Your seven-month-old
Between 7 and 9 months, your baby is likely to make big advances in her eating habits. Once she’s been eating solids for a few weeks, you can gradually increase both the amount she eats and the variety of foods in her diet.
At seven months, you can build up from two meals a day to three, and move on from fruit and vegetable purees to include new ingredients such as meat, fish, egg and cheese. Find out more about which foods are safe to introduce at this stage.
Try to make sure one meal a day contains one of these protein-rich foods. When she’s ready, you can also introduce a simple pudding (fruit puree, yoghurt or fromage frais) at one mealtime, probably lunch. See our recipe section for some tasty baby meal ideas.
Your seven-month-old’s weekly meal planner
Monday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Baby cereal with apple puree, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Chicken puree with sweet potato, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Breast or bottle
Tea: Carrot and apple puree, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Tuesday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Baby cereal with mashed banana, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Spinach and cod puree, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Breast or bottle
Tea: Sweet potato and carrot puree, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Wednesday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Baby cereal with pear puree, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Lentil and vegetable puree, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Breast or bottle
Tea: Cauliflower and broccoli cheese, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Thursday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Baby cereal with mango puree, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Chicken and vegetable puree, yoghurt, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Breast or bottle
Tea: Root vegetable puree, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Friday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Baby cereal with apple puree, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Salmon puree with carrots and sweet potato, mango puree, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Breast or bottle
Tea: Banana and avocado puree, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Saturday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Baby cereal with pear puree, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Beef puree with sweet potato, fromage frais, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Breast or bottle
Tea: Lentil puree with sweet potato, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Sunday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Baby cereal with mango puree, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Cod with butternut squash and cheese sauce, mashed banana, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Breast or bottle
Tea: Scrambled egg with cheese, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Your eight-month-old
At eight months, your baby should be growing more adept at chewing and swallowing, so tailor the texture of her foods to suit her stage of development: you should now be able to mash rather than puree fish, cooked vegetables and soft fruit, but will probably still need to blend meat dishes until relatively smooth. If she's struggling, here's are a few tips to help her learn to chew.
Her appetite will be growing, so start giving her a dessert at both lunch and teatime, and introduce a simple finger food snack with her afternoon milk – as much for the eating practice as for nutrition.
Your eight-month-old’s weekly meal planner
Monday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Baby cereal with fruit puree, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Mashed lentils and vegetables, apple and pear puree, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Mini rice cakes, breast or bottle
Tea: Potato, pea and leek puree, yoghurt, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Tuesday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Porridge with mashed banana, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Beef casserole with sweet potato and vegetables, rice pudding, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Breadsticks, breast or bottle
Tea: Spinach, potato, parsnip and leek puree, mashed mango and peach, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Wednesday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Apple, pear and plum puree, toast soldiers, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Cod with potatoes, tomatoes and carrots, fromage frais, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Banana (mashed or chunks), breast or bottle
Tea: Cauliflower and broccoli cheese, raspberry, peach and pear puree, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Thursday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Baby cereal with fruit puree, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Chicken and vegetable casserole, rice pudding, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Fromage frais, breast or bottle
Tea: Mashed sweet potato, carrot and broccoli, apple and strawberry puree, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Friday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Porridge with pear puree, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Plaice with leek and cheese sauce, mashed banana, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Mini rice cakes, breast or bottle
Tea: Butternut squash and apple puree, yoghurt, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Saturday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Mashed banana and mango, toast soldiers, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Mild chicken and apricot curry, fromage frais, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Chopped grapes and strawberries, breast or bottle
Tea: Baked sweet potato, mashed, semolina with sugar-free jam, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Sunday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Baby cereal with fruit puree, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Spinach and cod puree, bananas and custard, breast or bottle
Mid-afternoon: Breadsticks, breast or bottle
Tea: Mashed potato, carrots and sweetcorn, yoghurt, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Your nine-month-old
By nine months, your baby is likely to be dropping her lunchtime milk feed, so you’ll need to increase the quantity you offer her at this meal. Most mums find it easiest to give the main meal of the day at lunchtime, with a lighter dish for tea.
You can now introduce more grown-up flavours and ingredients, like baby pasta and rice, and aim to mash foods rather than pureeing them. See more on how to introduce lumpier foods. With the lunchtime milk feed out of the equation, you’ll probably also need to give your baby a more substantial afternoon snack with her milk.
Your nine-month-old’s weekly meal planner
Monday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Cereal, mashed or pureed fruit, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Salmon with broccoli and peas, yoghurt
Mid-afternoon: Sliced apple, breast or bottle
Tea: Potato, carrots and sweetcorn, rice pudding, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Tuesday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Scrambled egg, toast fingers, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Chicken and parsnip casserole, fruit compote
Mid-afternoon: Rice cakes, cheese cubes, breast or bottle
Tea: Sweet potato, broccoli and peas, banana and custard breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Wednesday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Porridge with mashed banana, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Cod with butternut squash and peas, fromage frais
Mid-afternoon: Breadsticks and hummous, breast or bottle
Tea: Trio of root vegetables, semolina with apricots, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Thursday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Cereal, toast soldiers, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Chicken with sweet potato, peas and basil, yoghurt
Mid-afternoon: Banana, breast or bottle
Tea: Tomato and butternut squash risotto, apple crumble and custard, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Friday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Fruit compote, toast soldiers, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Beef and vegetable casserole, apple and blackberry compote
Mid-afternoon: Sliced avocado, breast or bottle
Tea: Lentils with sweet potato, fromage frais, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Saturday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Porridge with pureed prunes, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Fish with carrots and orange, rice pudding
Mid-afternoon: Fromage frais, breast or bottle
Tea: Pasta with cheese and tomato sauce, fruit puree, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
Sunday
Early morning: Breast or bottle
Breakfast: Pancakes with sliced banana, breast or bottle (if wanted)
Lunch: Lentil and vegetable casserole, yoghurt
Mid-afternoon: Cheese cubes and apple slices, breast or bottle
Tea: Cheesy leek, sweet potato and cauliflower gratin, stewed peaches, breast or bottle
Bedtime: Breast or bottle
These meal planners are intended as a guide to weaning from seven to nine months, but always be guided by your baby’s appetite: some will want to go faster, whereas others will take longer to move on.
Mix and match meals across the planner to provide your baby with different tastes and textures. If you have any concerns about your baby’s diet, ask your health visitor’s advice.
