HELP!!! 1 Year Old Wont Eat Solids, Just Gags!

Have you mentioned it to the pediatrician? You are at an age that he needs to be adapting to solids. There are therapists that can help and give you suggestions. Try not to worry. All kids have something going on and sometimes need a little help.

He's not ready. Many kids don't take to solids until 14+ months.

I used to think mine was the only child the wouldn't eat birthday cake on his first birthday. But it's actually pretty common. He decided he was ready for solids all at once, right between 14 and 15 months. Once he started, he became a great eater (no long term sensory issues or anything, he just took longer a little longer to hit that milestone).

Don't stress about it.

Not every kid is ready for solids at the same time.
Some take to it before their first birthday while others take longer.
Our son was a little over a year old.
We kept formula as a backup feeding plan and slowly phased it out as he became more comfortable with solids.
It just took time - longer than I thought it would take.
His doctor was fine with it and our son kept growing and hitting all this milestones.

He still has a gag reflex.
Can he "chew" or swallow?
There is something called Dysphagia
But that has to be diagnosed.
Or he is just not ready to 'eat.'

But, when you give him, bananas or avocados or puffs or whatever, is it whole, or cut into chunks, or minced or half mashed????
Things like that, make a difference.
At this age, even when eating table food, a kid can choke.
Try smaller, sized pieces.
And things that dissolve in the mouth quickly.

Tell your Pediatrician.

Have you tried pureed foods with a little bit of a texture to it, leaving small chunks? How many teeth does he have? My cousin's 15 month old barely eats anything with a texture, but he has 2 teeth. My sister's 14 month old eats anything you set in front of him, but he's got a mouthful already. I think that probably makes a difference.

If you're still giving him formula and pureed foods, he's probably getting enough nutrition, but it wouldn't hurt to bring it up with your pediatrician at the next appointment, or even make an appointment in the meantime if you're really worried.

my son was like this until 20 months.. started getting better. he still eats those pouch purees but eats regular food.. texture issues. thankfully I kept waiting a month and then try.. and aait again. he had all his teeth so I didn't understand til someone told me too.

Put some pureed foods on his plate and maybe a small pc of your banana.
Leave it there and let him try on his own.

If he does have a sensory issue, then, you will nedd to get a specialist involved.

With your son just turning one, do many introductions of the solid food and let him try the foods on his own.

If you begin to decrease the bottles, he will probably get hungry.

If he continues to gag after a few months, keep the pediatrician posted.

I have a friend who has a daughter w/ sensory processing --she never ate well. She still doesn't as a teen. Occupational theraphy can help.

My older son didn't take to most solids until he was 18-22 months.

My younger son was eating whatever he could get his hands on at 6 months.

Kids are different, and there is (probably) nothing wrong with yours. He should continue to have breast milk or formula until such time when he is eating a variety of solids.

He's not ready. He's having texture issues which you may want to speak with the pediatrician about and request a meeting with a pediatric nutritionist and occupational therapist. He may be showing signs of sensory dysfunction, so you do NOT want to force feed him textures that he simply can't handle yet. He may need therapies to help him through this.

Or... he's just not ready for food as solid as you would like. How many teeth does he have? He should be able to handle purees with a bit of soft chunk in them. If you want him eating actual solid bites that may simply be too much for him and there's no rush to get him there. Talk to his pediatrician and a pediatric nutritionist about Pediasure or extending formula for him but moving it to a sippy cup with a straw. This is about his abilities, not what you think he should be doing. This is purely developmental.

Mine could not eat food at age 1. Even Cheerios, Gag!!!!
He is young, so no need to worry.
It was 16 months before they started to eat real food more.

Lots of good advice below...check with your ped, but don't worry too much. My youngest didn't "do" solids until about 14 months. She would choke and gag on solids...unless they were small enough to swallow whole (which we really didn't want her doing). She didn't even do purees until 8 or 9 months due to the gagging issue. She did fine on formula and baby food (consistently around 75th percentile on height and weight). I was a little worried that she was on formula so long, but she's a great eater now at 2.5 yrs old.

His formula is 100% complete nutrition so don't worry about him not getting nutrition.

He is old enough to come off formula in a couple of weeks, or you could start transitioning him now. As he gets older he will be able to chew and swallow larger pieces of food.

At this age he should not have anything that is larger than 1/4". Please google foods that are choke hazards too. I think it's sad kids choke to death of food that is obviously something they should not have had. Like gummy bears/gummy fruits and marshmallows...

He's going to get the hand of it. His food does not have to be in chunks to be nutritious. It can be pureed still. I'd keep offering him Cheerio's and other infant/toddler foods that are finger foods.

My son used to do this (he is 9 now) when he was 1. He gagged at his first tiny bit of birthday cake. Now after having my daughter I know how strange this was. She was gobbling up tons of things by age 1. My son has always been an extremely picky eater. It is like textures and just how food looks and tastes really bothers him. If I could go back in time I would have taken him to a type of food therapist/occupational therapist who specializes in this kind of thing. I learned a while back to have your child use an electric toothbrush daily to try to desensitize their mouth a bit.

Yes yes n yes. I would see 7 month olds eating solids and wonder why my 1 year old is still on pureed baby food. I used to try a lot to get him started on solids but he would gag and throw up everything he ate.
Soon after his first birthday he ate banana for M. , little by little he ate almost half a banana. And I was so surprised n happy. And then he just started eating everything. Earlier he used to gag at small bits of food, for ex I used to even break up gerber puffs to two pieces for him) and all of a sudden he would put 2-3 puffs and still be able to eat it fine. When you see the kid eating you will know if he is ready for it and how big a chunk of food he can handle. Until then be patient and careful with what he puts in his mouth, because some kids are just not ready for solids until a year old.

Stay with the pureed stuff but offer bits of things on his tray. And things mashed up. He will get it. At that age he should only have a couple bottles a day so may be time to start cutting back on the bottles.

Whatever you do, don't give him those purée foods with lumps. Some of the jarred food is like this. Very confusing. do i chew or swallow?Just keep offering whatever you eat. Cut up in small pieces. He will get it.

You need to take him to the ped and ask for an evaluation for a feeding specialist to work with him. This feeding specialist should have experience with children who have this particular sensory problem. I promise you that if you don't, it won't get a lot better.

I have a friend whose child was like this. She didn't get him help. He's in college now and all he eats is bread, some fruits, tons of milk, soft drinks, pancakes, french fries, candy, yogurt and some juices. He can't even eat pizza, C.. No meat, no vegetables. She puts amino acids in his yogurt because he doesn't get enough from his diet.

Don't let this go on. Go get help. I promise that they have good ways to help your child.

At one he can still get most of his nutrition from formula or breast milk, so don't worry. Some children just develop certain skills later. If you are really concerned, talk to his doctor.

he has to stay on formula until he has started to eat a pretty good amount of solid foods.. he will get all of his nutrition from the formula.. talk to your dr. and see if he needs to visit a feeding specialist/occupational therapist.

but keep trying.. offer small pieces of soft foods.. crackers and soft cookies that he can hold in his hands.. you just keep trying till he gets past the gagging..