My son is 19 months old and will only eat baby food, applesauce, and yogurt...sometimes he will lick peanut butter off a cracker. He will gag at any textures I try to put in his mouth. I have been trying since he was 10 months old, I have tried the puffs but he just throws them on the floor or plays with them. He wont even eat the stage 3 baby food with any chunks in it, he gags. If he sees me put any kind of food on his spoon that isn't baby food he pushes it away and doesnt' want it. I have tried leaving food on his tray and he just throws it all on the floor and will NOT put it in his mouth at all. I know he knows how to feed himself because he will use a spoon and feed himself baby food when I let him. I have been mentioning this problem to his Dr since his 12 month check up and all he tells me is that some babys have stronger gag refluxes than others and he will come around when he his ready for textures. I feel there is a problem, I have Early Intervention coming out this week to evaluate his speech per his Dr reccomending him for this, so hopefully they can rule out a medical problem and tell me my son is just picky. Then I will know he is just playing me and its not a medical issue. Anyone else going through this or know anyone that is??
If you really think he is just playing you then just stop giving him baby food. Give him finger food's that he can eat that are soft enough for him. He will not starve himself. Once he realizes he's not getting any more baby food then he will eat what you give him.
I never did the stage 3 baby food with my boys. I found the chunks mixed with the mush was confusing and made them gag, they did fine with finger foods.
Yes! My son does the same except he only will eat yogurt! He sees anything else and flips out! Have you found anything that helps!
My DR said speech therapy would be our next step...also.
My son just turned 2 and recently started eating solids. It was a very slow milestone for him & like you, I was very worried. He still won't eat all solids(strawberries, mango or avacados) due to their textures. I used to blend and purree everything to make sure he got all his nutrients. He started off with Puffs and then bananas,tofu & mac & cheese but now he's much better. My best trick to get him to eat was just feeding him when he was playing with a toy that kept him distracted. This kept his mind off the texture so he ate without thinking.Of course it didn't work all the time but I kept trying. Overtime I furgured out that he was just a picky eater, so don't worry, your son will come around soon. I hope my experience was helpful.Good Luck!
Hello K.,
Until recently I had similar concerns re: my 15mo daughter. She seemed to gag when we gave her anything other than stage 1 or 2 baby food. It concerned me greatly as her behavior/situation stood in great contrast to my 28mo son who devoured everything (solid food included) from a very young age. Stage 3 foods seemed to make the situation much worse; I tossed them quickly. I started giving her tiny bits of banana, soft pasta, string cheese, etc, and she very slowly began eating solids w/o gagging. We now do a combination of solid food and some baby food/yogurt/applesauce in order to make sure her nutritional needs are met. The balance is tipping toward mostly solid food, but it's been slow going. She wants to be like her big brother, and she watches him closely at meal time. Maybe that helped her?? Just FYI, there is no evidence of speech delay in my daughter, as some other mothers mentioned in their responses. I'm not sure if this helps at all, but... Thank you for posting your concerns and making me feel in good company with this issue. Best of luck to you...
we have the same problem with our son. he finally was eating well and got the flu so now will not eat solids again... back to square one. good luck, it will happen when he is ready.
My situation isn't exactly the same, but I have an EXTREMELY picky eater who is now 4. She still eats Gerber 3rd foods sweet potatoes & applesauce almost daily -- otherwise she'd get no fruits or veggies at all. I would advise you to try your best to be patient -- I recall being a very picky eater as a child and it was really upsetting (in a freaking out, they're torturing me, I need to run away sort of way) when someone tried to force me to eat something I didn't like. It turned me off to trying new things. With my daughter, we're still now working on getting her to leave a veggie on her plate that she doesn't currently like. (Of course by now, she's learned not to throw it on the floor, but to ask nicely for me to remove it.) I'm told allowing something to be left on the plate is the first step toward someday eating it. And that it's very important that she sees my husband and I eating the things we want her to eat. Then eventually (and this could mean years from now) she'll get curious and try it on her terms. But we can't force her or bribe her, as she'll just put up a wall. It really does have to be on her terms. And that has worked a little so far -- she's ASKS for orange juice and corn, for example. Also, try not to beat yourself up that your child doesn't eat like the books or guidelines say he should. Sure, we should do our best to offer those foods to our kids, but some kids are picky and there's nothing we can do to change that. I have two happy, healthy, smart and athletic teenage nephews who didn't touch a veggie until they were 13, and even then it was just a couple things. That doesn't mean you should give up, it just means you can give yourself and your child some room to be yourselves. Finally, I always remind myself of some valuable advice from my older sister-in-law and her friends whose kids are now off to college -- "relax and try to put this phase in perspective -- s/he won't be eating baby food when s/he goes to college." Hope that helps :o)
Hi! Check out http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/picky-eaters.html and see if your son has oral defensiveness. If he does, Occupational Therapists can help and there are also feeding therapy programs that your pediatrician can refer him to. Sometimes speech delay is related to oral defensiveness. Early Intervention may be able to identify it. Good luck.
Sounds like your son should see an occupatioal therapist or speech pathologist for oral sensory issues. Early Intervention can offer these services.
Hi, K.. I have been through the exact same thing. My now 3 year old only ate smooth-textured food until he was 29 months old! He has a speech delay and sensitivities to texured-food. He, too, went through early intervention and had "eating" therapy to get him over the adversion to food textures. He finally ate his first table food around 29 months and I was about to do cartwheels all the way home! He still is in speech therapy and will eat table food now, but his diet is still very limited.
Please don't give up hope! I know with the help of a speech therapist and/or occupational therapist, your child will eventually give up the baby food. At least your son is getting fruits and vegetables in the baby food! Now that my son is able to eat different textures, I have the hardest time getting him to eat any vegetable!!
FYI, our pediatrician said that our son's odd eating habits were based on just being extremely picky as well. We are so glad that we contacted EI and got our son the help that he needed.
Best of luck to you!!
We dont have the same exact same problem..My son is 14months and he still LOVES his baby food..He prefers it to table food..but he will eat some adult foods..My suggestion would to get a 2nd opinion.I hope it all works out well for you,Good Luck :)
Hi K. - I feel like you're speaking my mind..My son is almost 17 months old and he too does not eat any textured food. Although, he does eat puffs, cake, cookies, anything sweet really. But, most of those foods are something that will easily dissolve in his mouth. I'm pretty sure that he has an extremely sensitive gag reflux, but, I realized that he does not chew his food very well either. I have tried giving him cinammon toast crunch cereal and cocoa puffs soaked in milk. For the cinammon cereal, he will bite it into some small pieces and then try to swallow it and then gag. We have been working with an OT for the past 6 months because of his delays in gross and fine motor skills, but she has given us some tools (Nuk brush - http://www.amazon.com/Gerber-Nuk-Brush/dp/B001UZ31SC/ref=...) that we should use. She also recommended us to rub his gums and cheeks and get as far back in his mouth and gums as we can and that will help to de-sensitize his mouth aversion. We are also supposed to rub that brush in his mouth a few times a day and that will help desensitize his mouth aversion. We even met with a pediatric GI and did a swallow test (normal result, does not have any problems with swallowing the food). My son is on the smaller side because he throws up sooooo much, at least once a day. Now its become sort of a routine. So, for now, I have given up focusing on textured foods because he still needs his nutrition. I read somewhere that giving pureed foods with lumps (Stage 3) confuses the child as to whether to chew it or swallow it and therefore they gag on it. So, rather try to make the food with a chunkier texture throughout (puree less amount of time). In other words, try to maintain an even texture of the food. That has not worked for me, but it might work out for you. I would definetely consult and start with an OT and have him evaluated. BTW, my son also has speech delays, he does not babble much. So, I'm starting to think if this is associated to the speech delays. Feel free to send me a separate email if you have more questions or if you need to discuss this.
