Weaning: Best practices with Recipes for Feeding Your Seven Month Old Baby

Feeding a seven-month-old baby with supplementary foods demands greater skill on the part of yourself and those feeding the infant.

Remember you need to be patient and resourceful to guide a child to learn to eat and thereby enjoy foods with a better diet plan. If you need help with diet plans, Our certified dieticians can help you in making customized diet charts for your baby.

As your child has attained seven months of age, you must have already started weaning or must be in process of starting it. Various apprehensions must be revolving in your mind regarding different weaning foods, you must be wondering which foods will be best and which foods to introduce first to your little one. Let us dig deep into it and see what all you can offer to your younger one.

Why is Weaning Important for Seven-Month-Old Baby?

Firstly, it is important to know and understand why weaning or supplementary feeding is important for your baby. Well…after six months of exclusive breastfeeding, increasing needs of calories, protein, and other nutrients of your baby cannot be met by mother’s milk alone!. Iron stores in the liver of your infant would last only up to four-six months but mother’s milk is deficient in iron, Vitamin C, and vitamin D. Hence, weaning after six months is extremely important due to the high risk of attaining micronutrient deficiencies and malnutrition in infants. If your baby is to maintain the expected growth rate and remain well-nourished, then supplementary feeding or weaning has to be started by the sixth month of age.

Tips And Tricks When Introducing Weaning Foods

• You should introduce one new food at a time.
• Do give time for your baby to get familiar with the food.
• You should give a small quantity of new food at the beginning. Always start with a tablespoon quantity. Based on acceptability and tolerance, gradually increase the quantity to a small cup size.
• You should develop a habit of straining/filtering the Liquids.
• Do mash Semi solids into soft and puree form.
• Do not use a feeding bottle to feed the child with liquids. Usage of feeding bottles for a long is not good for babies’ oral hygiene and oral health.
• Use a spoon, small glass, or small cup to feed them. Make them get used to an adult method of eating.
• If the baby shows dislike for a particular food then omit that food for a week and re-introduce it again.
• You must be careful to avoid showing any kind of dislike expression on your face for any food being given to the child.
• Always start with a thin consistency and gradually increase the consistency.
• You should give food between breastfeeds.
• Give freshly prepared food.
• Give water in between the feedings with a spoon.
• Remember, the appetite of your baby varies from meal to meal and day to day and season to season.
• Remember it is important to continue breastfeeding your child till they attain one year of age along with supplementary feeding. 

What Are the Types of Supplementary Foods?

Now that you understand the importance of the need for weaning, we will move on to the type of supplementary foods which can be introduced and given to your baby. You can give liquid supplementary foods and semi-solid supplementary foods to your baby.

To make it easier for you, the method of preparation for each of the liquid and semi-solid supplementary foods is given below. Moreover, we have also discussed why they make an appropriate choice for infants to start with is also discussed. So, let’s dig and dive in a bit about what foods can be given in liquid and semi-solid consistency.

Which Liquid Supplementary Foods Should You Give And How To Prepare Them?

Liquid Supplementary Foods: 

It is always advisable to start weaning your baby with liquid supplementary foods first. You can give rice water, sago water, barley water, or soups to the tiny tummies.

 

 

Rice Water:

As per traditional weaning practice, rice water is often recommended as a baby’s first food. It is starch. It is easily digestible and hypoallergenic.

How to Prepare Rice Water For Your Baby?

Steps: 

• Take 2.5 to 3 tablespoons of rice and wash it well.
• Add the rice to 1 cup of water and boil it for 10-15 minutes on medium flame.
• When rice turns soft and cooked well, switch off the flame.
• Let it cool down. Mash the rice into a vessel or glass through a filter or strainer to get the rice water.
• We advise not to add sugar or salt.
• Feed your baby with the filtered/ strained rice water with a spoon slowly.

Sago water:

Sago water is pure starch, which is a type of carbohydrate. It is a calorie-dense food. It is easily digestible.

How to Make Sago Water For Your Baby?

• Pour water into a cooking pot and leave it to boil.
• Add sago (Sabudana) to boiling water.
• Cover it with a lid and boil it in medium flame for about 20-30 minutes. Keep stirring in between.
• It must be understood that it’s done the white-colored sago turns colorless.
• Let the sago water have a thin consistency.
• Turn off the flame…let it cool down and filter or strain the sago water into a vessel or glass.
• We recommend not adding sugar, or salt.
• Feed your baby with the filtered/strained sago water with a spoon slowly.

 

Barley water: 

Barley water is loaded with nutrients. It has a good amount of starch and is easily digestible.

How to Make Barley Water For Your Baby?

Steps:

• Pour water into a cooking pot and leave it to boil.
• Add barley to boiling water.
• Cover it with a lid and boil it in medium flame for about 20-30 minutes. Keep stirring in between.
• When the water turns a little pinkish it must be understood that it’s done.
• Let the barley water have a thin consistency.
• Turn off the flame…let it cool down and filter or strain barley water into a vessel or glass.
• Don’t add sugar or salt.
• Feed your baby with the filtered/ strained barley water with a spoon slowly.

 

 

Soups: 

Soups made from moong dal, carrot, mixed vegetables (carrot + beans), and bottle gourd can be given to the baby. Soups provide few vitamins and minerals required. Make sure the soup made for your baby is homemade.

How to Make Homemade Soup For Your Baby?

Steps:

• For moong dal soup: Pressure cooks little moong dal and grind it to paste.
• For the vegetable soup: Grind a few vegetables into a paste.
• Add the moong dal or vegetable paste into a cup of water in a pan and let it boil for 15-20 minutes. Stir in between.
• Turn off the flame, let it cool down, and strain or filter the soup into a vessel or glass. Make sure it is thin in terms of consistency.
• Don’t add cornflour, pepper, or salt.
• Feed your baby with the filtered/ strained homemade soup with a spoon slowly.

WHICH SEMI-SOLID SUPPLEMENTARY FOODS CAN BE GIVEN AND HOW TO PREPARE THEM?

Semi-Solid Supplementary Foods: 

Start semi-solid foods for your baby when he/she gets accustomed to and tolerates liquid supplementary foods. You can give rice porridge, ragi porridge, mashed vegetable paste, and mashed fruit paste.  

Rice Porridge:

Also known as ‘congee’, rice porridge is an ideal first semi-solid food for babies. It is easily digestible, less likely to cause allergies.

How to Make Rice Porridge For Your Baby? 

Steps:

• Take 2 tablespoons of rice. Wash it well.
• Soak Rice in water for 6 hours before washing it for easier digestion (Optional step).
• Drain off the water and sundry the rice for an hour.
• Take a pan and dry roast the sundried rice until it turns light brown.
• Turn off the flame. Transfer it to a plate and let it cool down.
• Grind the rice in a mixer to form a powder.
• Take 1 cup of water in a pan and add 2 teaspoons of the rice powder to it.
• Cook it on low flame for 5-10 minutes.
• Make sure the rice powder is well cooked without any lumps.
• Switch off the flame and let it cool down.
• Take it into a cup or bowl and feed it to your baby slowly with a spoon.
• Do not add sugar, or salt to it.
• Start with thinner consistency then progress to a saucy consistency.

Ragi Porridge:

How to Make Ragi Porridge for Your Baby? 

Steps: 

Method 1:

• Wash and soak ragi for at least 8-10 hours. Change the water a couple of times to prevent odor.
• Drain off the water and grind soaked ragi in a mixer with water as needed.
• Pour the ground ragi mixture on a cloth and squeeze it to extract ragi milk.
• Cook this collected ragi milk in a pan on a low flame for 10-15 minutes till it cooks and attains little consistency.
• Allow it to cool a bit and transfer it to a cup or bowl. Feed your baby slowly.
• Do not add sugar, or salt to it.
• Feed the ragi milk to your baby with a spoon slowly.

 

Method 2: (Malted Ragi Powder) 

• Soak ragi for one full day.
• Drain off the water.
• Tie soaked ragi in a cotton cloth for a day.
• The next day when sprouts arise from ragi dry it for one to two days. Sundry isn’t necessary. 
• Dry roast ragi and grind them into fine powder.
• To one glass of water add one or two tablespoons of ragi powder and bring it to boil for 10-15 minutes. Make sure there is no lump formation.
• Check for its doneness and allow it to cool down.
• Do not add sugar, or salt to it. 
• Feed it to your baby with a spoon slowly.

 

Mashed Vegetables:

Vegetables contain vitamins and minerals. You can give them to your baby by steaming or boiling and making a puree out of them. You can initially introduce vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. 

How to Prepare Mashed Pureed Vegetables For Your Seven-Month-Old Baby? 

Steps: 

• Wash and peel carrot or potato or sweet potato.
• Chop the vegetable into pieces or cubes.
• Steam the vegetable in a steamer for 15 minutes or use an idli steamer plate by adding a cup of water or pressure cook the vegetable with a cup of water for 2 whistles.
• Do check for its softness and transparency once the vegetable is steamed, 
• Mash it with a spoon into a smooth paste. Add little water for thin consistency as it would be easier for your baby to swallow.
• Allow it to cool a bit. Transfer it to a cup or bowl and feed your child with a spoon or by hand.
• Do not add sugar, or salt to it.
• Feed it to your baby with a hand or a spoon slowly.

 

 

Pureed Fruit:

Pureed fruits are any day better than fruit juices even for a baby. Fruits just like vegetables provide vitamins and minerals. Start with easily digestible fruits. Start with mashed banana and steamed apple paste. You can slowly introduce watermelon puree, musk melon puree, chikoo paste (sapota), mango puree, and ripe papaya paste. If your baby finds it difficult to swallow paste-like consistency then you can add little water for a thinner consistency. Avoid acidic fruits like oranges, sweet lime, and strawberries until the baby is close to attaining one year of age.

Egg Yolk:

Mashed egg yolk can be introduced once your baby is comfortable eating the above-mentioned semisolid foods. Do not give Egg white to babies below one year of age as egg white is a common food allergen. Give only egg yolk to babies until they attain one year of age because it does not cause any allergic reactions. Egg yolk is packed with nutrients for your baby’s development. It contains iron, vitamin D for bones, and essential fats for absorption of fat-soluble vitamins along with choline associated with brain development, cholesterol that helps produce required hormones, and also DHA which is a powerful fat needed for your baby’s brain.

Written By: Praneetha Bhagavatula (Dietician)

Reviewed By Dr. Harman(Obstetrician/gynecologist)

Sources

B. Srilakshmi; 2014- 7th Edition; Dietetics; New Age International (P)Ltd; Publishers.

KE Elizabeth; 2015-5th Edition; Nutrition and Child Development