Your baby's been enjoying her smooth, pureed infant food - shiny apple, perhaps, or silky peas. But as soon as you give her something with a bit more texture, blach!! She spits it out or even gags on it. It's a common problem. While you might prefer to chew your meals, your tot is very happy to eat the lazy way - without lumps.

Problem is, babies need to experience lumpier and chewier foods in order to develop oral skills and build muscle tone. This is an important developmental step, as better oral skills can influence not only your baby's future gastronomic preferences, but also how well he communicates - both verbally and through facial expressions. The answer: Introduce your infant to textures slowly and steadily.

 

How to start introducing your baby to lumps

•    Start at 8 to 9 months of age.
•    Begin by introducing tiny, soft, unnoticeable lumps in fork-mashed foods (banana, tofu, avocado). At first, she may selectively spit out these lumps, but in time, she’ll master the ability to control them in her mouth and swallow them.
•    Over the following six months or so, slowly move on to ground or chopped table foods (cooked rice or pastina, finely chopped spaghetti, puffed rice, cheese that has been melted and allowed to cool, baked sweet potato or winter squash). Simply mix some of these more chunkily textured foods into your baby’s smooth, pureed baby food.
•    If your baby is having a tough time, just take it slowly - children develop at different paces, and many are very sensitive to textures. If he's not making progress, discuss with the pediatrician.

Smoothing the way to lumpier meals

•    Always feed your baby in a seated position.
•    Don’t be in a rush. Introduce new food textures one at a time and slowly add different ones.
•    Start with foods your baby already likes.
•    Introduce new textures with other “smooth” baby foods that you know your baby will eat.
•    Alternate new textures with familiar ones - it may help keep your baby interested.


Next: Baby's First Lumpy Food Recipes