@cns You need to let her play with her food. This is a big part of the learning process for babies. It’s an entire sensory experience for them using sight, touch, smell and taste. Most adults don’t think all that deeply about the foods that they eat, but imagine you were trying something for the very first time. Think of the scene from Ratatouille where the rat is trying to describe the way things taste to his friend. This is how it is for babies. Textures, tastes and smells can all put them into sensory overload and their little brains need time to process. It’s totally normal and they just need to explore things themselves at their own pace. Whatever you do, DO NOT force feed her. This could create a negative association with meal time for her. Let her lead. If she wants to play with the food, let her. If she wants to throw it, let her. If she wants to smear it all over her face and hair, let her! She will inevitably get some on her hands and bring them to her mouth. This is all coming from someone who has had two babies go through occupational therapy that included feeding. If the mess bothers you, but a splat mat off Amazon.
I also think trying to feed her every 30 minutes is way too much. The majority of her day is spent with you fretting over her eating. Take a step back, and offer food at 2-3 meals a day for her. If you can do it at a time where you sit down and eat next to her, even better! You want it to be as relaxed and positive as possible. Try to keep the times consistent. Babies thrive on routine. After 20 minutes, whether she’s eaten anything or just played with it, clean her up and go have play time. If at any point she gets frustrated, that is her telling you she’s done and meal time is over.
I also wanted to suggest that if she is struggling with table food, it’s perfectly ok to take a few steps backwards and feed her purées for a little while and see if you have more success with that. Once she seems comfortable again, then SLOWLY reintroduce table foods. You need to move at her pace.
I hope that helps! Also happy to answer any further questions if you need more ideas or advice.