What foods come next??

[carolines mama]

My 7 month old is eating purees and jarred organic food. so far she has had veggies and fruit only.
I am wanting to introduce some other things, but struggling with where to go from here.
Should I start on meats or fish this early? eggs? yogurt? beans?
Help!

[Freya'sMum]

Hello!

What is recommended in terms of what to offer when seems to vary a lot from country to country - here in the uk everything is fine from 6 months except for whole nuts (choking hazard) and honey (botulism hazard) - there are a couple of other recommendations too, whole milk and full-fat dairy products until 2 years, foods with no additives (salt, sugar or artificial colours, flavours or preservatives), plus the usual balance between the food groups (grains/carbs, protein and fruit/veg), 5 portions of fruit/veg per day, 2 servings oily fish per week, those sorts of things...

...BUT remember our FSF catchphrase "until 1, food's for fun", because dd gets the vast majority of her nutrition from her babymilk until 12 months, any solid foods offered simply supplement it, so you have another 5 months of allowing her to play with food and to practise eating without any real pressure to swallow it. This gives you a real freedom to introduce foods at a relaxed pace, letting her try things when you have them, letting her join in with the social side of eating, copying what you do, understanding that food is fun! She'll develop the skills and confidence needed at her own pace

There is a Foods to Avoid FAQ in the FAQ section, and lots of food ideas in the Recipes section including a Finger Foods for Young Babies thread, and the Famous Sausage Recipe as a way of introducing meat to babies without teeth !

What you decide to offer and when might also include any known family history of allergies/reaction, but as long as you introduce potentially risky foods with caution (early in the day to give maximum time to spot reactons and minimise discomfort during night sleep, and a few days between offering new foods to avoid confusion over the culprit), you should be fine!

HTH to get you started?

Ax