Moving on from purée

[Blankiefan]

DD is 8mo and us eating 3 meals a day (plus 4 x 9oz bottles of formula); a good variety of flavours; all home cooked and increasingly, just what we're having puréed down.

I'm unclear of how to start getting more texture into her meals. I don't purée to really smooth but nothing's too lumpy. When we tried her on more lumps / baby pasta a few weeks ago, she gagged and vomited. I'm definitely a bit anxious to avoid this. Any tips?

Have you tried her on finger foods at all? I would give her some toast fingers or something so that she isn't so unused to the textures. Then when you put some pasta etc in purées it won't be such a surprise.

As well as finger food (toast fingers, broccoli, soft fruit in segments, American pancakes in strips, omelette strips etc.), try stirring well cooked cous cous into her food. Far smaller than baby pasta and more useful to have in the house! I also use quinoa but that is a bit bigger so maybe start with cous cous and see how she gets on.

Thanks for the ideas. We've started finger goods but very tentatively.... I need to cowboy up and get on with it. Might try some omelette strips this weekend.... I like when we all eat the same stuff.

I really like the Cous Cous idea. I've a freezer full of purees so it'd let us use that up whilst transitioning.

Thanks again

And thanks for your encouragement Chunderella .... Loving the very appropriate name too!