Struggling with weaning

[RainInJuly]

I've been feeding my 6mo (nearly 7mo) two meals a day. He always has a bowl of something (weetabix, porridge or yoghurt for breakfast / ellas kitchen pouches for lunch) and always has a finger food to feed himself (toast in the morning with variety of toppings / Ellas kitchen puffs or banana waffles for lunch)

He was good at first, but as he's gotten better with the finger foods he's no longer interested in being fed. So he's not eating any of his purées and only a few spoonfuls of his weetabix.

Do I give just finger foods? What, and how many, would I have to give to be a full diet? He has 4 8oz bottles a day and none in the night. I just don't think he's eating anywhere near enough solids.

Doesn't sound like much fruit or veg, so I would go that way as opposed to processed food.

The pouches were always fruit and veg, which were the main meal then just a little finger food to get him used to feeding himself. If I do fruit and veg as a main meal but for him to feed himself how much would he need to have?!

www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby/7-9-months/

Hope this helps ^

And remember food is for fun before 1

'Solid food:How much solid foodfor a 7-month-old? Baby should be starting to get three meals ofsolid foodeach day. Depending on the baby, a meal might be as little as a tablespoon or two or asmuchas four to six ounces (eight to 12 tablespoons) of baby food.'

www.thebump.com/baby-month-by-month/7-month-old-baby

^ another useful link

My DD was just like this - wouldn't accept a spoon!

I gave her things she could feed herself, including chunks of chicken, fish fingers ... Avocado and egg made into a pancake-type thing were particular favourites. She's not long turned one and only recently started accepting a spoon. Embrace it! It's great for their motor skills.

Oh and I didn't worry too much about how much she ate - not only 'food before one is just for fun' but also food (other than meat) is less calorific and therefore less filling than milk. Some babies 'get it' sooner than others. My DD's appetite increased a lot at about 10 months and I wish I hadn't spent the previous months worrying so much about the quantity she was eating.

I found the game changer for me was when I stopped thinking of finger foods as things that I would eat as finger foods and changed my mindset to anything being finger foods so DD just ate everything with her hands E.g. chicken curry and rice, roast chicken and potato.
At 7 months is be doing breakfast and either lunch or dinner then move on to 3 meals if he’s eating those well

It sounds like they're eating loads to me! My DD didn't eat anything at that age other than a few little spoons of fruit puree or yoghurt or porridge etc sometimes. She otherwise just gummed on solid food but she wasn't really eating any. She was on 4 9oz bottles at the time, she grew fine. She didn't really eat meals til she was about 1. We didn't spoon feed her more than a couple of times a week, mostly she just sorted herself out.