7 answers

18 Month Old Son Not Chewing His Food.

Okay... my 18 month old son has started something recently that I am open to thoughts on. He has been eating "regular" food for several months now. I couldn't tell you the last time he ate baby food/dinners. We still make sure everything is in pretty small pieces or pretty soft. He hasn't had any problem up until about three weeks ago. It has only happened three times since then, but always in the middle of the night. He wakes up at like 1:30 in the morning with what presents like a stomach ache or "gas pains" then after about 30 minutes of being obviously uncomfortable, though not screaming or crying, he throws up. Sorry to be so graphic, but it looks basically like it did going in. I am not sure if he has pain in his mouth, maybe teeth moving around as he only has two back molars left to get, and it hurts to chew some things. You would think maybe he is eating too fast or is too hungry at meal time, but he eats all during the day and we don't have alot of trouble with him eating too fast.

I am just kind of at a loss and am looking for some brainstorming. He is due for his 18 month doctor's appointment next week and I will ask her about it then. Let me know what you think.

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

Thanks for everyones input. I checked with my son's doctor at his last appointment and she said that as long as it is intermittent not to worry too bad about it. She said to pay attention to what he eats when it happens because it could be a newly developed allergy. Luckily it hasn't happened in about three weeks, so I am going with the not chewing his food well enough idea. Thanks again all.

More Answers

I went through something similar with both of my children. They would eat so fast... then would say that their tummy hurt. I think a lot of it is a phase. Does he go to daycare or are you a stay at home mom? If he goes to daycare, it is always a contest on who can eat the fastest. If not,it may be from his gums hurting. What I did was give my children a little bit at a time.. Making sure that all was gone before I have them more. I told them to chew chew chew... It worked. Good luck.

Hi there-

I agree that this is something to bring to the doctor's attention. You might even try to call the nurse this morning to at least notify the doctor of what's going on. From the dr's perspective, this may need to be addressed before next week. I just don't know. Let the doctor make that decision; better to be on the safe side.

Try to think back to the meals he had on the three occasions this happened. Maybe there is some kind of allergy or reaction to a certain food....???

Just like your son, the food is still recognizable the few times my daughter has thrown up in the middle of the night. Just FYI.

I would still call the dr. this AM. Good luck and let us know what happened. I'm stumped.

Since this has been happening at night after laying down it may be something as simple as reflux. My son complained of stomach pain and vomitting in spells at that age also. He also had other symptom like a cough while eating or at night, saying his "tummy was hot", hiccups and vomitting. This did not happen all of the time. I guess like in adults sometimes we have heartburn and sometimes were are fine. I started to give him tums to chew at night about 30 - 60 minutes before bed and it helped at lot. Now that he is older he is taking OTC zantac and he sleeps fine now. His doctor does want to start him on medication for reflux becuase he has not been offically diagnosed with it but when he doesn't take the medication he is rolling around in agony from the burning.

I don't know the answer to this question but I am having the same problem with my son who is 20 mos old, so if you find any thing out could you please pass it along my way. thank you

If the date on the request is accurate, your problem is probably solved by now. The baby may have one of several issues going on and needs to see the pediatrician. I dont recommend soliciting medical advice from strangers and am relieved to see that he has a doctor's appointment coming up. Sounds like you are a smart Mom; rely on your intuition and MD advice only. R.

YOU MAY WANT TO CUT BACK ON THE PROPORTIONS! MAYBE, HE IS GETTING SO MUCH THAT HE IS NOT TAKING THE TIME TO CHEW ALL OF IT GOOD AND THIS IS WHAT IS CAUSING THE STOMACH ACHES AND THE THROWING UP!!SOMETIMES TRING SEVERAL SMALLER MEALS INSTEAD OF THE LARGER ONES.GOOD LUCK, AND GOD BLESS CAUSE I KNOW THERE ISN'T ANYTHING LIKE CLEANING PUKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AFTER BEING WOKE FROM A GOOD SLEEP!!T. B.

My son is 2 now, and since I can remember, if it can go down without him chewing it then he swallows it without chewing, but Ive never known him to have a stomach ache behind it, and till this day he still does it, so just know that it is not that uncommon, and his doctor told me that there is nothing to worry about.

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