Introducing Lumps and Finger Food

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I've just started DS on slightly lumpier food and also started giving him chunks of finger foods to play with.

I've noticed he's eating much less. Maybe 2 or 3 spoon fulls and a bite of finger food per meal. This is compared to the whole jars of puree he used to scarf. He's seems happy enough but he does wake in the night wanting milk, whereas he had been sleeping through before.

Do you think I should continue and hope he gets the hang of it or reintroduce puree for at least one meal?

Thanks

come on people, where are the wise veteran mums to help me out with this?

How old is he? What milk does he have and how much in 24 hours?

I would do the lumpy meal only once a day while he gets used to it, keep the others purée, and replace one meal at a time. He needs to get used to the lumps and it's hard work getting his mouth to handle food a different way.

Or introduce lumps at the beginning of each meal, and have purée after he's had some lumpy food.

Or do purées for main meals and lumpy stuff for snacks.

Depending on what you're doing the rest of the day, and how much time you have for a meal!

Julie: He's breast fed mostly, although I am also trying to get him to take milk from a sippy cup, which is going quite well. He had cut right down on his breastfeeds, but is now wanting it more often because he's not taking as much food probably. I don't know how much exactly.

He's 8 months.

Fairy you talk sense. I think I underestimated how much of a new skill eating little lumps would be. They look soooo little to me, but obviously are really tough to master.

Today he has done quite well and eaten a good few spoons of lumpy spaghetti and also gummed hell out of a big strawberry and a piece of mango so he's getting there. I think tomorrow he still gets to bulk up on the mushy stuff though. Baby steps.

Thanks both of you

My daughters at the lumpy food stage as well and I've noticed that she's really dropped the amount of milk she will now drink. To prevent her waking hungry at night I've started giving her 1/2 a wheatabix before bed with her milk. She seems to like it and is sleeping peacefully all night

Thanks Boggler: I'll try that

At 8 months his nutrition should be coming from hs milk anyway, the advice is to bf roughly an hour before offering solids so it really doesn't matter if he doesn't eat much yet.

Ok, thanks, that's good to know

I found offering mashed potato really helpful with the move from smooth puree to genuinely lumpy food, because the texture was stiffer, but not what made my poor little DS gag, which was eating something more or less smooth with occasional lumps, which he hated. (Still not wild about that aged almost one.)