Baby led weaning reels made me feel like feeding dal-chawal by spoon is "behind", it's really not
Went all in on baby led weaning at 6 months because every second reel made purees look outdated. Reality: my daughter mostly threw everything on the floor, ate maybe a spoon's worth a day, and I spent three weeks stressed about whether she was getting enough iron.
Talked to our pediatrician who basically laughed and said there's no research saying spoon-fed mashed dal-chawal-ghee is worse than BLW, it's a preference not a medical upgrade. We went back to what my mother in law had been telling us from day one, soft khichdi consistency, spoon fed, some finger foods on the side for practice. Baby's eating properly now and honestly a lot less stressful for everyone.
For anyone starting weaning around 6 months regardless of method: focus on iron-rich first foods since iron stores from birth start dropping around now — ragi, moong dal, mashed egg yolk if you eat non-veg, are all solid options. Introduce one new ingredient at a time and wait 3 days before the next, easier to spot a reaction that way. And no salt, sugar or honey before 1 year, that part isn't a controversial opinion, that one's just the actual rule.