How much food in stage 3?
- By now your baby will be well established on 3 main meals a day
- t is still important to keep an eye on their milk intake though and your baby should still be having 500-600 ml (about a pint) of breast, infant or follow-on milk a day
What about snacks?
You can start offering them solid snacks instead of milk feeds mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Suitable snacks to offer include: 
- Fresh fruit and raw vegetables, such as cucumber, peppers and carrots
Although it is very tempting to give your baby sugary and salty snacks, try to still avoid them at this stage (even ones specially created for this age group). Babies soon get used to wanting these sorts of snacks and like to fill up on them rather than healthier alternatives and will simply learn bad habits
What sort of each food type in stage 3?
Continue to give your baby as much variety in their diet as possible and try and aim for:
- 3-4 servings of carbohydrate foods a day
- 2-3 servings of milk and dairy foods a day. (This is in addition to 500-600 ml of their usual milk or breastfeeds. You can also introduce full fat dairy food such as yoghurt and cheese at this stage)
- 1-2 servings of meat or meat alternatives a day
- 3-4 servings of fruit and vegetables a day
Texture at 9-12 months
- By now your baby should be ready to have their foods chopped up and should be getting well practised in the art of feeding themselves. Make sure you still keep an eye on how much is actually getting into their mouths though
- Cooking times on vegetables needn’t be so long now as your baby is ready for crunchier, chopped up pieces and you should include lots of raw fruit and vegetables in their diet, as these really are packed full of nutrients
- You can also start to introduce mini sandwiches into your baby’s diet, which makes feeding whilst out and about much easier. Try to vary your sandwich fillings as much as possible and limit the use of salty spreads
Top tips
- Try to feed foods the whole family can eat as much as possible; this keeps food preparation (and clearing up) down to a minimum and has the added benefit of getting your baby used to family food flavours
- Your baby may enjoy small amounts of herbs and spices in their foods now. You can always add more to your food once you have removed your baby’s portion