To just give DS porridge for dinner

[UterusesBeforeDuderuses]

DS is 7 1/2 months and we have been introducing solid foods since 6 months. He's very good at breakfast, loves porridge or toast slices, pretty good at lunch depending on what it is, but dinner is always a battle.
No matter what the food is, he spends the whole time looking around at anything and everything in the room and avoiding the spoon, might take 1 mouthful, then it takes another 10 mins of persuasion to get him to take another. It isn't that he hates the taste of whatever it is, as when he doesn't like the taste he will just cry when we try to give him some, rather than taking the occasional mouthful.
The only thing he will always eat is porridge, so am I being lazy by just giving him porridge for dinner when he won't eat what we've made? Or would you persevere with the food? Tonight he eventually ate all his veggie mash which I know he likes, but it's taken around 45 mins!
Sorry it's so long, I'm a sleep deprived FTM who doesn't know what I'm doing!

Don’t fight him. He’s only just started with food. I don’t think mine actually swallowed anything until about 10 months! Give him something, or maybe try a few spoons of whatever you have and let him play.

He doesn’t need food right now, so I wouldn’t bother giving him porridge. Just try again the night after.

Porridge for dinner is totally fine IMO. ds2 loved banana and I always knew he would eat it no fuss. He had it quite a lot.
He’s now a strapping healthy, if untidy, 11 year old. Go for it I say!

He's only 7 1/2 months!!
Give him a chance...He's really young. Milk is fine until he shows an interest in what you are offering. I'm sure just tastes will be fine not meals.

He doesn't need solids right now so I'd probably not bother giving him dinner yet or just let him have the odd spoonfull he will eat. Milk is still the important thing

Yeah, he's at the age where his nutrition is coming from milk. He's just learning to taste new things, to get familiar with them. The last thing you want is a battle and you both getting upset about food. Let him smear it all over his face and lick a minuscule amount off his fingers if that's what happens.

Children are horrendously slow eaters, especially young ones. I remember mine taking 45 mins to eat dinner in a tortuous process until they were over 3 years old.
I’d give some solids to keep trying and a bit of porridge if he isn’t showing too much interest.

Id perserve. If he's hungry, he'll eat it. But you dont have to keep going til every last bit's gone down. If he's not bothered then give it 10-15 min and stop.

dd wasnt on 3 meals til she was 9mo, id just chuck some carrot sticks on his plate and offer a spoon of mash whenever he looks interested.

Sometimes I still give my 4 year old DD porridge for dinner! Especially if we are running late to eat, as it's something I know she loves and it will fill her up.

She would eat porridge for every meal if she could

Your DS sounds like my second DC. Currently 2, and eats like a horse.

You are doing a brilliant job, and there is nothing wrong with some porridge in the evening. I do did it all the time (although now it's after dinner, more of a supper type thing). Doesn't help with sleeping through like it did with DC1 though. Gutted

At that age, food is great for exploration and sensory stimulation. Even if it isn't going in, there's still a benefit to offering and letting them mess around with it. He probably takes in more than you realise.

Don't worry, take each day as it comes and follow your instincts

At 7.5 months DS was still on 1 meal a day...and we did BLW so it was probably a few mouthfuls at that.
He only started actually eating 3 meals a day (rather than playing with them) after I went back to work so there was no milk about.

He's probably just tired by dinner time so I'd just give milk or if you dont want to lose the routine just give porridge or some steamed veg/fruit sticks to play with.

Porridge is a great food, contains natural melatonin to help him sleep, slow release so keep him fuller for longer, as long as he's eating all the food groups, he's growing well I don't see the issue.

Food before one is just for fun. He doesn't need three meals a day - most of his nutrients he's still getting from milk. If he doesn't fancy eating in the evening I just wouldn't give him any. I'd just give him a little bit of what you're having for dinner (as long as it's healthy) it's mainly about getting him used to different tastes and textures at this age.

At that age it's fine. He should be getting his main nutrition from milk anyway.

1. Porridge is fine whatever time of day.
2. Hes only 7.5 months. Give him time. He will gain more interest as time goes on. Dont rush him.
3. Let him have fun and dont try and force him to each within a specific amount of time or a specific amount. One day he will take 10 mins, another itll be 45 mins. I used to let DD eat as she liked. If she barely had anything i wouldn't try substitute it for something else especially at night as she would have her bottle before bed anyway.

If this is about trying new things and he’s more interested in the morning could you try the new, dinner type foods at breakfast and porridge at dinner?

Just give him the porridge. Nobody else but you cares about you trying to be super-parent by persevering with anything else. Honestly, try and think forward to when he’s an 18-year-old and whether it will have made any difference whatsoever to his life what he ate for a brief period when he was seven months old. Sounds brusque; but utterly true.

Just go with the porridge. As long as it isn't everyday. Can you add stuff to the porridge. I used to do porridge mixed with mashed banana or strawberry.

Be thankful you didn't have to wean at 12 weeks. When I had Dd 20 odd years ago babies weaned at 12 weeks.

My 10 month old is similar but getting better..
What I started doing was offering him "dinner" a bit earlier and then if he didn't eat it we would go and play and then about an hour or so later would give him the porridge if I thought he was hungry.. He will always eat the porridge and custard.
Last night he ate virtually nothing for dinner eventually he had a bit of rusk and milk. Tonight he had sweet potato, carrot and swede puree, fish fingers and mash potato... It really depends on the day for us but I think he gets enough..
My mum keeps telling me that you have to look at a baby's food intake over the week not a day or a meal..,dunno if she is right or not but do think ds eats better if I am not stressing about whether he is eating enough..

Thanks for all the replies everyone, it's hard to know sometimes if we're doing the right things because it's our first, but he's healthy and happy so I guess we're doing ok x

I think the opposite of most of the posters - no, I wouldn’t give him porridge instead of a more standard evening meal.

At that age, I think it’s more important to get them used to as many different foods and flavours as possible rather than make sure they’ve got a belly full of food as they have milk anyway.

I’d keep giving the dinner food but just strip him down to his nappy, put a mat down underneath the high chair and let him play in the food.