Help please - 7 months old BLW VS puree?

[tiantian1005]

Hi Everyone

Looking for some advice here - our daughter is 7 months old and if I spoon feed her puree she eats LOADS i mean really big portion, its pretty lumpy as well not fine puree. She also is very good at eating off a pre-loaded spoon. I always offer finger food but 1st she doesnt pick it up, 2nd if i put it in her hands she definitely put in her mouth but very slow motion, takes ages to chew or swallow anything often still in her mouth. So if i let her do BLW she wont be eating much at all, i know volume doesnt matter at this age. My confusion is, should I stick with puree so she keeps on getting volume, or should i stick with finger food and let her eat tiny volume but she will eventually learn?

Just give a mix of both. It doesn't have to be purely one or the other

A mix is fine. Milk is still her main source of nutrition so at 7 months it will be small amounts of solids. Just let her explore fingers foods even if she doesn't swallow much.

I think its by 9 months that they should be having stuff to chew rather than just purees. It's important for jaw and mouth development.

Totally agree with pp just mix it up. As soon as she's ok with a texture/consistency mix it up and not let her get too used to smooth purées.
I did things like mashed avocado on toast and maybe spoon feed a bit of scrambled egg and let her play with the rest. Just be guided by her.

Both! Do batons of veg and dip them into matching veg puree. I used to also use strips of pitta bread as an edible spoon for purees.

My daughter ate very little and didn't get past tastes of foods until 13 months. Food before 1 is just for fun as they say. Treat it as a sensory experience not just food for fuel

Just do both!

20 years ago when BLW wasn't invented, we just gave all sorts. Bits stolen off my plate always seemed most popular (even if they had exactly the same on their plate)!

Agree with everyone else - just do a mix. Finger foods are especially great if you want to eat together with them and also manage to eat your own food. I started off with a purée type meal at lunch and finger foods while we were eating dinner. The amount they eat at that age is not very important, it’s still very early days.

It isn't an either/ or and isn't really BLW in any case. When mine were little , 20-30 years ago , tiny babies were given puree as they did not have the skills to propel food to the back of their throats and safely swallow it. By 6 months they were having loaded spoons , bits and bobs from our plates, strips of toast or veg batons dipped into things and dryer foods cut into bits. This worked as a scheme although they varied a lot in how quickly they took to solids and how quickly they became adept at self feeding. You can just do what seems easiest and most successful for the next few months while milk is their main food.IMO one of the best things to help is to sit with baby and let them eat what you are eating. This particularly applies while you only have one child , they learn by copying.

I done both with my ds and he's great at eating he's 2.5 now. I got the lumpy dinners so he still had textures. And finger foods to explore. They get the hang of finger foods eventually and before you know it they are eating the same dinners as you xx

Stick with BLW.

Purees they're learning to swallow which you know they can already do taking milk, and trying different tastes, maybe some new textures.
Finger foods/BLW they're learning so many new skills: to pick food up, hold it in their hand, move it their mouth, bite, chew, move it around their mouth, learn how much they can comfortably put in their mouth, different shapes tastes and textures...as well as swallowing. It should take time! Baby is exploring and learning and enjoying. Plus it is easier because you just hand them food off your own plate and don't need to bother making or buying purees.

Whatever you choose to do though will the right choice for you and your child!