things are different in each country depending on commercial pressures isn't it?

Celandine I can't see why there would be anything wrong with plain yoghurt, you could add your own fruit puree. Live yoghurt is excellent for babies, but has to be eaten every day to get the beneficial effects of the live bacteria.

I personally have a very conservative timetable for introducing foods because of allergies, which I can share with you Joanna if you also have allergies in your family.

Live natural yoghurt (maybe mixed with your own fruit puree) is IMO MUCH better for babies than the sugar laden ones marketed at kids and babies.