Struggling with finger food!

[Fivebyfive2]

Hi, just need some advice please!

My ds is 7.5 months, we started weaning at 6 months. We started with puree, quickly moving to mash and also offered finger foods (grated cheese, scrambled egg etc)

He does really well with the mashed food, took the spoon on day 1 and handles it well, gets a decent amount in his mouth and we can be led by him because as soon as he stops reaching for the spoon or just starts dropping it on the floor, we know he's done. He seems OK with lumpy mash and we mostly feed him lots of veg combinations with seasoning, cheese etc mixed in, plus porridge for breakfast. We've tried pasta and he seems a bit unsure, but will keep trying.

Finger foods are another story... It's literally the only thing he Doesn't seem to want to immediately put in his mouth?! He picks them up, sniffs, looks, mushes them in his hand etc, but just doesn't seem interested in eating them?! We'll keep going, but are we doing something wrong??

In the high chair, show him how to pick up and eat his own food, and let him imitate you. When you see that you have his attention, begin to dramatically chew. You might need pick up a piece and put it into his mouth, right where the molars will be. Do this before you spoon-feed the rest of the meal.
The best foods to start with are soft but firm because it helps babies realize there is something in their mouth and how to keep track of it once it is in there. Things like cut-up pieces of toast, potatoes, meatballs, bananas, or beans. Arrange them in funny shapes on the plate to pique his interest. Many times a baby is more receptive to new textures if you mix them with something you know he already likes, like spreading some mashed carrots or banana on toast.
Continue to steadily increase the thickness of baby foods as you progress with finger foods.
It takes them a bit to understand how to chew which is terrifying but I had to learn to sit on my hands sometimes and remind myself that gagging is normal.

You could try offering mashed up foods that he is familiar with, but make them almost a soup consistency and give toast fingers to dip in instead of a spoon, bagels work well for this as they don't disintegrate as quickly as sliced bread.

Success! He picked up and ate some banana 😀 Will just keep offering and I'm sure we'll get there.