Gagging Problem

Updated on August 01, 2008
A.H. asks from Riverton, UT
4 answers

I have a 9 month old who has always done very well with baby food. Now that he is old enough for table food we are having problems, he gags until he is bright red, watering eyes and sounds like he is about to puke. He has had the puff stars and does fine but i have tried giving him rice, regular oatmeal, over cooked veggies,baked potatoe and baby food with chunks and he just gags until it falls out of his mouth. Could it be that he is just not ready yet?? Any advice on where to go from here would be awesome!! Thanks!

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A.L.

answers from Phoenix on

I would agree that your son might not be ready yet. I wouldn't stop trying though. Our son was born 10 weeks premature, so we had a big issue with his gag reflex. Many times something would hit him wrong and everything he ate for the last three hours would come up. SOOO fun. Just be careful and watch your son. You'll get to know his "signs" early and hopefully prevent the throw up.

Here are a couple suggestions that the specialists gave us. Take something he likes, like the puffs and grind them into a fine powder. Then scoop some baby food (without lumps -like applesauce) and put a pinch of the puff poweder on top. Then cover the powder completely with more of the baby food. Your son won't be able to feel the ground up baby puffs but his mouth can still get used to the texture combination. We only had to do this for a few days before our son was okay with some textures. (it also works good with crackers, graham crackers, etc)
PS- our son still doesn't like the textures of some things and can gag on a dime ;) He is two now. All kids are different.. Good luck!
A. in SLC UT

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L.C.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Some babies aren't even eating baby food until 9 mos of age. I would continue giving him what he can handle and wait for chunkier foods until he is a year old

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L.W.

answers from Salt Lake City on

i found that if i gave my baby two different textured foods at once, like baby food with chunks in it, my baby got confused and didn't know hot to gum the chunks and swallow that smooth baby food, and would gag as well. I would try just giving one type of food at a time, and yeah he just might not be ready yet.

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J.S.

answers from Provo on

He is not ready for food. My own son is 16 months old. He did the same exact thing. He was on baby food for a very long time. We finally took him into a oral specialist for help. It was nice because they gave me ideas to help him right in the consultation. By then he was 15 months old. They gave him those baby cheetos, and he gobbled them right up. She figured it was the timing and that he was ready for the table foods. Be patient, let it rest for a few months and then try again. Every kid is different, some of mine have eaten earlier and some way later.

At his next well baby appointment have his pediatrician look at his mouth for anything that may not allow him to eat solids. Some of our problems we discovered where large tonsils & a tongue tie. But like I say, every child is different. So mainly just give it time. He'll figure it out.

My husband used to sit our baby on his lap while he ate dinner. He would just sit their, not trying to put food in his mouth until one day...and well now he doesn't sit on daddy's lap anymore. He sits up to the table and eats what we eat. But give it time. It will happen.

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