I dont think he's ready

[esmereldaskysurfer]

My son is about 2 weeks away from 6 months old, and handles smooth purees very well with minimal gagging. I gave him a chunkier puree (not massive chunks, just not as smooth as usual) and he gagged and would not eat it. This morning i gave him some banana pieces and ate my half of the banana with him to show him what to do. He made his "hungry face", chewed his fingers etc but made no move to pick up the banana on his tray. I finally put a piece in his hand to show him and he just smushed it, didnt even try to put it into his mouth. Later i tried again with a french fry and he licked it a couple of times, then gave up and dropped it.

I just dont think he's ready for BLW just yet, i think he likes the idea of food but he's not ready to feed himself. So for now i will stick to smooth purees and see where we go from there.

[LucyLastic]

So sorry you haven't had any replies yet - your post needed mod approval and we've been having trouble with the system not letting us do it! Hope you've picked up some useful info around the site in the meantime - I'd say smushing and licking at this very early stage is absolutely spot on - babies rarely go from milk to Sunday roast overnight (although there's bound to be one!) and BLW allows them to familiarise themselves with food, play with it and go at their own pace, seeing as milk provides pretty much everything they need until they're one anyway. Good luck!

[esmereldaskysurfer]

We've since this post had some successes. He loves courgette and yellow squash, and rice crackers are a current favourite because he can grip them well and get them in his mouth. We're still feeding some puree because he's so darn hungry and he got very upset when he didnt get his breakfast fruit puree with oatmeal lol

[LucyLastic]

Yay! That's fab! Great work, little one, and you for keeping on trying - a lot of people would have happily just given up and gone back to spoonfeeding. Really, though, milk is likely to remain the major component in their diet until they're around one, and the temptation during growth spurts to 'fill up' on purée doesn't really necessarily bring them much in terms of nutrients. I loved watching C explore foods and gradually start eating more and more - and her face when she tried a slice of lemon was a picture! There's no need to not give him purée with oatmeal, though - just stick it on the spoon and let him have a go! It might be messy, but that's part and parcel of it. Best tip I had when I was just starting out was this : buy flannels (wash cloths, face cloths, I don't know where you're from, so I don't know what you might know them as, but if you're in the UK, Tesco sell them for 25p each!) I've never used wet wipes, but bought about 40 flannels when C was 6 months old and I still use them now. Saved a fortune! Also, wet wipes are yucky, slimey and are a nightmare for the environment, so it's win-win.
Good luck!

[Danicaxsommer]

My LO is 6 months and 2 weeks and is in the same boat. She rarely swallows but really loves tasting things. I've found the bigger the piece of food is, the better she does with it because she still can't grab very well. She'll suck on a piece of Apple until it's mush in her mouth and hands and she's spit most of it out. I find bits of carrot and apple in her poop so some is getting through her system. Boobies are still her main source of nutrients. In no way do we have an eating schedule and she usually eats solids once or twice a day at the most. Some days not at all. Food before one is just for fun is my motto. It's helped me stay more relaxed about the whole thing. Good luck!!