Feel like I'm doing it all wrong!

[NeedAHoliday123]

My little one is almost 10 months old and I feel like I'm doing weaning all wrong!

I started with the fruit/veg purées at 6 months which he seemed to do ok with. Some were homemade and some were pouches.

Then i transitioned on to thicker purées with a combination of finger foods as Well e.g. 7m+ pouches (ellas kitchen) and thicker purées along with things like custard/yoghurt for variety.

He will now eat the 10m+ pouches and will do half to a whole pouch at lunch (some days he eats more than others). But has things like cottage pie, spag bol, etc. I have tried making my own cottage pie/tomato pasta/etc but he won't eat it if it's homemade. Or he'll have like a couple of bites from a piece of pasta and then just play with it. I've been following recipes from 'what mummy makes' etc. I've also made things like cheese and chive scones, cheesy bites etc, but again he won't eat them. He will eat finger food like melty puffs, rice cakes etc. If I give him something like toast he will have a few nibbles and that's it! Less than half a finger of toast.

I'm just struggling with what to do. Most of the homemade recipes I find seem to be pasta based as well.

Do any of you have like a weeks worth of meals that you can share please to give me some ideas?

The other issue is he still only has 2 teeth - so can't really have anything that he needs to chew (like strips of meat, etc.)

I hope I've explained this clearly!

An example of today's food:
Breakfast - a bowl of porridge (he does well with porridge)
Lunch - I made him pasta and cheese - he probably had less than 1 piece of pasta total, but played with it for a while
Tea - mixed fruit pot from sainsburys

I feel like by 10 months he should be doing better than this? Although of course that's my fault not his. If I do a pouch/jar he'll generally do half (sometimes more) so I know he's eating more when he does that.

You are doing fine lovely.

We did a mixture of finger food and pouches. I would give more fruit and veg with meals. Do you eat at the same time? That always worked better for my two.

Sounds like he's doing ok but you'd be surprised what they can manage with 2 teeth, those gums are pretty hard!

Just wondering how much milk he's having? Between 10 months and 12 months it should be 400 ml.

You might find that if he has this amount, he'll be more hungry girl the solids.

This guide from the Caroline Walker Trust has a 7 day sample menu abs also information on portion sizes

*for the solids

Sounds a bit disgusting but you could try mixing a little bit of the fruit purees in with the homemade foods to make it more palatable? Then reduce as he gets used to the flavours. Annabel Karmel used to do recipes like Beef and Apple casserole for this reason I think. Keep up with offering finger foods too to get him used to the experience, even if he doesn't eat much.

The advice is that Food is for fun before 1.
Keep introducing him to different things letting him try them and play with them. Milk is still the main source of nutrients at this age.
My DD has never really been into pasta she’s almost 3 now and occasionally eats a bit of it.

She didn’t have any teeth at all until she was 14 months old but it didn’t stop her eating. She used to love a Sunday roast even without teeth.

Your not doing it wrong at all, keep doing what your doing.

Think the advice of "food is for fun before one" is a little outdated and it's been changed as people were taking it too literally.

It is now 400 ml of formula a day between 10 and 12 months with 3 meals.

Of course it's your job to offer the meals but like most babies, they'll probably eat more some days than others

It’s a relief to read this as mines the same. I know in theory he could chew with his gums but he just can’t and so toast and so on gets sucked on and spat out and he can’t manage apple, pear, veg without it being puréed. I just never know what to make for him!

It’s a relief to read this as mines the same. I know in theory he could chew with his gums but he just can’t and so toast and so on gets sucked on and spat out and he can’t manage apple, pear, veg without it being puréed. I just never know what to make for him

My DS had tongue tie and struggled with anything but purée for a while.

Have you had a look at the weaning recipes on MNN*? There's a few really good ones in there

Sounds fine to me

Every baby is different and they all get weaning at their own pace. It's a process that they have to go through to get used to food.

Try to keep milk away from meal times so he's hungry, but otherwise what you're doing sounds fine

He can chomp on strips of meat with no teeth, their gums are very hard. I give my 7mo strips of chicken breast cooked juicy, with green beans or broccoli.

Ahh OP, I really wouldn't worry! You are doing great. My DS preferred the ready meals and pouches until he was about 15m. I consistently offered a combination / variety of things and by the time he was about 20 months, he was completely off punches and ready meals and now only eats home made. I actually think him starting nursery around that time massively helped too. Just don't stress about it, they go at their own pace and your LO still has most the nutrients from milk. You are giving him the good stuff anyway so don't worry :)