Feeding Ideas for Infant That Can't Seem to Eat Food Beyond #2 - Cody,WY

My son is almost 1 and still has that gag reflex too. Sometimes for foods he really doesn't like - peas, and sometimes if I make his food too thick. I would look at the #3s that you are feeding her. My son doesn't like a lot of those, and especially things that are tart (the apricots seem to be pretty tart). The textures of those are weird too, I find that some of the chunks are pretty hard, and the rest watery.

I typically make my son's food and have just been going thicker and thicker, and leave in a few soft chunks. The yams work really good to get the thickness, but the first few days he will gag. I might thin it out a little, and then he will get past it and is okay. Also, I notice that he is less picky at daycare and doesn't gag nearly as much (except with peas!). If I am having trouble with a certain food at home, I send it to daycare with no issues.

To make the food, I steam the fruits and veggies and sometimes give these to him as finger foods. They are a bit mushy, and messy, but he seems less likely to gag on these too.

There are also some gerber graduate freeze-dried fruits and puffs, and some yogurt melts. Yogurt might be a good addition for her too.

Good luck, and let me know if you find some good ideas for the next steps.

My 10 month old also has a strong gag reflex where her other baby friends don't. She has chocked and turned red and stopped breathing and that is very scary to watch. So, first, I would review infant cpr if you haven't done so lately. And make sure she is upright when feeding, sitting down. We also use the mess feeder bag for things like grapes (peeled) and blueberries and apple slices. She can only get a little out at a time. When you do try something out, see if you can mash it with your tongue and the roof of your mouth, as a guide for foods to give your little one until 2 years old.

I just think small. We do full fat plain yogurt, and mix in fruit with a blender. Small curd cottage cheese. Shreds of cheddar, just with a hand grater are fun to pick up. There are quinoa flakes, which makes a porridge type food, and it's a high protein grain. I'm going to try couscous next for a small pasta. Cooked rice, given out in small (3-4 grain) size bites. I made pear sauce, by peeling and slicing up pears, then cook on the stove over medium low until very soft, then blend up. I've done mashed black beans. Friends have tried lentils.

Hope this helps some. Good luck.

If she's a year and having problems, it's probably time to get some help. We did feeding therapy with our 2 yo for that when he was 11 mos and we got some great help. At a year, she shouldn't still be gagging on foods. Since she had tummy issues, she may just have difficulty swallowing. It didn't take our son very long to get it all figured out. I think we had just 3 or 4 appointments, with a few phone follow ups. It wasn't normal, but our son never did the #3 foods, but loved all the Gerber Graduates things, so you might try some of those meals and see how she does with it. GL!

Hi R., My daughter had similar issues. Important point to consider is that the foods you are giving her are highly acidic and commonly allergy related--oranges, strawberries, raspberries, and eggs. Try avocados, smashed baked sweet potatoes,carrots, turnips, etc.

If she is growing and staying on her growth curve I wouldn't worry about it too much. Oh, and if you put milk in your pancakes, I wouldn't be feeding them to her yet....Of course you don't say if she is a young or old one...

R.

I just wrote about first foods in yesterday's blog. Foods to stay away from the first year of baby’s life are chocolate, citrus fruit, egg, fish, honey, milk, peanut, shellfish, soy, sugar, tree nut (walnut, cashew, etc.), and wheat.

First foods to consider after brown rice, barley, and oats are applesauce, apricots, avocados, bananas, beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, mangoes, peas, peaches, pears, pumpkins, squash, and yams. Add meats (turkey, chicken, lamb, and beef) after your baby is used to eating grains, veggies, and fruits.
You can read the entire blog:
http://www.babybites.info/2009/04/14/baby-food/

Hi,
Try Happy Baby Bites. This is an organic line of baby food and toddler meals. It is perfect, esp. for those with allergies. Best of luck!

www.happyfamilybrands.com

I had/have the same problem with my little girl. She is almost 15 mos. and still only has 4 teeth, so I hesitate to give her anything that she has to chew too much on. That being said I found that she prefers to eat what we eat. She would also gag and sometimes even vomit the #3 baby food. Not sure if it was a texture type thing. Since your dd is over 1 you can try eggs, bananas, avocados, pasta, shredded cheese (my dd's fav) and soft cooked meats. Really anything that is soft and can be cut into tiny pieces. You could also try putting food into those mesh feeders if you are worried about choking. I tried with my dd but she didn't like and does fine w/o anyway. She seems to prefer to feed herself. Good luck I know how frustrating it can be and you want to make sure your baby is getting the proper nutrition. I am hoping her picky eating is just a phase that she will grow out of in the meantime I keep trying different things.