Spoon refusing baby

[DisneyGirl2387]

My DS is 7 months old. Weaning started off really well and he would happily eat from a spoon and try some finger foods. Roll on a month later and DS is now a spoon refuser (apart from yogurt). He will clamp his lips shut and will not eat from a spoon no matter how we try! So I guess we are going down the finger food/baby led weaning route. He will eat sticks of fruit on his own (oranges, strawberry, pineapple etc) and he will eat toast but I'm struggling with ideas. I've tried stripe of omelette, vegetable sticks, banana pancakes, spaghetti in sauce (so messy!). He's not eating any meat at all. I'm not sure how to give it to him or what to do. I know they can eat anything we eat except salt/sugar/honey/whole nuts etc. How can I get goodness into him? He can't live on toast, fruit and yogurt forever. Anything else I give him he squishes and it ends up on the floor. I know he isn't consuming much as his nappies haven't changed. Please help a clueless FTM here. Any books that would help me with ideas? I'm currently trying to plan breakfast and lunch and don't know what to do! I know I can give him what I eat but I will have porridge for breakfast (he won't eat) and scrambled egg on toast for me. How would he eat scrambled egg for example. I'm just so confused xx

Have you tried giving him a spoon too so he can get involved? This seemed to do the trick with my DD (as well as a mirror in front of her so she could see herself eating - helped a lot with her learning where her mouth was!)

Sorry was replying in a rush there - I used to make banana pancakes (1/2 banana, 1 egg and some porridge oats), you could make egg and veggie cups that you pop in muffin tins and bake, veggie/fish fritters, pasta with a homemade sauce etc. He is also very young so the squishing food and not eating a lot is completely normal, it takes a while for them to get the hang of actually eating, but it's good in a way as he's testing out different textures which is good for his development. As long as he is having enough breastmilk or formula in the day, don't worry about the food too much.

Don’t worry that he’s not eating much, at 7 months it really doesn’t matter how much goes in as long as you’re offering. Squishing stuff and throwing it around will be him getting familiar with the textures etc so isn’t a complete waste of time even if it feels like it.

I sometimes make spinach pancakes and raspberry & banana oat bars for DD so there’s something for her if I’m having a breakfast that’s inconvenient to share (she hates spoons too) otherwise I just chop up whatever I’ve got.

Once she could use the pincer grasp own brand cheerios were a hit.

Load the yogurt onto the spoon and put it on the tray - it might encourage him to feed himself.

With meat, we tend to just give ours a thick strip of chicken breast which she gnaws on and might swallow a bit. We've done that since she was about 6.5 months.

With porridge, can you just put it in a bowl in front of him? My daughter just uses her hands to shove it in, no need for spoons! Using their hands is great for learning new textures.

And with scrambled egg, I just put a few of the larger chunks on her plate and she picks it up and feeds herself.

Totally normal to just explore and not eat much at this age!

Breakfast ideas: porridge with shredded apple/carrot in, porridge bars, scrambled egg, cream cheese on toast, smashed avocado on toast, crumpets with peanut butter and smashed berries, fried egg cut into strips, spinach pancakes

Lunch ideas: picky lunch (sliced hard boiled egg, slice of cheddar, grated apple), tomato purée on some pita bread cut into a circle (like a mini pizza), hummus on toast, vegetable sticks, quesadillas (smashed pinto beans and cheese)

Sometimes I'll just save what she had for dinner the night before, so if she had pasta with tomato sauce, I'll just save some cooked pasta from that and add some veggie sticks to the side

Google baby led weaning 'pinwheels' too, super easy to make and loads of different fillings!

Dont worry, blw is fun and can encourage independent eating much sooner than spoon feeding. Quantity of food eaten is not important yet, they'll be wolfing down double portions in no time, just let them try lots of flavours and textures.

Try meatballs, homemade to get meat in if you want. I used beef, turkey or pork, a bit of cheese, herbs, grated carrot sometimes, breadcrumbs with milk. Used to make a big batch up and freeze once cooked then get 2 or 3 out at a time for a meal. Golf ball size is easy for them to hold and bite, nice and soft if no teeth. Also batch cooked sauces and froze in silicone cupcake trays for portions- once frozen remove from tray and but in freezer bag, they don't stick together.
Dd also loved gnawing on bones, so chicken thighs, lamb chops etc all went well although it took a while before he could get meat off.
I did lots of fritters, different veg and spices when he was small. Fish is easy for them to eat, nice chunks of salmon went down well too.
Ds would mostly have our dinner leftovers for lunch the next day which ment we cooked without salt. T

If you are overwhelmed then start small, try a cookbook- "what mummy makes" is good for ideas and experiment from there.

Part of weaning is them feeling and playing. They don’t need to actually eat a huge amount, but it’s really good for their development.

They are messy, that’s kind of the point

Just keep popping stuff on the tray and let him at it. In a few weeks he’ll start eating more and more. Just stay calm and involved and don’t worry! Mealtimes are for fun until they’re one.

Oh for breakfast we did thick porridge, pancakes, spinach muffins and lot of variations of oat bars- can be started with leftover porridge/pancake mix. Lots of things i used to make a lot of and then freeze, worked well as take out snacks for when he got older too.

Try not to worry about it at this stage, just keep offering different foods. As long as you are still giving enough milk (breast or formula) he will be getting everything he needs at the moment.

@JustWonderingIfYou

Oh for breakfast we did thick porridge, pancakes, spinach muffins and lot of variations of oat bars- can be started with leftover porridge/pancake mix. Lots of things i used to make a lot of and then freeze, worked well as take out snacks for when he got older too.

I second thick porridge...anything that sticks to the spoon will be less likely to go everywhere 😅

Give him his own spoon and let him crack on. It will get messy, but it will pass.

Thanks everyone! These are all such great ideas and kind advice for me. It is hard hard panic when it is all new. I will write a list of your suggestions so I've got a bank of ideas! Xxx