Foods for a 7-Month-Old Baby

When parents begin introducing solid foods to their baby's diet at 6 months of age, it is an exciting time to try new experiences and discover which foods their baby likes. When they're 7 months old, babies typically don't have a lot of teeth, so parents are told to offer mostly pureed and mashed foods, along with breast milk or formula.

Grains

Infant cereal is often one of the first foods that parents offer to their baby. Infant cereal consists of flakes of oats or rice that become mushy and easy to chew once a small amount of water or breast milk is added. Infant cookies are another option, as they melt in the mouth when combined with saliva.

Breast Milk or Formula

Breast milk or formula should still make up a large portion of a baby's nutrition at 7 months. Doctors recommend that breast milk or formula remain the baby's main food and small amounts of solid foods be offered in between feedings to help the baby grow accustomed to eating solids.

Pureed Fruits and Vegetables

Jarred or pureed baby food is one of the first items that babies can eat. Although parents can begin offering pureed food at six months, it often takes until well into the seventh month to introduce a wide variety of fruits and vegetables into a baby's diet. Doctors suggest to only introduce one food at a time and wait three to five days before trying another new food to watch for signs of allergies or sensitivities. Around the end of the seventh month, parents can begin boiling vegetables until soft and then mashing them instead of pureeing them.

Dairy

Milk is not recommended for babies under 12 months of age, but other diary items can be offered to provide babies with extra calcium and fat. Full fat yogurt and cheese are often the first choices when introducing dairy products to babies. Yogurt is easy to eat because of its texture, and cubed cheese makes a good option when the baby begins to eat finger foods.

Meats and Protein

Parents can purchase pureed meat baby foods or puree their own meats for their baby to eat. Pureeing meat can be done by cooking it fully and then combining it in a blender with a small amount of warm water. Soft or medium firm tofu is easy to chew and provides a large amount of protein to a baby's diet. After confirming that it's OK with a doctor, parents can begin offering their baby mashed egg yolks.