I think what helped her get used to it is that we were never that scared or nervous about it. They really can pick up on any feeling of unease and so we tried our best to stay calm, even when she gagged. It can be a natural reaction to panic when they start to gag as you think they're going to choke but gagging actually means they are dealing with it, it's the natural protection for choking. I think Sienna has only actually ever choked twice and that's because her gag reflex got a lot of practise! I have done a post on the pros and cons of babyled weaning here if you're interested.
Up until a few month ago I served her food 'separated'; so say we had spaghetti and meatballs, I'd give her the meatballs cut up, with some plain spaghetti, no sauce and some tomatoes on the side. This was because a) it was too messy giving her spaghetti in sauce and b) I wanted her to get used to the separate flavours and introduce things slowly. It's also easier to rule out the foods she doesn't like/want.
We found out that she loves a lot. She isn't that fussy, she loves fruit and veg and pretty much eats all types. Since around christmas time, we started to give her the foods all together on one plate, not separated. She started eating things together that would create a new flavor and I feel like she found a new love for food as she had been getting bored of the more plain foods and playing with it more than eating it.
Then just recently we have really started to just give her literally whatever we are having, she has all the sauces, mild spices and dips. I don't make any extra effort in things like removing the skin on apple/cucumber or cutting things really small either, she loves to eat her apples whole!
She seems to love it all and the sauces and flavor disguise the meat as we do have an issue with her not eating much protein (see video here). She likes baked beans, sausage, bacon, meatballs and spaghetti Bolognese but she won't eat chicken, ham, cheese, tuna, eggs or anything like that so sandwich fillings and lunches are hard.
I think with the egg it is definitely the texture as she only has to pick it up before saying 'no' and throwing it in any direction. We've noticed she does this with a lot of 'soft' foods such as pancakes as well. That kind of texture she isn't a fan of but we keep trying her so hopefully she'll get used to it as I know her tastebuds will be changing all the time.
Having said she doesn't eat chicken, she will eat some chicken dishes such as chicken korma, chicken fajitas and mexican chicken.. it seems she likes her flavourful, spicier foods and so we are experimenting with recipes to introduce other meats to her. She does all have a bit of a sweet tooth but I can't blame her, its so good! I don't see it being a problem as I limit her sweet snacks/desserts and we never have a problem with her not eating her savoury, I just hope it stays that way!
I truly believe it is down to the BLW that means she isn't too fussy and eats well, we have already decided that when baby number 2 comes along, we will go straight into BLW at around 6 months and skip the purred stage, I just don't see any need for it personally and the pros of BLW outweigh the cons in my eyes.
You can see our weekly meals here if you want to know more about what we eat.
Hows your BLW going? Does your child eat well?
