I Have a 12 Month Old. I Am Having Trouble with Her Not Really Chewing Solids.

So I need to clarify. When I mean solids I mean very soft foods like fruits, vegetables that are cooked well and cut up small and chopped up pastas. My baby is good at mashed potatoes and ect. My husband says she only has 2 teeth and so cannot eat this yet. I would like to start this so she can learn the "chewing" motion.

What makes you think she is not making enough saliva? Have you discussed this with the pediatrician? Is the doctor concerned about some medical issue that inhibits saliva? Whether she is chewing has to do with how many teeth she has and where they are, as well as the habit of breaking them up. But a lot of kids are "gumming" foods too.

How big are the pieces you are giving her? How much does she get at once? Usually people start with small pieces of soft or easily-dissolvable foods, and only give the child 1 or 2 at a time. Cheerios and bananas are very common first foods. Watermelon is almost all water. Usually doctors say not to give grapes and hot dogs - they are choking hazards even if cut. Berries would be a good choice, also pasta (the curly shapes are easier to pick up - rotini, for example). Small pieces of cheese, yogurt with soft fruit in it, small pieces of meatloaf that will break up easily, cooked zucchini, and well-cooked carrots are good starting points.

Try coaching her a little with the chewing, by doing it yourself. Make sure nobody is talking with food in their mouths (because, really, we all tend to do that a bit), model the right behavior by taking small bites, and then exaggerate the chewing motion while she does it too. Emphasize the taste and savoring of the food rather than the quantity. Try not to study her anxiously (and tell your husband not to) so she doesn't pick up on that stress, and just focus on the experience of eating together as a family, at the table, in a high chair, no running around. She'll get the hang of it.

Don't "do" anything. Continue to breastfeed or give her formula and soft healthy foods like cooked veges, rice/cereal and fruits. Those cookies and puffs offer no nutrition anyway, why would you waste money on that? My kids were curious about food at that age too but didn't really start eating from the table until they were closer to 18 months. Totally normal, your husband is right.

i pray this is something you've discussed with your pediatrician before resorting to the internet, right? so it would help greatly to know what she has said.
on what do you base your suspicion that she's not making enough saliva?
i don't think i'd discount my husband's intuition here. if she's eating baby food and cereals, why not build on them texturally instead of going to biscuits and puffs? she can probably eat soft carrots, potatoes, breads, fruits pureed until they're soft but still have a little lumpy texture, mac and cheese diced up, spaghetti cut small.
i'm betting she'll be fine if you introduce textures more gradually.
khairete
S.

First, babies don't have the appropriate teeth for 'chewing' at this age. The front teeth are for tearing/biting, not chewing.

Listen to your husband. We never used teething cookies or puffs--it's empty calories, zero nutritional value. I've seen children choke on these, even toddlers.

We did only soft foods for a long time. Breastfed mostly; the tongue is a very strong muscle the child already knows how to use; soft foods (no chunks) can be smooshed between the tongue and upper palate and swallowed easily. You can use a baby food mill or mash cooked foods up with a fork. Typically, baby foods have been cooked with water so they are easier to eat; the moisture makes it easier for baby to swallow. (It's not a saliva issue.) If you don't want to make your own food, there's plenty of stuff available on the store shelves.

One thing I will suggest against, though, is those little packets of pureed food that kids can squeeze and suck. If you are teaching her to use a spoon, stay consistent with that. It's a whole new skill to learn.

Diane has good ideas.

Have you ever tried those teething cookies? The big solid ones? they do turn to be like glue. They stuck to the top of my mouth. My kids liked them - but I could see why some kids wouldn't do well with them.

Offer a drink with her meals too. I did little teeny cubes of bread instead of the biscuits. Cheerios were a big one for us to start with (hole in case they get caught and they literally dissolve) and little bits of very ripe banana, etc.

You want to get her used to table foods soon. If it goes on too long, kids don't develop the ability to chew and swallow properly. I had a neighbor kid like this. At 18 months all she could eat was yogurt.

Forget the teething cookies and rice puffs.

Diane gives you some good ideas for food. You need to offer a lot of different textures of food over the next couple of months so that your baby will get used to them.

I would phase out the baby food. It doesn't have a lot of nutrition. And not much texture. She doesn't have to "chew" food that's really just a lot of mush.

Our son was on the late side when it came to eating solid foods.
It just takes practice.
You give her a little at a time and watch her so you notice if she's choking.
Carrot sticks that have been par boiled till they are soft are a great finger food.
Baked French fries are good too.

My oldest had no real interest in foods until 14 months. Not all babies are magically ready exact at age 1. It sounds like maybe she's in the same place - puts things in her mouth but isn't actually trying to swallow them. She's just mouthing them like she does her toys. If that's the case, give her a little more time.

I decided that my baby was ready to eat real foods when he tried to pick them up and put them in his mouth himself. I started with puffs, cheerios, and also small pieces of very soft pasta because they don't actually need to be chewed, just swallowed. He gagged himself a few times trying to get the food off the back of his tongue and down his throat, but he figured it out. It wasn't choking, because the food was too small to choke on. Basically, he needed to learn how to work his tongue to get the food down.

So, my advice is two-fold - consider that she's not really ready. Give her a little more time. And then put some (baby appropriate, non-choking) foods on her tray, see if she actually puts them in her mouth, and let her figure it out. Just don't let her stuff more than 1 puff (or whatever) in her mouth at a time. A baby won't choke on 1 puff. But she could choke on a whole handful at once.

Please google choke hazards for toddlers. She's old enough to be eating the same food you are. I used a Pampered Chef Food Chopper on the food we were eating and whacked it about 15 times. That made all the pieces less than 1/4 inch. That is the desirable size.

Keep offering her the food and she'll eventually take it better.

So many parents don't know that so many foods are just not right for babies and toddlers. Once your child is 2 or 3 they should be eating pretty much anything but still, in 1/2 inch pieces.

Kids die from choking to death on things they weren't supposed to have in the first place. I think you're doing a good job by asking for ideas. I do think you should google choking hazards though. You'll be surprised by the list.