How to get my DD used to texture?

[Mummyzzz044]

Hi, my DD is 6 months old but has been on purees since she was 4 months. At the moment she is really enjoying the ella kitchen puffs, and the tiniest lumps of egg. But if I make her dinner and leave it a bit lumpy she knows straight away and clamps her mouth shut. Refuses to try anything else. What approach should I take with the lumpy dinners? Do I carry on every day trying little by little? But then I'm worried because she hasnt had her dinner and is she hungry!. I've read as you let them get used to the textures they will automatically cut down on food for a while. Also with finger food. I need to start introducing this but I'm petrified of her choking!. As you can tell I am a first time mum and worry about everything! Its frustrating. I dont know if I'm putting to much pressure on her taking textures. TIA x

In between purees and lumpy dinners, there is a huge selection of meals you can try. There are so many sound which you can make more or less thick, soups with a bit of pasta or rice, risotto, more or less liquid-y, a stew, a dhal, ..... a liquid base with some lumps in it for make it short

Aim at real food, not baby junk food such as Ella's puffs which are nothing but doritos for baby , corn flour and oil, with carrot or other veggies powder which have no nutritional value in them but look great on a package.

I made purees but also provided finger foods alongside so my baby could experiment with those.

I weaned DS on purees from 6 months and he didn't like any lumps when I first started introducing them. He would just gag the food back up. So I introduced lumps slowly, starting with mostly pureed but with a tiny bit of texture and over time increasing the amounts of lumps left in. This was 9 years ago. With DD I started straight away with BLW and I wish I had done it with DS. No purees or lumpy food. Just actual food that you or I would eat. Read Gill Rapley's Baby Led Weaning and it will teach you all about finger food and relieve your fears about choking.

In the nicest possible way, and I really mean that because a lot of us have been there, you need to get over the choking thing. Choking and gagging are very different, gagging is a normal part of learning to eat solid foods, and babies have a very advanced gag reflex to protect them from choking. Can you maybe do a first aid course, so you're more confident you'd know what to do if the worst was to happen? If you give her what looks like purée, but with lumps in, she can't see what she's eating, mine used to categorically refuse to eat this way too, but if you give her food to hold/squish/dribble over, she's more in control and will learn how to eat what she's holding.

I would start giving her bits of your food when you are eating, let her explore it and try feeding herself, and see that food is a shared, enjoyable experience. At six months it doesn't matter if she's not eating huge amounts as she will still be taking milk.
For your own peace of mind I would recommend a first aid course or watch some videos so that you are confident that you know what to do if she does choke. Also, there is a difference between gagging, which is normal with weaning babies and not harmful, and choking, where the baby is blue and cannot make any noise.
st.John's ambulance advice

Take it slow, she's only 6 months. She wont be hungry from not eating her dinner because she will have milk to make up for it.
Increase the lumpiness very gradually.

Ok thank you all, I think I an a worrier and I am gradually adding lumps. Her pureed food but with more texture, I havent gone straight to a completely lumpy texture. But she knows the difference straight away. I've heard a lot about BLW. My sister done more of that. I will keep going with the texture I am making and just let her slowly get used to it. Thank you all for the advice

It's actually harder to eat pureed food with a few lumps than to just eat one texture. I would cook some carrots in sticks until they are soft and put them in front of her.

Purées food is quite unnatural for babies. It's almost like food that's trying to imitate milk. I imagine that's why they gag on lumps.

I would forget the purées and just offer finger foods. That way you will feel less stressed and your less likely to create negative experiences for both of you.

The biggest priority around food at this age is that it is relaxed and enjoyable. Focus on that and you won't go far wrong.

We do a combination of mashed foods and finger food as my boy’s hand eye coordination wasn’t great at the beginning so he would barely eat anything if BLW and then lose his temper because he wanted the food. He’ll eat anything at the moment although still doesn’t have teeth so struggles with most finger foods. But he likes to hold them and mash them in his hands which is all learning. I always have 3 spoons on the go as he likes to ‘feed himself’.
She’s only 6 months so let her explore as she’ll still be getting most of her nutrition from milk.