Chewing and eating lumpy foods is the third stage of introducing solids to your baby. By around eight to nine months of age they will have mastered smooth purées (Stage 1), the soft lumps of mashed foods (Stage 2) and are now ready to move onto chunkier textures. The muscles essential for eating and speech are developed and strengthened by chewing chunkier foods. Amazingly most babies can chew pretty efficiently by eight months, even without teeth!

Iron-rich foods are increasingly important as the iron stores your baby was born with are depleting. Don’t give tea, coffee and cola drinks to babies as they reduce iron being absorbed by the body. Breastmilk and water are the recommended drinks for this stage. Water only needs to be boiled and cooled if you’re on tank or bore-hole water.

Milk is still important in your baby’s diet and it’s recommended your baby continues to breastfeed until they are one year or older. Around eight to nine months old you can change to giving your baby solids before their milk at mealtimes, as solid food becomes more important in their diet.

By now you will be moving towards offering three meals a day plus a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. As with adults, babies need a variety of nutrients so their diet should start to include starchy foods (carbohydrates), vegetable or animal protein and plenty of fruit and vegetables. Your Plunket ‘Thriving Under Five’ book details the different foods suitable for this stage and those to be avoided. For example, fibre foods such as whole-grain cereals shouldn’t be given to children until they’re at least two years old, because these foods travel so fast through their intestines they can prevent your child getting the goodness from other foods.

You can buy Stage 3 prepared baby foods from the supermarket. If you’re interested in understanding more about what’s in the jar, can or pouch your Plunket ‘Thriving Under Five’ book has a good section about how to read food labels.

Many people choose to make their own baby food, using bought jars occasionally or for emergencies. At this third stage the foods are mashed, minced, finely chopped or grated to increase the lumpiness of the texture. If you’re unsure what is the right consistency buy a couple jars of Stage 3 prepared foods, as these are the chunkier foods you’re aiming for.

The variety of foods your baby can eat is increasing and finger foods will become a favourite with your baby. Finger foods may assist with teething as foods like cool cucumber can soothe sore gums.

‘Self feeding’ is messy and takes longer than you spooning food into an open mouth, but it should be encouraged as it helps your baby chew, encourages independence and improves coordination. Stock up on bibs, baby spoons, face cloths and newspaper to put under their chair to catch the dropped food.
In terms of safety make sure you wash everyone’s hands before eating, especially if you’re passing food to your baby. It’s a good habit to get into and will reduce the risk of tummy bugs. Also remember choking is a risk for all children so avoid small hard foods, stay with your baby when they’re eating and make sure they’re sitting down.

This third stage of foods is the final transition towards your baby eating the same foods as the rest of the family – this usually happens around one year of age. Around this time you can start to remove your baby’s food from the rest of the family’s cooking before adding any seasoning, then mince / mash / chop / blend or grate to the correct consistency. Remember not to give babies the added salt, sugar, fibre etc that might be present in ‘adult’ foods.

Endorsed by our New World Nutritionist  ||   Proudly Partnering with Parents Centre

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