Independent sitting
Welcome to an exciting time of exploration when your child starts to see their surroundings from an entirely new perspective
Sitting upright and looking around. Sitting up helps strengthen your little one’s muscles, especially those in their hands. So look out as they start to investigate everything within their reach.
At this stage your little one is discovering the consequences of their actions. They will raise their arms to see if you’ll pick them up. They’ll drop things on the floor to see if you’ll come and get them. They may also try to pick things up with one hand, rather than two, and hold them or put them into their mouth. You may have already started your little one on purees by now, so it may be time to introduce new tastes and texture combinations.
Signs your baby is ready to move onto small soft textured chunks:
Independent sitting
Your baby will be able to sit independently (including in a high chair without help), however they won’t be crawling just yet, but they may be bum shuffling or rolling. They will be able to grasp objects with their hands and squeeze them, and they’ll be able to drink from a cup, but probably not be able to hold it on their own (if its heavy).
Tiny Teeth
You may notice your little ones first tooth starting to appear. Lots of baby meals contain a high percentage of fruit, which means they are very acidic – a cause of tooth decay in little ones. Its always good to check the back of pack so you can be sure what’s in your little ones meals. For good oral health, offer water at meal and snack times and brush little teeth and gums at least twice a day especially before bedtime. Also, if you serve them baby pouches, feed them from a spoon.
Self-feeding
Once first foods are accepted, it’s also a good idea to start offering soft finger foods and encouraging your little one to start self-feeding as soon as they show an interest in doing so. This can help them to develop their hand-eye coordination and pincer grip.
Jaw Muscles/Texture
Now that little ones teeth will be starting to appear, introducing small chunks and different texture at this stage is essential as chewing is an important part of the Weaning learning curve. Chewing helps develop jaw muscles which are vital to babies’ speech development. Don’t wait too long to give soft chunks, little ones need to learn chewing at around 7/8 months, so ideally they need to pass through the smooth purée stage quickly.
Uses upper lip to help clear food off spoon
At this stage you notice that you no longer have to push the spoon into little ones mouth. They will start to use their upper lip to help clear food off spoon.
Topping up
Now your little one is moving around more, they will be using more energy. It’s important to supplement meal times with snacks so little ones have enough energy to get through the day, ideally without a tantrum.
Variety
Early exposure to a variety of new foods and flavours is important to help with acceptance and creating healthy eating habits. We know that babies are born liking sweet flavours, but other tastes must be learnt, especially veggie tastes. That’s why it’s important not to give up on veggies. Some studies have shown that over 70% of babies, aged 6 to 10 months, accepted previously disliked vegetables when they were offered at least ten times. So don’t give up, once your little one becomes familiar with these tastes they will learn to love them.
Iron
After 6 months of age, your little one’s source of iron must come from food. Over 50% of toddlers aged 18 months have iron intakes below the recommended level. Iron supports healthy brain development and helps your baby’s red blood cells carry oxygen around their body.