DD will be six months next week and has only been eating solids for about ten days. She has happily eaten all the pureed fruit and veg we've given her, along with the odd bit of baby rice.
When I've made the baby rice up, I've made it quite thick but she's had no problems with it. She's also enjoyed steamed broccoli florets and mashed green beans off her high chair tray although I don't know how much she actually ate.
If she's doing okay on thick rice and the odd piece of finger food, surely it's okay to stop pureeing and give mashed up stuff instead? It's just that (don't laugh!) I read a couple of books that take you through weaning in stages and they don't introduce mash until about 7 mo which seems a long time to wait!