Q&A: My 9-month-old will not eat chunky baby food. Suggestions?

There is tremendous variability among infants in how readily they accept new tastes and textures. By nine months, infants aren't growing as quickly as they did and are preparing to show the more independent behavior of toddlerhood: this can mean choosier behavior.

The main difference between stage two and three foods is the complexity of tastes (from single to combined foods) and texture (to more chunkier foods). But there's no reason why a child has to master stage three before progressing to table food. Your daughter may be more interested in food off your plate (cottage cheese, bananas) than from a jar, since imitating you will become more important to her as a young toddler.

Continue to offer her a variety of foods—some old stand-bys as well as new more complex ones—with more and more table food integrated into her diet. Then, leave the choice up to her, but let her eat at the table, while the rest of the family is eating many of those same foods.