My 7mo doesn't eat much

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I'm a little concerned about my DS, he's 7mo and is formula fed since 2 weeks old. He was only 10th centile when born so was always on the smaller side but he's comfortable in his 6-9m clothes now.

We started introducing solids at 6 months and I always wanted to do BLW but he doesn't seem interested in proper finger foods. I've tried banana, avocado, toast and other things but he seems to hate the texture when he's holding it and instantly drops it/throws it away. I know it's messy and fun but I am a bit concerned he isn't learning how to eat properly!

So now a typical day is like this:
7am - Bottle
8:30 - Around 1/3 or 1/2 a pouch of ellas kitchen smoothie or porridge (Ive been offering toast too but he doesn't want it)

9am - nap

10:30 - mid morning snack kiddylicious melty biscuits or 2-3 EK melty puffs

12pm - 1/3 or 1/2 EK meal pouch and 1-2 melty tomato wheels
1pm - bottle then nap

4pm - 1/2 EK meal pouch
5pm - bottle then bedtime routine
6pm - bed time

I am also soooo scared he's going to choke when I give him real food such as toast, I get so worried since he's eating mainly puréed/smooth food. He gets super excited for the pouches and is really happy eating those but I worry he's not getting enough and I'm hindering his development with not giving him true solids!

He has 8oz bottles btw! Usually finishes them all.

My DD didn't eat properly until she was 1 and started nursery. I kept getting told "food before 1 is just for fun" which stopped me worrying quite so much but didn't help when my friend's kids of a similar age were shovelling down a full packed lunch while hers mostly ended up on the floor! She's six now and eats like a horse....a bit of a picky eater, but not nearly as fussy as many of her friends!

I think as long as he's a healthy weight and thriving then for now all you can do is keep offering a variety of different tastes and textures, and maybe bits of what you're eating (salt/sugar content depending) to see what sticks. He's still very little and his nutritional needs will be met from the milk. Try not to worry, you'll get there!

I'm a veteran mum at this point but the thing you have to remember is that at 7 months he is still getting the majority of his food and nutrients from formula. BLW is the ideal but it doesn't always work for everyone that way. When you think about it your stomach is the size of your fist so his is going to be absolutely tiny. They really don't need a lot of food food at this point. This is just testing the waters time.

If you're worried about him choking - this is totally normal! -

give him mashed avocado, mashed banana, toast (just to gnaw on), rice cereal with formula, and if he doesnt eat it you still have a bottle to fall back on. Also, with my youngest, I always made sure to feed him at the same time as I was eating, and from my plate. My DS would watch me eat constantly. 5 years later and nothings changed lol and would mimic me (pretending to chew etc)

Hope this helps.

Hi Op? Your little one sounds cute and normal.

All BLW guides say if you're giving pouches/purée then not to also give finger foods as he will choke, so basically you need to follow traditional weaning style.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with weaning the traditional way (we all were after all). But to reduce his risk of choking is stop with the solids/attempts at BLW as neither of you are keen and focus on traditional Weaning with purées and build them up to jumpier/solid gradually.

As pp said until 12m all their nutritional needs are met with formula so don't worry about what he is actually eating!

Good luck x