I had no idea that baby could chew; I thought that all the baby foods should be pureed, runny and soft to be easily swallowed. It turns out that babies don’t need teeth to chew – they are using their gums. But chewing is a skill and they need to learn it. Why? Apart from being able to feed on chunky food, there is another reason – the muscles they use for chewing are the same muscles they will use for speech. This is another reason to introduce lumpy food.
Funny, my baby didn’t like the lumps in his puree – but liked to chew on steamed carrots and broccoli. He was grabbing them from the tray of his high chair and nibbling little pieces, squashing them with his gums and swallowing with such an expression on his face, as if he was eating a lemon :)