Heinz - Tinytums

Introducing lumps

Lumps, chunks, slices and pieces: a whole new world of stimulating tastes and textures is opening up for your little one. First your baby gets used to new tastes, and now’s the time to introduce new textures. 

Eating lumps is an essential part of baby’s development: chewing strengthens your baby’s facial muscles and jaw, and even helps develop their power of speech.

But while it’s an exciting experience for your baby, it can be bewildering for you. Here are some advanced weaning tips to help you get started.

When…
Depending on when you started your baby on solids you can start to give foods with soft lumps and finger foods at about 7 – 9 months. Try giving your baby some mashed food or some finger foods and see how they get on. If they don’t want it, just try again another time. If you’re not sure if your baby is ready, you can always check with your health visitor or GP.

How…
Start soft and small. Try mashing some soft fruits or cooked vegetables. Little pieces of soft pasta will be much easier for your baby to take than chunks of minced meat. Heinz’s ‘from 7 months onwards’ range of baby foods is specially designed to help you introduce new textures and is made with a wide range of the highest quality ingredients.

Your baby may just want to suck the food at first. That’s okay, chewing is a whole new experience and can take time to master. As your baby gets the hang of it, you can vary the texture and gradually move from mashed to chopped foods.

Giving drinks for trainer cups and beakers also helps with development.

What…
The foods you are giving at this stage are the same as the foods you started weaning with. Fruits and vegetables, chicken, fish, red meats, pasta, rice, potatoes, beans and lentils, and dairy products are all good foods for babies of this age. It’s the texture that  is changing from puréed to mashed and chopped, to get your baby used to biting and chewing.
Finger foods are a great way to encourage your baby to feed themselves. Go for options such as cooked vegetables, rusks, toast, bread, and fruit such as banana and pear.

You can give hard boiled eggs now, but there are still foods to avoid such as very salty, very sugary or very spicy foods. Nuts and seeds should still be avoided due to allergy or choking risk, and honey because of the possibility of botulism.