Struggling with weaning

[TheLittleLion]

My DS is 6 months old and we’ve been trying out some purées over the past week or two. He’s super interested in the spoon but not what’s on it. He won’t open his mouth for the spoon and only wants it if he can hold it himself.. then he just chews on it and forgets all about the purée.

Ive read that baby led weaning might be a better option for him but quite honestly it terrifies me. I gave him some cooked carrot sticks, mango and banana yesterday. He really enjoyed it but any time he had a decent sized piece in his mouth I felt myself panicking and had to take it all away from him as I was far too anxious.

I know how to help him if he chokes but the fear is too much and I can’t seem to stay calm and let him explore the foods. I’ve spent ages watching other babies his age eating finger foods as some kind of reassurance but it’s not making much difference.

Hes so interested in our food but I just don’t know how to navigate this weaning business.

Any advice/ tips/ suggestions would be much appreciated!

Ive got an 8 year old already and I don’t remember it being this stressful with him!

What about trying those crisp type things that kind of melt in their mouths but they can feed themselves?

You can also get some feeder things on Amazon that look a bit like dummies but they open - can use to feed fruit etc in the early stages with no danger of choking.

Other than that just try to hold back - it's hard! My six month had toast for the first time and I was sat there all worried!

So really it's not weaning that's the problem, you give him appropriate finger foods and he enjoys them and eats them well. What you seem to have is an anxiety problem. Are you getting any help for that @TheLittleLion

@catsnore Those little puff crisps went down a treat! He loved them and they didn’t cause me much concern, melted so fast but they do make a mess! I completely forgot about those feeder things, used them with DS1, thank you!

@PritiPatelsMaker I suppose you’re right, I’ve had anxiety for 15+ years and have done all the therapies and am on medication. I don’t know what help will make a difference in this situation though. Yesterday was a better day, he had some strawberry and cucumber and I stayed calm and he loved them, think I just need to find some foods I’m comfortable with for now while we gets used to it.

Excellent :)

The carrot ones seem to stain everything bright orange 😂

If you can bring yourself to try some cooked pasta pieces that was quite popular with my little one. I don't think she ate much of it, mainly waved it around and squeezed it. Chewed some and spat it back out.

@TheLittleLion what you achieve from offering finger food is control and your baby would then enjoy the experience much better. If this makes you too anxious you can look at achieving this through purees. Simply continue to offer the puree by placing some in a bowl - that suctions to the highchair. Offer baby a spoon or finger food to dip into the puree. Although he may struggle to get much in he will feel in control. You can then and only when he is happy offer puree on the spoon.

I hope that helps! Siobhan

Solid starts is an excellent website. It will help with your anxiety about the gag reflex (part of normal developmental and survival) versus choking. There are photos of how to prep and serve finger food from 6m.