Baby food to table food: How to switch?
Created by Parentune Support Updated on Jul 21, 2020
Regular home cooked food can be introduced to your baby as early as 8 to 9 months of age. My infant is 10 months old and she now enjoys regular food made for the whole family!A little planning from the beginning can significantly reducetheextra effort you need to make baby food.
I am an ayurvedic doctor and mother of two children. I have an 8 year old son and a 10 month old daughter.I have never given bottle feed to both my babies.This is how I made the gradual shift from breastfeeding to baby food to regular food with my children…
6-7 months
Breastfeeding has helped me in introducing solid food earlier. I introduced mashed and pureed food from 6 to 7 months of age. This included mashed banana, vegetable soup, sooji kheer etc.
8-9 months
By 8 to 9 months my baby was fed every 2 to 3 hours, though in small quantities. Every time we would eat anything, my little one would stop eating her baby food which included oatmeal, steamed finger foods like carrot, and would stare at our food.I felt she wanted to taste the normal food. So, I started by giving her a piece of chapatti.
My then 8/12 month old started to bite with her gums. She kept doing so until the chapati became soft enough for her to swallow. Next, I tried cucumber and again she started chewing it - first with her front gums, and making it soft. This also helps infants with teething problems as solid foods massage the infants’ gums. I started with chapati and cucumber as part of her daily routine diet along with other baby foods. By 9 months my little one had mastered the art of making the food soft with her saliva andswallowingit without choking herself.
9-11 months
My next step was to give her small pieces of soft vegetables cooked for the family. I gave her lauki, tori, and potato. Today she is 10 1/2 months and she eats normal food with the whole family, which includes daal and rice, roti and vegetables with curd.
No more does my infant want or need to have plain steamed baby food! I hope these tips help you and your baby make that shift from baby food to regular food. Please remember, it’s agradual process that requires a bit of planning– and that all babies are different. And soon your baby can enjoy the same meal as the whole family!
Did you find Sunita’s tips on helping your baby transition from baby food to regular fooduseful? How did/ do you help you baby make this change? Do share your experiences and learnings with us in the comments section below. We love hearing from you!
This content has been checked & validated by Doctors and Experts of the parentune Expert panel. Our panel consists of Neonatologist, Gynecologist, Peadiatrician, Nutritionist, Child Counselor, Education & Learning Expert, Physiotherapist, Learning disability Expert and Developmental Pead.
| Jul 17, 2017
Thanks for the info. but i would like to confirm one thing from you that how did you manage without bottle feed. as my son is now six months old and I have tried everything to introduce bottle feed but he is not accepting it. as I feel that now my breastmilk will not be sufficient for him. kindly suggest
| Jul 17, 2017
my daughter is eight months old she is also not accepting bottle milk. but I feel the food and breastfeeding is sufficient for her. she also likes to have what we eat. if there is too much masala in our food I prefer washing some pieces for her and then give it to her
| Aug 24, 2017
Dr Sunita .. I think ur tips are really good. .. by following these we can save our babies from harmful preservatives & chemicals used in packed baby foods. It's also helpful in nurturing the habit of eating vegetables, dals,chapattis at an early age & save the kids from shifting towards unhealthy Junk Food.
| Sep 02, 2017
hello Dr Sunita.. my daughter is 11 months old... she doesn't accept d top feed (outside milk) nor she has a sweet tooth.. I still breast feed her 3-4 times a day along wid semi solid food.. she even doesn't like to have anything made from milk like sheera/ kheer/dudh biscuits, nothing at AL of this sort.. wat to do how to introduce milk to her.. even she has lots of cough cold.. m really worried.. if possible plz share ur contact no
| Sep 03, 2017
A child whi is on breast feed will not like the outside milk. This is a commen problem so not to worry. You have to reduce your breast feed and encourage the child to take liquids and semisolids .Try curd ,buttermilk,flavoured milk like adding kesar to milk. Initially if child is not taking any milk product you can give vegetable soup,vegetable khichdi with some curd mixed in it. Try some smoothies like apple or banana shake
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