Stages & Ways To Introduce Different Textured Food To Your Baby

The first 6 months in a baby's life are very smooth as far as the feeds are concerned. From 6 months, a new phase, a new journey begins in your baby’s life. It’s an exciting period for you as a mum as well! You’re curious to start new foods and more excited to see your baby’s reaction to them.

As long as your baby is taking only breastmilk, they are well adjusted to a liquid diet. Beginning solid foods is not only about giving different foods to the baby, but it also means introducing and teaching your baby to enjoy different textured foods. Hence, it has to go in stages; slowly & gradually preparing your baby’s taste buds and helping their digestive system to adapt to different foods and varying textures.

Stages to Prepare Your Baby’s Taste Buds

Introduce your baby to new foods, and different textures. Here’s how you can do it...

• Baby food is first started in little liquid form, then gradually moving to soft purees and then to soft cooked pieces of food.

• It can be easily visualized as, starting with a clear soup of veggies, next moving to veggie puree, and then on to small pieces of cooked veggies.

• Finally, will come to a stage where you will hand over a slice of cleaned veggie to your little one. So the concern is when the baby should be introduced to a new texture that is other than pureed form.

• Well, there is no exact age as every baby reaches this milestone at their own pace. However, it has been suggested that different textured foods should be introduced at least 3 weeks after the baby has started enjoying pureed food.

• Initially, the baby may keep the food in the mouth for some time and then throw it out or may refuse to take lumpy food completely. This is quite normal as the baby will take some time to switch from milk to liquid purees and then to lumpy and thicker purees. So do not worry, be patient, and do not force your baby as this can result in a complete refusal of food.

Sometimes, mothers feel it is not so important to introduce different textured foods or that babies will learn on their own when they grow up. That is not the case, like any other developmental milestone, even this has to be taught to your baby. Remember, different textured foods help to strengthen baby’s jaw muscles, help in speech development, and also keep baby’s teeth healthy and strong. Now comes the big question -

How To Introduce Different Textured Foods?

As said earlier, go in stages and move gradually from one stage to another. First start thickening the pureed food, keeping in mind that the food is very smooth. Once the baby is used to this, move to the next stage, grind the baby's food in a grinder to get a lumpy food texture. Let your baby get adjusted to this.

Next, you can start adding grated apples, grated carrots, and grated cheese to the baby's food. Once the baby is used to this, finally, start adding soft cooked pieces of veggies or fruits to the baby's food. Once this is accomplished, then start giving finger foods like carrot sticks or apple slices rolled in cereal and so on. Wow, you will be so happy to see your baby now getting to know and enjoy different textures.

All this may take 2-3 months, which means by the time your baby is 9-10 months or slightly older she is accepting different textured foods. Many times it may not be as simple and easy as it appears. You  can also include age appropriate infant cereals as they have the right nutrition and texture and can be a suitable partner to encourage chewing. Remember to be patient. It may take many trials for a baby to switch from milk feeds or purees to lumpy or soft food pieces. Do not worry, keep trying and remain calm.

If you want to know more about introducing new foods to your baby- All the how, whys, when, and what’s of it, get all the details in my Ebook, “Starting Solids - A New Chapter in Your Baby’s Life”.

Did you like the blog? Did you find it useful? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Vandana Chawla, a Regd. Nutritionist with UKVRN and a Certified Dr. Sears’ LEAN Coach, has over 20 years of experience in the field of nutrition. Vandana is also the Founder of Nutribaby- https://www.facebook.com/NutribabyCareNC/ This is a platform wherein young mothers share their views, queries, and concerns related to food, health, and nutrition.

Disclaimer: Exclusive Breastfeeding is best for babies for the first 6 months. Breast milk provides the ideal balanced nutrition and protection. However there maybe individual instances where introducing first foods maybe required depending on the child's needs and issues related to mother's milk supply. Please consult a pediatrician to make a more informed choice.