Is my baby not ready for solids?

[FTM1993]

I am doing a mixture of BLW and purees. DS (7mo) seems to really enjoy the finger foods but eats more of the puree. He does well when I give him those melty sticks that you can buy but when I do homemade stuff like strips of soft veg etc he gags a lot and is often sick. He does have good hand-eye coordination but not sure how much he is actually consuming of the solids. Today for example I just did toast strips with soft cheese and avo on them and he sucked on each one and then projectile vomited everywhere. I'm just wondering if this is normal or I should wait a few weeks, continue with just puree and then try again?

I wouldn’t be especially worried - in my experience at 7 months it felt like they’d never get it and by about 9/10 months you’re somehow giving them 3 meals a day and they’re chomping down whole broccoli florets. I’d just keep offering a bit of both and go at his pace. They don’t need solids for calories at this stage really.

My first was like this, sympathies… it’s awful! The HV advised to continue with solid foods (not just purées as tempting as it is) as it’s the only way to get them used to their gag reflex. Things like sucking on mango pits and ribs can actually really help them map out their mouths and be less ‘gaggy’ but it took until he was about 12 months before he properly ate a range foods and was consuming decent calories from it!

Some babies can have medical issues, keep an eye on him and if he seems to be inhaling it the wrong way and getting a lot of chest infections etc and not hitting other milestones it could need escalating. But 9/10 times they will just ‘get it’ eventually!

What I would do is get rid of the baby junk food and that is the melty puffs. They are just Cheetos for babies. Engineered to dissolve in the mouth and hit all the signal for fats and carbs in the brain.
That is not BLW. That is UPF.
Now, you have to understand saliva production and mastication. Melty puff have no chewing, Purees have no chewing. Until they learn chewing, there can't produce saliva to moist the food and help it pass.
To teach him that, make a soupy food. Could be a soupy risotto which has a combo of pieces and liquid. and only give half a spoonful. Or make a lovely broth and cook baby egg pasta in it, and it is a combo of wet and solid, that will stimulate mastication.
To understand how hard it is to swallow without chewing, put one of those soft cheese avo bread finger in your mouth, and swallow it without chewing.
Start with small spoonfuls . Don't push it at the back of mouth, just past the lips will stimulate chewing reflex.

I would carry on with the purées or mashed food but keep offering a range of finger foods suitable for his age. That’s pretty much how traditional weaning works

I do agree about ditching the melty puffs though.

Some finger foods to try are mentioned in this guide from the Caroline Walker trust from page 32.

I also think the toast and vomit reaction sounds fairly typical.

Don't worry, they're all different.

DC1 was barely eating until about 1 once we'd significantly reduced her formula intake on the advice of the HV and paed (was seen for an unrelated issue).

DC2 was practically eating full meals from 7 months and was largely disinterested in breastfeeding from them kn (and then later, formula). This caused its own issues such as chronic constipation until he was about 3, plus dropped lots growth wise, I suspect due to the lack of milk intake.