Table Food Issues with 10 Month Old

Goodness, no, he doesn't need therapy. He needs time and practice! Give him soft table foods, mashed potatoes are a good starter. Slowly introduce other foods. Be sure to cut any other foods up as small as you can possibly cut them. Or try some of the meals in jars that are for older babies. Ones that are not pureed. They are usually soft foods. One "food" that helped my great grandson learn to eat table food without gagging are cheese puffs. They are crunchy when they go in their mouths, but pretty much dissolve by the time they are ready to swallow. It helps them to learn to thoroughly chew their food before swallowing and, most kids love them!

no, that is normal. A lot of babies still can't do table food that early. Give him time. If you are wanting to feed him what you eat, then mush it up or cut it up small enough that he can get used to having texture and thicker stuff and learn to chew - it takes practice along with development. Otherwise do the 3rds jar foods and wait til after he is one to try table food again. And keep in mind, he doesn't need table food yet so it's not a big deal if he doesn't want it. Formula or breast milk should be there biggest source of nutrition before 12 months. My daughter nursed exclusively until 10 mths - she wouldn't even eat 1st stage foods. lol She just wasn't ready and didn't want it yet. I didn't push it and just kept nursing. Once she weaned, she loved table food. And she was never underweight. So don't let someone convince you they have to be eating real food so fast. :)

Is he gagging and then continuing to eat or is he choking? I also have a 10 month old and he gags a little sometimes, but that is actually good, because that means he has the ability to prevent choking. (I'm not saying he will never choke - you still have to be careful, but a healthy gag reflex is good). When mine gags, he just sort of coughs it up and continues to chew and eat. If this is what's happening, I wouldn't worry about it.

My goodness, no he does not need therapy to learn to eat. Some children just take longer than others. Just keep introducing food options to him and eventually he will get the hang of it. Try things like toast that he can hold, take bites from but that disolves easily. Scrabbled eggs are also very good.

Hi T.,
Both my sons gagged when offered some foods, particularly potatoes. As others have said, weaning is a long process and it is perfectly normal to take time to get used to different textures. The gagging reflex is there to protect us from unfamiliar foods.
With my own boys, I found that letting them being in control of what was going in to their mouths was very helpful. If your son is sitting at the table with you, able to reach for finger foods and feed himself, he will become more familiar with 'adult' food.
My advice would be to persevere at this stage - make sure you stay calm, encouraging & relaxed and do not give too much attention for the gagging behavior too, whilst ensuring he is safe.
This way he will have a positive view of mealtimes and eating - enjoy exploring together and good luck x

My son is turning 12 mo and we are having the same issues. But it does get better, it is a process of trial and error. Also, dont give up on certain foods if he gags on them. Just wait 2-3 weeks and try again, he may end up loving it. My son LOVES mac n cheese. I find that elbow noodles are the easiest for him to chew ( i cut them up a little first). He will eat raisins if i heat them up in some water and cut them up, this makes them softer. I also just made him a stew with tiny little round noodles called acini di pepe and he took this fine. steamed chopped up carrots, toast with butter cut into cubes, cheerios in milk or water to make them soft. He will eat chicken cut up but does not tolerate ground beef. I think he doesnt like the texture in his mouth. But i'll bet in a few weeks he'll love it. Good luck, hope this was helpful

I have an 11 month old grandson who started straight table food @ 10 months old with no choking. We started him a little early on diff. table foods. First started him on the gerber 2nd stages and sometimes put the rice or oatmeal cereal to thicken for texture. He will get used to it, just introduce little by little. Try thickening the puree'd foods a little for texture. It just means he's not yet ready is all. He's not at all behind others either. My kids didn't start table food til they were a year old-didn't care for it and couldn't tolerate it.
Lots of luck-he'll get the hang of it sooner than you think!
hugs-T.