Encouraging baby to eat finger foods? Help!

[Cheesecakes]

So I have tried everything I can think of and my son still won't eat finger food at all. I've tried puffs, mum-mums, fruit and veggie drops, cut up bananas etc. and he still won't do it. He will just smear the foods around on the tray or plate and won't attempt to put them in his mouth. And he cringes and shivers if I touch it to his mouth to get him to taste. He eats purees like crazy and literally loves every single one, all fruit and veg.
I pretend I'm eating the food hoping he will copy, and I will try putting the food in his hands, but no matter what I try he isn't doing it so idk what else to do. He's going to be 10 months soon and still hasn't fed himself anything at all.

 

[Cheesecakes]

I should add he eats stage 3 jar food with whole peas and if I spoon feed him the cut up food I prepare for him, or feed it to him with my hand, he eats it. So he doesn't seem to mind a chunky texture. He just won't try to feed himself.

 

[noon_child]

Have you tried meal time together? That way you aren't pretending to eat it, your just eating it!

 

[MindUtopia]

Yes, try eating meals together and also don't try to hand him things or put them to his mouth. Assuming he's capable of picking things up and bringing them to his mouth (which he most certainly will be by 10 months), he can do it himself if he wants to, it's just that he may not be interested yet and that's okay. The best thing to do is eat your meals together and not make a big deal out of it or try to encourage him. Just show him what you do. If all he does is smear food around and chuck it on the floor, that's totally fine. Just offer him milk after to make sure he's full. He will get it eventually. Also, offer him exactly what you're eating. So skip all the puffs and baby snacks (unless you plan to eat them yourself). Make a sandwich for both of you and give him a finger of it (maybe with crusts removed to make it more chewable). Or sit and eat rice cakes dipped in hummus with him. Or a fruit salad. Watching you eat exactly the same things not only helps him to understand that these things are for eating (which isn't obvious to him because as far as he knows only milk and purees are food, everything else is a toy), but it also will help him to see how to eat it. And just give it time. We started BLW at 6 months. My daughter was certainly eating some finger foods within about 2 weeks, but she wasn't eating enough for it to actually be a meal until about 9-10 months, so it took roughly 3 months of practice to really get it. Considering he is actually having to 'relearn' how to eat finger foods because it's very different than purees, you can see how it's going to take awhile. It doesn't matter at all how much he eats or even if he does. It's just the experience of sharing a meal together and practicing with food. Just keep his milk up until he gets it.