To really not understand baby led weaning?

Just giving babies normal food is the biggest load of bollocks you ever came across? How odd.

She's only 7mos so it's totally normal for not much to be going in yet, don't put too much pressure on yourself. They definitely need to be exposed to solids at that age though so don't stop giving her food for a couple of months.

It took a while for my son to figure out chewing and swallowing (you'd be surprised how much they can chew with just gums!) but once he got it that was it. He was happily eating chicken drumsticks by 9mo 😂 he's still a great eater now at 2yo. I don't know anyone who's enjoyed the weaning process, purées or BLW!

I don’t think it’s a fad, but I do advocate doing what’s right for you.

I did do BLW with mine - it’s was incredibly convenient with the second since I pretty gave her what the toddler was eating.

There we’re a couple of heart in mouth moments, but I think you get that with everything.

For what it’s worth, I think a bit of purée and a bit of finger food is likely the most approach.

Re the ‘fad’ thing, I think it’s just that it’s given a name and framework to something that people have been doing for years. I think people used to be quite happy to try a few different approaches and go with what works. Now BLW is talked about as if it’s some gold standard because it’s a ‘thing’.

For first stages, I used to use a crinkle chopper (can just use a knife!) to cut up a load of root veg sticks - butternut squash and parsnip were good - and then roast them in a big tray slowly until they were soft but still stick shapes. Same for carrots but they worked better being boiled.

Freeze them flat on baking trays to stop them sticking together then scrape into a large freezer bag. I'd pull out a handful and microwave for each meal - takes the stress out as no effort!

They were great for kids to hold in their fist and then suck / mush then up with gums.

DD1 (mix fed) took to BLW instantly. She had a milk/pain association from silent reflux.

DD2 (EBF) didn't really show any interest in BLW until 9 months. She developed 11 food allergies between 6 and 18 months.

All babies are different. I was relaxed about the slow start to solids because she was my second AND because I had experience of BLW being successful with DD1. My concerns lay with the number of allergies she developed.

It sounds like this is the thing that’s just pushed you over the limit today. It’s hard, we all have those days. I think the main issue here though is your expectations. They don’t just start perfectly eating from the get go. Those first few months of weaning are about tasting, touching, practicing, yes sometimes some gagging will bring up milk, that most likely bothers you more than her (my babies have both been sicky though so it’s never been an issue here) it can take them months to figure it out and that’s fine. Just keep giving her a bit of what you or the toddler are having and let her have a go. Don’t worry about how much is going in, you probably won’t realise she’s eating much until her poo changes. It doesn’t have to be a big pressure.

Hardly a fad. My eldest is 15 and it was far from a tree thing back then.

There's no benefit in sneering at other options simply because it's not what you choose to do. There is room for both, or even a mixture of the two.

Personally I favoured "my kid weaning".

I think your expectations for how much they're going to eat and how quickly they're getting the hang of weaning are far too high.

If she's not 7 months until 18th Feb presumably you've only been weaning 3 weeks?

Some of them get it quicker than others, but they just need practice and not a pressurised environment (I know you say you're not passing on stress on, but kids pick up on a lot, so I'd be surprised).

If she's really struggling with finger foods, you could try the puff crisps to get used to the feeling of food in the mouth.

They don't need teeth to chew. DD only has one tooth and is a champion chewer. They just need practice.

I don’t think it’s a fad but I do think some babies take to BLW really well and others just don’t, and those people with babies who do well have no idea what it’s like when your baby is just not interested at all. Don’t feel pressured either way. We did a combination of both, but mine is 14 months now and only just starting to eat more significant amounts. A certain amount of gagging is normal though and different to choking.

Just put food in her tray and let her explore with her hands. She'll naturally start putting things in her mouth- suck, chew/gum and spit out before swallowing. But she had to be given opportunities to explore food. You are really stressing over this too much.

If you're already feeding a small child then just give the baby some of theirs. The extra cost will be tiny.

Weaning is messy but then lots of parenting is.

Baby feeding is messy whatever approach you take, or at least it should be. If you spoonfeed the NHS recommend giving finger foods too, so mess is inevitable.

It doesn't need to be expensive. Fruit and veg in tiny quantities isn't going to cost a lot, nor would other things you can offer.

It's not about quantity going in, it's about learning about food, about mealtimes, about textures, smells, tastes etc etc.

Just purée fruit to start with, then sweet veg like butternut, sweet potato, carrot. Then whatever you are having. Put it in a little bowl give her a spoon and you have one too, just let her get used to having it in her mouth, don’t expect much to get eaten (if any!) Give her food before the milk feed.

But at this stage it doesn't matter that 'nothing is going in'. She's 7 months old. She's getting her nutrients from her milk feeds. Food is to play with and explore new textures. You don't have to be doing full meals at this stage. Just sit her in the highchair with some breadsticks and a chunk of banana, or a bit of steamed broccoli and let her figure it out.

Biggest loads of bollocks I ever came across as a parent of young DCs.

I went by the mantra "food is for fun until they're 1". Fed a mix of purée/porridge and finger foods. Finger foods during the day when I could then feed the hunger, and some kind of porridge/cereal in the evening to help them start fuller overnight. I really wouldn't stress about getting meaningful amounts of food into baby in the early months of weaning. Think of it as an activity rather than a meal.

You’ve already made your mind up that BLW isn’t for you, and that’s fine. Just stop.

Yeah solid starts app is great - each food has a “how to serve section” by age so you can reduce choking hazards.

It was another poster who said it was a fad, should have tagged them to make it clear.

It's never a waste of time to offer food and let your DD touch it and interact with it. There's no pressure or need to worry about what she eats or not, just offer a couple of bits of something suitable for grabbing and leave her to it.

Even if you are doing what you are doing and spoon feeding you will still need to let them have finger foods.