Weaning help - I'm struggling

[Meyouandbabytoo]

Waited until 6 months to start weaning, and trying to do a mixture of spoon feeding and finger foods. Ds now 7.5 months old.

He will eat bits, but very small amounts, and quite often cries with food and turns his head away and cries for a bottle.
For breakfast he'll have half a wheatabix or a few spoonfuls of porridge. If I give him toast he just keeps putting more in his mouth until he chokes/ is sick, so I've stopped giving toast for a bit.
At lunch he barely eats. Maybe a mini rice cake or 2, or maximum 5 baby spoonfuls of food.
Dinner time he has whatever we have usually, vegetables and potatoes. He loves broccoli and carrots especially.

How do I get him to eat more quantity wise, and consistently. I keep trying to do 3 meals a day, but he just fusses and gets upset.
What kind of foods can I give him? He has no teeth yet, when can I add meat? I've given him small bits of minced beef/ lamb, and slow cooked meat that's stringy and small bits but when can I add more?

I just feel like I don't know what I'm doing, and could do with some help.

It all sounds fine. Milk is is main source of nutrition for a long time still.

He has all his teeth just under his gums so he can have anything. I used to bake apple though because of the choking risk. You don’t need to.

He is choking or just gagging? Gagging is completely normal.

Weaning is so stressful but he will get there. He has only been doing it for 6 weeks and it sound like you are doing a great job.

He gags a bit, but still tries to shove more in his mouth and then starts to choke.
He makes himself sick quite often by trying to put too much in his mouth.

So I could give him a small piece of chicken even though he can't actually chew it yet?
And if I'm giving penne pasta should I break it up or let him hold the tubes?

I did just blw, expect for the occasional Ella prune pouch. I would have given rigatoni pasta because it’s larger so easier to hold.

You can give chicken and his gums are sharp enough to chew it but if he can figure it out get it another issue.

You will know when he has started to eat more food by his poo.

By choking do you mean actually choking? So going white and can't breathe, you have to lift him out the high chair and whack him ok the back? Or just badly gagging? I know it's horrible to watch but gagging is good for them when weaning and some just get it worse than others.
I think it sounds like he's eating ok amounts though! You can give pretty much any food by this age too, you don't need to give any baby food or purées.

Cashmere he's choked a couple of times where he's not making any noise and changing colour and not coughing so we've had to whack his back. Mostly it's bad gagging with breadsticks and things, but toast was actually choking.

I think where it was quite soft with the butter he tried to eat a full slice in one mouthful, just kept pushing it more in his mouth until it all compacted.
He's ok with sandwiches and will happily eat a quarter of a tuna sandwich (well pull it apart and smear it everywhere but same thing) just not toast

It's hard isn't it. I think sometimes they're just too greedy! Can't blame him though, soft buttery toast and I'm the same.

We're currently sharing a chicken casserole I made in the slow cooker. He seems to actually be enjoying it.
This is the most he's eaten since Christmas dinner (he actually ate loads of that, including the sprouts)

Are you doing a bottle before food? Mine wouldn't entertain solid food if he was too hungry at that stage.

Depends how hungry he is. If he seems very hungry I'll do bottle first, if not too bad I'll go straight in with food.
If I do bottle first he hates me taking it away and screams and won't eat actual food, but if I let him finish himself he's full so hardly eats anything. I don't really know what's best tbh

We found weaning really stressful and hard work at first. It feels so wasteful and like they're hardly eating anything - but it is normal to begin with. Its meant to be just practicing for them not actually filling them up.

Have you tried any pureed food, or are you BLW? My little boy always got frustrated feeding himself when he was really hungry because he couldn't get the food in quick enough. We started giving him 1/2 a pouch of puree first to take the edge off his hunger and then followed it up with finger foods, it made a big difference.

I think getting the food/bottle balance can be a bit tricky at first but I found it helpful to give one or the other every 2 hours. So something like

• 8am breakfast, 10am bottle

• 12am lunch, 2pm bottle
• 4pm dinner, 6pm bottle

Although your baby might need more bottles at 6months, not sure.

It really sounds fine op - food is to introduce them to method of swallowing, different textures, different tastes and give them something fun to do - milk is to fill the up - mine didn't eat much at this age but we're eating well by a year - big change between 9 and 10 months - varied when for each child. You sound like you are both doing really well.

I only asked because my LO would get too hungry to eat properly and would just be ramming the food in his mouth which would then make him gag. I used to give him a bottle 30 minutes to an hour before his food. It's hard to find a time when they are happy, not tired or asleep, that fits in with your day! Keep offering and he'll get there.

Yes asleep is something we struggle with! He naps from 11.30-1ish, is cranky before his nap as he gets tired, then over hungry when he wakes meaning he won't tolerate actual food only a bottle.
If I try and make the nap shorter he's cranky all day so I can't win with that one.

I have the opposite problem, my ds now won't breastfeed at all during the day and will only eat solids, I don't know how to reverse it because even if I skip a meal and try to replace with milk he won't have it - arches his back and screams.

Hi all. My second child is nearly 9 months and has zero interest in food. He’s still on 5 bottles a day but the amount of milk varies from 120 to 210mls! I’ve tried to give him food before bottle and he just doesn’t want it. I’m getting really worried and don’t know what to do. Health visitor suggests reducing the amount of milk but as he’s so disinterested in food I don’t want to starve him! Any thoughts?! Thank you.