6m old not at all interested in food Advice please!

[MrsArchchancellorRidcully]

DS has just turned 6m and we are blw him. We did this with DD and it was fab. She has the appetite of a bird but does eat well (she's 3.8) and I remember the initial mess, gagging etc. We've tried DS on bits of fruit and veg over the past week or so and now want to go for our meals now he's 6m. He loves his milk so I've been surprised that he's not keen on food at all. He watches us eat but puts very little in his mouth or pulls a face and spits it out. Everything we've tried so far - broccoli, carrots, mango and the like he refuses. He has sucked some toast but just really uninterested. It's just thrown me a bit - what do I do if he won't eat?! Also he gags which I'm fine about but unlike DD he also brings up a load of milk sick when he does. It's as if he can't swallow at all. I'm at a bit of a loss as DD would try everything we put in front of her so I'm unsure how to get DS interested in food and eating. His poos are all milk still. I really don't want to go down the puree route. Any advice?!

Maybe he just is not ready yet. Does he sit at table while you all eat?, does he have the oppertunity to steal food from your plate? Will he show interest if you give him something you are eating? We gave DS spoons and bowls and bits of food to play with before we actually expected him to start blw. May be worth trying the odd puree to find something he likes that you can then give in bigger bits. Don't stress too much though. You can still go out to meals and take milk in bottle or beaker so he can drink it himself. He will eat one day though (has image of 40yr old in suit drinking from bottle in staff room )

It's still early dats so no panic for now, it does take a little time to get used to eating finger foods and realise they can be enjoyable! I know you said you don't want to do purees, but I thought I'd tell you what I've found useful. If DS seems disinterested in food or a bit mardy, it's sometimes because he wants the food in now to satisfy his hunger. On these occasions I offer yoghurt / fruit on a spoon (he grabs it, so you could still BLW if that's what you're wanting to do) and when he's had a few spoonfuls, he settles down a bit and if I 'ignore' him for a bit, he usually starts playing with whatever is on his tray and have a bite / suck / chomp!

He always eats better when we're all eating together as well. I wonder if it's maybe because the spotlight is off him a bit and because he likes the copying element.

I thought that my DS2 would never eat - we started with BLW at 6m and he had absolutely no interest in food (not in any form whether chunks, pureed on preloaded spoon or given by me). I was getting quite worried until one day two weeks ago, at the age of 8.5m, he just picked up a piece of satsuma and ate it. Since then he's been eating pretty much anything I've put in front of him. I think he just wasn't ready until then and was perfectly happy with milk, despite being a big boy (he is EBF and been off the chart since 8weeks, ad was weighing 12.8kg at 8m).