7 month old - what next for weaning?

[NeedAHoliday123]

My LO is almost 7 months and since 6 months has been having a fruit or veg purée each day as his 'first tastes'. I also introduced porridge/yoghurts for breakfast, all of which he's doing well with.I have also given him some finger foods like whole strawberries/a banana/toast etc. But am mostly doing purées.

My question is what's next?

When do you introduce proper meals to him? Like some of the pouches/jars you get for like spag Bol/cottage pie etc. Pasta/etc. Is 7 months too early? And when do I do that compared to just veg or fruit etc

I gave mine what we were having , weetabix or porridge or egg on toast for breakfast
Soup and bread or sandwiches ,tuna or cheese or sardines on toast or an egg in some form for lunch
Pasta and sauce or fish and veg or chicken curry and rice etc in the evening.
Pudding and snacks were yoghurt or chopped up fruit.
I cut things up a bit or squashed with a spoon if necessary.At your baby's age things don't need to be smooth I stopped adding salt to food but otherwise didn't make concessions.

Just give him some of what you're having (but no salt, no spice, no excessive sugar).

It's a good time to introduce more than just veg/fruit puree. Start with one meal and work up, don't go straight for three meals a day.

Just mash/shred what you are eating, mine lived moved shepherd pie, roast dinners etc at that age. Buy low salt stock cubes and gravy

I started with single-ingredient foods for the first few weeks so I would be able to pinpoint any food allergies. As I wanted LO to be able to have some of what we were having and I didn’t want to cook anything extra, I had meat-and-two-veg type meals for a few weeks. E.g. salmon and new potatoes, and I just gave Lo some salmon flakes and chunks of new potato. Once your baby has tried and tolerated several single-ingredient foods, you can begin offering mixed dishes.
My LO sometimes had what we’re having, but I usually had to adapt it in some way or omit something from her portion. For example, when we had egg fried rice,I cooked it all until the last stage, took out her portion to let it cool down and then added soy sauce and seasoning to the rest.
I also made a few alterations to our meals too. For example, I cut carrots into batons rather than coin-shaped pieces. Roast dinner is perfect - she loved a Yorkshire pudding and a couple of strips of whatever meat it is.
As a family we enjoyed these meals:
Shepherds pie www.organix.com/recipes/6-months/shepherds-pie
Bolognese www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/michelas-baby-bolognese/
Chicken tikka www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/annabels-chicken-tikka-masala/
Salmon and red pepper bake www.madeformums.com/baby/salmon-and-red-pepper-bake/

Mine went straight on to normal food at 6 months. He’s now nearly 8 months and eats curries / pasta / stews / cottage pie / rice / finger foods etc.

If you haven’t yet, you should start introducing the major allergens (you can google these) right away. There’s a fair bit of evidence that early and regular introduction of these foods helps prevent against allergies. If you have a known food allergy in your family speak to your GP or HV first, but otherwise I’d crack on with those.

Agree with starting the major allergens ASAP. The longer you wait to introduce the higher the risk of them developing a severe allergy. So get some peanut butter, sesame seeds (on a bagel etc) eggs, soy, strawberries etc etc into his diet.

I worked our way through the jars and pouches with the different age recommendations. Easy way to introduce loads of different tastes and flavours.
We didn’t eat at the same time as DC’s so jars and pouches were quick and easy. Anything for an easy life!