This is probably not too much of an unusual problem but it's doing me in!
Background - My DS had severe silent reflux for which he was medicated and other medications due to a health issue as a baby. Some of the medications he was on could have made him very poorly if he didn't eat properly. We used to dreamfeed milk up until he was 13 months to ensure stable blood sugars - he was a total milk reused awake from 4 months. When the time came for weaning it was a slow process, and when he stopped having milk and was on 3 meals a day it literally was a case of getting whatever we could into him without him being sick (the silent reflux has resolved itself but left him with a very over sensitive gag reflex) Anything with lumps he'd vomit instantly. On medical advice we fed him what he could eat, although obviously giving an older baby puree was not ideal. He's always followed the 75th centile, and has no development issues.
So anyway, that's the background. He's now 19 months, off all medication, and over the last three months I've managed to get him off of puréed baby food at every meal and on to real food. He's been snacking on proper food (lumps of cheese, fruit, bits of toast etc for a while but meals have been purée). He's successfully transitioned into having cereal, porridge or toast for breakfast, normal lunch foods (sandwiches, omelettes etc) and last week finally refused puréed food for dinner. Hooray!
So, I've been making meals. Last week we tried the below and variations
Casserole and veg - he ate two chunks of beef
Sausage, mash and veg - he ate three pieces of sausage
Chicken, veg and sweet potato wedges - he ate nothing
Pasta, cheese and tomato sauce - he picked off the cheese and that was it
Fishfinger, potato smiley faces and beans - ate one smiley face
He will always always eat omelette and toast or crumpets without fail so when he's not eaten well I've been offering those as a back up so he does eat before bed (if he doesn't have enough he's up all night hungry) and he always has some natural yoghurt before bed too as a bit of a too up.
Does anyone have any tips to get him eating a proper variety of normal foods? I'm trying really hard to be breezy about it, just take it away when he's had enough and not make a fuss but it's pretty soul destroying. He's learning a bit later than most obviously, our HV isn't concerned at all.
He seems to prefer dry foods that he can pick up with his hands - gravy, bean juice etc he won't touch and he hates messy hands. He will use a fork when he wants to, I'm not concerned about cutlery use at the moment but I always give him one and he can use it if he wants.