Not sure whether this is just a somewhat amusing phase or something that could get worse, so after some advice or reassurance really.
We've been weaning my 9mo old since 6 months with a mix of spoonfeeding and BLW. It's been going reasonably well, some weeks better than others. But there's a couple of habits that seem to be developing and I don't know whether I should nip them in the bud or chill out:
She suddenly won't eat any finger foods except a topping on toast fingers. I can make almost any topping and put it on toast (examples are cream cheese mixed with spinach, homemade baba ghanoush, mashed avocado, hummus etc). Yet if I give her for example avocado slices themselves she won't eat them. She does also love baby snacks like melty sticks etc but I try not to give them too much. However, any other finger foods, even ones she used to have, she rejects. She will deliberately pick the item up and drop it on the floor looking me dead in the eye with a defiant look on her face. I have to fight to keep a straight face as its very funny but equally frustrating as well!! I've tried so many finger food recipes, tried to make fritters or muffins or eggy bread etc and she rejects all of it. I even tried to disguise eggy bread as normal toast by putting one of her toppings on it but without even trying it she knew it wasn't normal toast and dropped it on the floor deliberately. I can't just keep giving her lots of bread can I, but then if I don't she's not really having any other finger foods.
Spoonfeeding is sort of going OK but I often have to make a theatre of feeding her to distract her, eg dancing around while feeding her or doing very exaggerated 'here comes the plane' type thing with the spoon. It's kind of tiring tbh. If I try and feed her normally without all that she'll often eat the first few spoonfuls as she's hungry, but then just purse her lips and almost shudder away from it. But once I do all the theatrics she'll eat loads more, I guess it's all about distraction but am I setting up bad habits for the future by having to do this?
Also I feel like her tolerance to textures is somehow getting worse. We started with smooth purees and gradually made them lumpier/chunkier but she seems to be regressing and only liking them relatively smooth again. Yet she'll happily gobble down toast fingers, even with the crusts so I don't really understand what's going on.
Sorry for the long ramble. Any words of wisdom appreciated. I know these aren't really big problems as at least she's eating reasonably OK, I just don't want to develop any poor habits at a young age.