To have a niggling feeling that my bf won't propose to me?

It doesn't sound like he's ready for marrige.
You haven't been together that long.

As above if it doesn't come what are you going to do? Break up?

You were complacent in the order your relationship progressed. You've got the baby and the house so there's no incentive now.

Just nurture your relationship and stay independent.

If he ever mentions another baby then you've got something to work with.

No other babies until after marrige.
Just don't let your brooodiness let that down.

They have a child together. It's not a "rush".

Could he be avoiding the conversation because he plans to propose but doesn't want you to suspect?
Like maybe he has mentally clocked aquamarine and the Haribo comment is deflection to put you off?
Maybe back off, don't force an engagement because you won't be happy with that either, and see how things pan out. You've not been together that long, there is no real rush after all.

Just tell him you don’t want a ring or a grand proposal. You just want to get married. You can do this cheaply at a registry office. If he wants a big wedding say you will do that in a few years time when you’ve saved up and you can have a big wedding party then, but you want to be legally married now.

This isn’t going to be what you want to hear but from a different perspective I felt stressed and pressured just reading your original post with the way you kept on hinting about rings. It would have made me back off too.

It sounds like you want the grand engagement gesture and are pinning everything on that, his vision relates to the wedding. The engagement for him is neither here nor there, as others have said, if you’ve had the conversation about getting married there is no need for an engagement for some people.

Have you asked him to marry you? We're in 2024, so no reason you can't propose to him.

I'm just going to repeat pp: sit down and have a conversation like adults. Discuss when you're getting married and start to plan it.
This seems so regressive - why is it the decision of the man? Why are you waiting for him to make a choice about your future?
Why all the silly conversations about Haribo? You needed to say "I don't want a Haribo ring, I would like an aquamarine engagement ring, and for us to plan a wedding".

You’r right to be worried. Tell him you want a registry wedding now, and when baby is 3/4, he can have his aisle wedding.

asked him to sign a cohabitation agreement with me but didn't want to saying real love doesn't need contracts and he finds it insulting.

What would this give you and why didn’t he want it? Are you 50/50 on the mortgage? Are you both working full time/earning similar amounts?

My dh used to be like this, he just wasn’t ready to get engaged. He would talk about some far off future wedding and whenever we went to weddings he would say what he liked or didn’t like for ours ‘some day’.
I would look at engagement rings and asked him what he thought but he would say the same that he didn’t want to buy anything ‘cheap’.
I eventually spoke to him about wanting to know where our life was leading and he did say he wanted to get married and to settle down with me but he wasn’t ready yet and needed a bit more time. Not to be single and run around but to get himself ready financially and emotionally.
We have now been married for 5 years and have 2 children.

I think you need to speak openly with him and ask what he’s wanting. Explain you’re not demanding an engagement now but want to know if it’s on the cards for you two as getting married is important to you.

This. You need a proper, clear discussion

I think he's swerving the situation and I can understand why you are posting. It's not so much that he hadn't done a big proposal, it's that you feel marriage isn't going to happen, and you are Miss Right Now, not Miss Right.
to quote other mumsnetters if he wanted to marry you , you'd know.
are you in the deeds to the house?

Then have a very clear conversation with him.

“When do you see us getting engaged, and when would you like to be married? 6 months, a year?”.

or

”I’d like to be married by X date. Can we please discuss this?”

If he deflects, he’s probably never going to marry. And you either accept that, if he’s a great partner in every other way, and make sure you protect yourself (keep working, have your own savings, pension and income, both named as tenants in common or joint tenants on the mortgage) or you don’t accept it and you leave him.

It's 2024. You can propose to him. If he says no, you know where you stand. If he says yes, get him to agree a date - even if in the future - and start checking out venues, and get something booked. If he says no to that, you're back to knowing where you are.

This 💯

If you've made it clear you'd like to get married and he's mentioned marriage in the future, I think I'd just sit back and enjoy your relationship for a while and see. He might actually be planning something within the next year or two anyway. I was convinced my husband was never going to propose, despite him talking about marriage multiple times, and after a few of these conversations I decided just to wait and see - within a year I'd been whisked off to my favourite place and he proposed there. Try to relax.
The most important thing at the moment is building a happy, stable life for the three of you.

Eh that’s not how it works 😂. You’re not engaged until you’re actually proposed to and accept. Someone saying they want to marry you one day isn’t a proposal and you’re not engaged 😂

You are adults - parents!- so should be able to have a direct, clear conversation about this. No , jokes, hints etc.

I have to say that he is trotting out all the lines though e.g. wants to marry you at some indeterminate point, tugging your hear strings with the image of your little girl being a bridesmaid etc.

You need to decide what your personal boundaries are, and what you are prepared to do if he wont agree to them .Then sit him down and talk.

It's madness to me that so many women in 2024 are waiting for a man to make decisions like this for them.

Can't you sit down together and agree to marry or not like equals in the relationship?

I agree, it does seem to be all about the ring.
Sorry OP, but ‘grabby’ is the work that springs to mind.

I know what you mean, but I disagree with this purely because some people say “yes I want to marry you” but leave unspoken the bit that’s important “at some point”. They won’t commit to timelines or dates, and it’s a breadcrumbing tactic to keep you interested. If you dared suggest to them that you are already engaged because you both agreed to be married they go ballistic.

Make sure the next child has your surname as I’m assuming your current child doesnt. This is where women go wrong, they give no reason for the man to marry as the girlfriend plays the wife for free.

He clearly loves you and is committed to you. You've discussed it and he has said he wants to get married and wants your daughter to be a bridesmaid so presumably, as you have said, he wants to wait until she is older and can be involved more on the day.

An expensive ring isn't the be all and end all. You also don't sound like you have been together that long either yet - got pregnant quickly, child is only 6 months, relax a little! Maybe he has something special planned and the more you push and sulk the more it'll push him back. Maybe it'll happen in a few months or a year or so. Just enjoy your new little family for now.