7 month old food ideas

[Kaz4755]

Hi, my dd is 7 months old and I'm too scared to do blw so puree everything at the moment! I don't really know what im doing despite reading loads about it! She is bf apart from one bottle at 7pm before bed. For breakfast she has porridge or weetabix with fruit puree, about three large teaspoons full, for lunch she has an ice cube or two of puréed veg and the same for dinner with mashed up banana (about two inches of banana) with baby rice or yoghurt. I don't know if she is getting enough or too much? She seems to love all food at the moment so would just eat and eat I think! She is still being bf as much as before weaning. She is sleeping dreadfully generally at the moment, I'm wondering if perhaps she isn't having enough solids? She definitely isn't underweight...98th centile on the chart! Should she be having more solids now and less milk? Thank you!

I've got a 7 month old

We have done blw really so my dd generally has whatever we are eating, although I've also got a 4yo so generally I'm cooking child friendly stuff anyway.

I did blw with my older daughter and the most important thing I've taken away from it is to really relax about how much she is eating. She eats every time we eat, so 3 meals a day and generally just gets different bits and pieces from our meals. This morning it was banana pancakes, last night for dinner it was tuna and tomato pasta. I don't worry about how much she eats, I know she will get plenty of milk from me if she needs it ( I just feed on demand but I definitely feel feeds are dropping a bit). I like that if we are out for coffee she can have some fruit or something instead of me feeding her.

Why not stick with the purées but add some of your meal on the side for her to feed herself?

I started blw but dd didn't really get on with it so I hired Annabel Karmel's book from the library (it was the only weaning book they had!) as I was struggling with puree/mash ideas. I wouldn't follow the timeline in it but it has some good recipe ideas. My dd is 7 months and we've introduced chicken and salmon both of which are enjoyed. I also offer finger food, she goes crazy for a slice of orange!

DS is the same age, bf and some ff being introduced. His sleep is also gone to hell and I think he was hungry due to refusing bottles, so I've been trying to up his calorie intake. Over the last week he's had banana, mashed potato, avocado, raspberries, chopped figs, yogurt, rusks, homemade sugarfree rice pudding, banana, sweet potato mashed with butter and cheese, and lots of self-feeding of chunks of cheese, pear, a pancake, strips of omelette, a chicken leg (just gummed it obviously!), toast, rusks. I bought orzo pasta to cook for him, think that will be popular. I'm going to make stewed apple tonight. I hadn't thought of tuna, will try that!
Just be careful with banana. Banana oxidises and creates dreadful indelible dark brown stains on everything it touches, so keep a few designated "banana bibs"!

At 7 months they can eat most things whether blw or puree feeding - try adding dairy, meat, fish, pulses, pasta and rice, anything you usually eat (as long as it's low in salt and sugar.)
My dd is a similar age and has a mix of spoon fed meals and finger foods. Finger foods are great as they can mess around with them whilst you eat your own dinner so you can have meals together. Chunks of cooked vegetables work well to start with, or pasta twists, or strips of toast. If nervous you could buy some finger food baby snacks (like the organix ones) as they pretty much dissolve in the baby's mouth so no choking risk.
With regards to choking - as long as they are sitting up properly in a high chair and you are supervising them then the risk is very low. Babies do gag a lot but that is normal and nothing to worry about!