I recently read through past finger food ideas for children. My son is 12 months old and does eat pretty good. He eats oatmeal, crackers, puffs, chereios, kix, cheese, Earths Best Cereal Bars, Yogurt, Avocodo, Banana, french fries, ice cream, birthday cake and does fine (We still feed him some jarred baby food with his formula).... He gags on noddles, Gerber's Carrots, meat, fish, slimy fruit. I feel like we are going to be stuck with only these foods,( I know this is unrealistic), but wanted advice on how you were able to get your child past or through this stage! Thanks :)
Try giving her freeze-dried fruits and veggies. My son had a problem with "slimy" fruit and veggies until he was about 14 mos old. Then it was like a switch flipped and he was fine.
There's a brand called "just fruit" that's sold in most chain grocery stores that's really good. Brian was crazy for the strawberries and mangoes.
Good luck!
I would suggest that you continue to offer these foods in small amounts and be patient with him and hopefully he will come around. It may just be a texture issue at this point. If things continue and he doesn't outgrow this, there are specialists available that can help you, I'm sure.
Don't force him. Give him what he eats. There seems to be a good assortment. When he sees what you and daddy are eating he will eventually start trying your foods. Make sure he keeps chewing. Even teething biscuits to keep his jaw getting stronger.
My son is 16 months and old had 3 teeth at 12 months- now he only has 7. I cut everything into really small bites. He still eats really small bites- I really didn't give him much of we ate as a family until 14 months. I gave him the foods you are describing at 12 months. Try Gerber Pasta Pickups- They go down really easy and I cut them in half for my son.
My twins gagged on mashed potatoes,cake,cottage cheese anything that spread in their mouths. I didn't force those foods again for months until they could eat pretty much everything else. Don't worry he will eventually eat everything;)
My daughter who is 2 still gags on peaches and spaghetti noodles. We have found when we do pasta that using rotini noodles have helped since she can not swallow a full noodle (Even cut up)a portion of it goes down and the rest is still in her mouth causing her to gag. The peaches I do not have any idea why she does it but I figure like you it is slimy and she just does not know how to chew it properly- she does have all her teeth in and still cant! I can not feed her steak since that is just too tough for her but will make her hot dogs cut into 1/4 sliced pieces (do not give whole pieces if you do this since hotdogs are a choking hazard), chicken nuggets or precooked Chicken breast when we have that. Also when we grill burgers I will make EXTREMELY thin patties for her and just put it on near the end on a piece of foil so it does not break into the grill.
THe biggest thing is it looks like you are feeding him pretty healthy- besides the bday cake:)- I would not worry and just keep trying! Eventually he will catch on!
Blessings to you!
Sounds like your son is on the same "carb-only" diet my almost 2 year old is on. HA.
Just keep trying and introducing new foods and sooner or later you find something that he really likes. My son hated those Gerber pastas but LOVED the frozen raviolis from the grocery store. Some other big hits in our house were frozen peas, corn on the cob, waffles, pickles.....
Perhaps he's not quite ready for "adult" solids yet? Many kids develop at their own pace to allow their digestive systems time to continue maturing. Another possibility...is there a history of food allergies in your families? Sometimes problems with food such as these are actually the body's way of protecting itself from allergens.
All in all, it sounds like he is getting a good assortment of foods, and he is still receiving most of his nutrition through formula.
And remember, if you really feel in your gut something may be wrong, talk to your ped to rule out anything serious.
Totally normal (I hope) because my son did and occasionally still does the same thing on certain foods. He used to love love love pasta with carrots it, and now he gags on it if I even put a small bit on his tongue! I have the exact same foods as you listed as the only ones he will eat, although he will eat nanni's homeade meatballs too! So far he seems to go in stages with one favorite for about a week or so. Thank goodness for the earths best cereal bars!! I think he lived on those alone for a week! (milk too!)
I think the others that mentioned the texture thing are right, and we keep giving him the stuff he doesnt like because I hear it can take 10-20 intros before a child likes something. We just put some sort of meat/vegi on his tray and sometimes he tastes them, and sometimes he passes for the cherrios! It seems like a waste sometimes, but I too am hoping this changes down the road! Im sure it will.
One last piece of advice I received, my pediatrician said that "no child who has food available to them will starve. so relax."
Hope this helps! Good luck!
Meant to mention, my son is almost 14 months old. (and perfect of course! lol)
My little man was the same way at that age. I had to finger sweep him at least 5-6 times. I ended up cutting things into much smaller bites than other moms were at that age until he got better and chewing and swallowing. Whatever you do, don't stop introducing him to those foods or he may grow an aversion to them. Believe it or not, in a few months he'll be a different kid. Hang in there!
A.
there is a disease whre the child gags on food
www.curedfoundation.org
does the dr know about this?
does he have any food allergies or other adversions? you could get a feeding therapist though early intervention and they are of great help and usually free too and they come to your house
good luck
J.
Your son may just have a quick gag reflex. Or maybe get his tonsils checked. They might be big for his little throat. Unfortunately, I do hate to tell you this though, there just may be foods that make him gag especially the slimy ones. My son is 13 and he still gags on certain foods particularly slimy ones such as jello. Good Luck
Hi Jennifer,
My 12 month old daughter is doing the exact same thing! She is eating all of the things that your son is and gagging on the same stuff. I did find that she likes Mac N Cheese Spirals by Kraft. They cook to a very soft consistency and she really likes them. I just keep trying things with her. Something I found that works is if the food is sort of hard I can soak it in water or milk then she can "gum it" easier. She still gags on stuff that she has been eating but gags and spits it out when she has had enough. She also chokes on water if it comes out of the sippy cup too quickly. With my older daughter I just kept trying foods and eventually she stopped gagging too. It does sound like your son is eating a good variety of other foods so I'm sure that he is getting enough. Another thing that I tried because fruit can be slimy for little ones is that fruit bag thing...it is a ring-like shape with a mesh bag attached that they can eat the fruit without gagging on the pulp or choking on the skin. I bought mine at Babies R Us, but you can get one just about anywhere they sell baby stuff. Best of luck to you and keep up the good work!
Keep trying. I think the gagging is in part due to the fact that these textures are new to him. If you have any concerns about choking, then try offering them in smaller pieces. My granddaughters both did the gagging bit, too.
