Weaning a fussy baby!

[LicketySplitt]

Mum's! I have a fussy eater (7 month old) we've been weaning since five months, he refuses purees or being spoon fed and will only eat finger food... Especially if its got breadcrumbs on it ha! He's been doing this for a month. Is this normal/to be expected / a phase? It's doing my head in and I make so many meals that get rejected. I end up hiding veggies in croquettes (breadcrumb magic) just to ensure nutrients. Advice or sympathies greatly appreciated x

What's his fine motor skills like? Can he grab the food well? He might dislike being fed but happily try and feed himself with a spoon.

Sadly not, we've tried preloaded spoons or placing suction bowls in front of him. He doesn't want to be assisted or offered with food either. He's an independent brute haha!

It's a wind-up but honestly the best thing is not to stress it. Or at least pretend you're not bothered!

It'll get easier as he gets more teeth and can try more different finger foods. For sneaky veggies try making pasta sauce with veg like carrots and courgette blended in, then let him eat the pasta by hand. Sliced up omelette with mushroom or tomato can be good too. And fruit like watermelon can be fun.

My HV advised not to offer altenartives, they'll learn thrybonly get what thry are given. At 7 months it doesn't matter if he doesn't eat any food as everything xomes from bottles.

What happens if you just give him veg?

He refuses his day time bottles now and has one in the morning, one in the evening and one at 3. When he's refused meals and I've offered milk he's just not playing. I've put different offerings of veggies one at a time on many occasions and he fusses, cries and throws them off his tray. If he doesn't get or see what he wants he just cries and doesn't eat anything. I've had lots of conflicting info from "it's impossible to have a fussy baby at this age" to "just keep doing what you're doing and he'll learn to eat whatever" but sadly I don't think he's got the memo. Some parents have said that they're 15 month old is the same. I guess I have to find some kind of middle ground.

My 8 month old is exactly the same.

He won't touch anything given to him on a spoon (even breastmilk!)

Mine will pick up anything and give it a suck. He doesn't have teeth so most of it gets left on the plate as he gets bored with sucking on the food.

Will your baby pick up veggies if they are finger foods?

I'm trying not to stress. All adults eat right!? I'm hoping he just doesn't like to be fed and will continue to feed himself as he gets bigger will be able to try more things

I should mention my baby is nothing like my eldest son who ate every puree offered to him and wanted more!

@Namechanger55555 thrybdonXt need teeth to chew, their gums do the job. My dd has 8 teeth right at the front and chews all her food with her gums at the back

Honestly, you don't have a fussy eater, keep telling yourself that, because if you carry on being convinced you have a fussy eater you may well create one further down the line.
Do baby led weaning, I did this and there's NO reason why you have to give them puréés, I never did and now I have two amazing eaters.
At around nine months they both started to get interested in spoons and started to use them to eat yoghurt and so on. Besides, you're creating a rod for your own back hiding veggies. Babies get their nutrients from milk until they are one anyway. Chop everything to the size of a large oven chip, and stop battling. All you need is big bibs.

@pfwow I'm not doing purees, I mentioned I think in my first post that he's on solids and finger foods. He isn't eating our meals due to refusing them and won't take milk in the day... that's the problem... I thank everyone for their responses, this is all feeling a bit frustrating.. I think I perhaps just need to perhaps not be regimented or a purist in either direction of weaning and take my lead from him if there's nothing else I can try? It's disheartening to hear that this isn't perhaps a normal behavioural thing?