Baby talk: From puree to solids - the different stages of food within baby's first year

Congratulations! Now that your baby is six months old, transitioning from breast milk or formula to solids is both an exciting and a terrifying time.

Did you know babies can chew even before they get their first teeth, or that chewing helps with speech development and self-feeding?

When your baby is ready for solids, first foods need to be smooth, soft, or finely mashed, and the baby will gradually progress to chunkier and less pureed foods over the course of the next six months, with a variety of different textures, all of which will help your baby learn how to chew.

Most foods are safe for babies in the first year as long as they're texturally age-appropriately (with the exception of raw or cooked honey, which shouldn't be consumed until they are a year old due to the risk of infantile botulism).

For instance, after six months, babies can have carrots and potatoes. But a 6-month baby needs them to be mashed or cut into large cooked wedges, while a 12-month baby can have them as chewable chunks.

As you may already have realised, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all rule when it comes to babies, and there is nothing wrong if your baby decides to take to pureed foods at seven or eight months, instead of the usual six month mark.

Here's a rough guide to the different stages of food that you can expect within a baby's first year:

Stage 1

Six months - single ingredient purees

While six months is the usual average age to introduce babies to solids, this stage can begin as young as four months old. Each baby is different, and there's no hard and fast rule for starting solids.

If your baby has steady head control, is showing an interest in what the rest of the family is eating, or if she's learning to open her mouth for a spoon, she might be ready to move onto solids. After checking with your paediatrician, let the baby food begin!

Introducing babies to solid food is important to let them explore the tastes and textures of different foods. Keep in mind that solid foods should not replace breast milk or formula as the primary source of nutrition and only a spoonful or two should be given to your baby after the formula or breast milk.

While you can certainly bypass purees in favour of finger food — as is the trend nowadays — it's okay to start with thin, smooth, single ingredient purees (not much thicker in texture than breast milk or formula). In fact, formula or breast milk can be added to the purees to make them thinner (and easier for babies to accept the taste).

Stage 2

Six to nine months - thicker consistency combinations

While Stage 2 solids are still basically soft purees, the purees in this stage are a little thicker, with usually two or more ingredients mashed together and a few soft chunks in them.

This stage is for babies who are ready to move on from Stage 1 but still aren't quite ready to chew yet, and they're starting to get introduced to a wide variety of foods from different food groups.

This is also the stage when babies try experimenting with self-feeding, so spears of bananas, cooked carrots or avocado are great foods to let them try with (remember to offer shapes / sizes that baby can pick up easily).

Make sure fruits and veggies are soft enough to mash with gentle pressure between your thumb and forefinger.

And you can try feeding her some cottage cheese and yoghurt too as she's not going to be able to self-feed fully yet, but still stay away from hard, raw food (such as apple slices or carrot sticks), as your baby might not be ready to chew fully yet.

Note: As your baby might be taking in more solids now than in Stage 1, it might be the right time to start reducing a little of the formula or breast milk a little bit.

Stage 3

10 to 12 months - soft, chewable chunks

Now that your baby has the oral and fine motor skills to self-feed, let her culinary adventures begin!

This stage is much more fun (for both you and your baby), because you can give your baby regular foods that the whole family is eating now (albeit in smaller, softer chunks).

Chop up some food from your own plate and give it to your baby, so you don't have to make a separate meal for the baby anymore (although you might still need to chop some foods into smaller pieces and cook vegetables until they're soft).

If you're concerned about oiliness or sodium intake, rinse the food with a bit of water before serving it to your baby. Alternatively, consider cooking healthy meals that the whole family can enjoy! 

And as she would have likely developed the pincer grasp and can pick up and bring small pieces of food to her mouth, finger foods are a great new addition to your baby's diet (think pasta, fruit slices, soft cheeses, baby tomatoes, etc). Have fun!

This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.