Starting Weaning

Id say my baby, now 18 months, has fed herself 99% or the time. Was she showing that she's actually interested in food before you started? Maybe she's not ready yet. You could stop for a few weeks and try again. Or if she is interested just continue going slow but try different foods. My daughter's favourite food when she first started eating was boiled potatoes, hard enough they don't squish when she grabbed them. Try those if you haven't already. It took about 4 weeks before my little one was at the point of actually getting calories from food, before that it was playing with it and tasting it. (Even playing with it is productive!) x

Following

Completely normal, it’s an entirely new skill and experience for them. You’ll probably find you go through 100 phases of them wanting to be fed, not wanting it, preferring spoons, preferring hands etc etc. You’ll probably see intake increase in like, 6-8 weeks? We did a lot of exaggerated chewing and swallowing for ours so he could kind of get the idea; again an entirely new skill - and a big one! X

It takes time - it's a completely new skill! Don't get disheartened. I spent the last year mostly frustrated at meals but I wish I had just tried to relax and trust the process my little boy is 2 and he only just started eating sensibly (half the time). Some days are still living on air. Keep offering a variety of foods and try to stay calm and positive during mealtimes. It's okay if they don't actually eat. Exposure is key and even looking and smelling it counts