BLW/finger food - how long did your baby take to 'get it'?

[Plateofcrumbs]

We're a few weeks into weaning - we're not going down the full BLW route but am offering finger foods for one meal a day. So far DS likes to either see how quickly he can swipe them off the edge of the table, or wave them round in the air like he is conducting an orchestra. Very occasionally he will guide something towards his mouth and once or twice has even chewed something. He doesn't seem to understand yet that it is food.

How long did it take your babies to really start eating finger foods (whether you were BLW or just offering alongside purées)?

Anyone?

Mine wasn't interested until about 7.5 months and even then didn't get much in her mouth. It's nothing to worry about, keep offering and eat with him, let him watch and play and he'll get it eventually

We're doing full BLW with DD she won't let me near her with a spoon and at just 7 months she seems to have gotten the hang of it. She's putting things to her mouth, tasting, chewing and swallowing. She does also enjoy waving and flinging, especially when she's bored with eating. But she's given finger foods 3 times a day most days so she gets a lot of practice. (Or is it practise? Both look wrong now.)

We are also doing full BLW mainly because I can't be bothered to make special baby food and dd got it pretty quickly. She was eating blueberries by herself at around 7m, I think.

However, then at 8m she started teething, cut 6 teeth in one week(!) and seems to have gone off the whole food idea altogether, apart from grated cheese, or custard

DS is nearly 7 mo and we've been BLW for 5 weeks.
He's really hit and miss still. He has been eating tiny bites since quite early on but doesn't seem to be making much progress.
It's bloody hard isn't it? I've found weaning the most stressful part of having a baby so far, sometimes I think I should have done purees but DS struggles with a spoon and just grabs the food off it!
It is supposed to be a long process though so I'm keeping at it.

Thanks, I think I need to remember they are all different and pick things up in their own time. He is an enthusiastic eater of anything puréed so I'm resisting temptation to ditch finger foods and be spoon-fed all the way.

Progress today at last - he suddenly seems to have grasped that the stuff I keep putting in front of him is to eat, not just an array of toys!

My DS was around 11 months. He used to just throw things on the floor but now it's actually going where it should! Most of the time anyway

My dd started blw 10 days ago and took to it straight away. I wonder if the purees are confusing him ie purée is food while sticks are toys? No point ditching finger food as he'll have to have it eventually!

He loves purées though, eats brilliantly and has noticeably got bigger and stronger since he started weaning. He's getting a bit more into the finger foods each day so I will just start cutting back on spoon feeding when he is more confident.

I started off doing purees and finger foods for both mine. DS liked being fed, so he ended up with mainly purees. dD liked to feed herself so she ended up with adult food very quickly. But DS did move over to adult food after a while, don"'t stress ( mind you I did!) they all get there in the end.

Glad to hear you have made some progress OP.
There are plenty of other things tou can spoon feed, porridge, smushed up shepherds pie, tiny baby pasta shapes in bolognaise sauce, squished avocado and banana. It doesn't all need to be pureed to go on a spoon. He might like to help hold the spoon too.

Updating to say DS is 7mo and much better with finger foods now and it is great to watch his skills grow. He has learnt to drop small items like a mini breadstick back on the table and pick it up again if he hasn't got any of it sticking out of his fist. He's getting much more dexterous and am starting to see the early stages of his pincer grip emerging. So fascinating to watch them develop!