My 10 1/2 Month Old Does Not like Lumpy Food

When my 10 month old tries new foods, he usually gets this funny look on his face and then spits stuff out. However, when I first gave him cheerios and those gerber graduate puffs, he did choke on them. I thought he was NEVER going to get the hang of eating anything other than baby food. I got him to eat the puffs first (they almost immediately dissolve, so the choking risk is quite low). What I did was put a little bit of water in a plastic bowl, then put a puff in to make it a little softer. Then I put it in his mouth and he would chew then swallow without choking. When he finally did eat cheerios, he already knew how to chew and swallow. He absolutely loves to feed himself now. I also read somewhere that a parent may have to try some foods at least 15 times before a baby will accept it. Good luck!

Just a thought. I have two teenagers now, but when they were infants, I breastfed them till at least a yr old. It may simply be that he is not ready for that type of food. Every child is unique and wonderful. He is still young and has lots of time to get used to lumpy food. I didnt introduce other foods, which were very soft till around a yr old. Then I started incorporating some of the other foods. I hope this helps. If you are still worried, let your pediatrician in on what's going on and get their advice too.

Hi J.,

I know it can be frustrating but it doesn't last forever and it's no big deal (after the fact of course.) My daughter who is now 6 would not eat a Cheerio until she was 18 months old and I am not exaggerating. Others had 12 month olds eating pizza and mine would only eat stage 2 foods until 15 months and then only the really blended stage 3's until 18.

She was and is fine. The worse part was listening to all the other moms make a big deal about it. It's not. Don't worry just give him time.

It could be a texture aversion. My son wouldn't eat anything with much of a texture to it, but if we tried, he'd gag & throw up all the time. We went through it until he was about 15 months old. We had him to the doctor all the time because of it, but it was something he finally outgrew. Speak to your pediatrician and ask him/her about it. We did a few sessions of speech therapy, but I didn't feel those helped our cause too much.

I know how stressful this can be, TRUST ME!! It's very trying, but in our case, patience was the best thing we could have. Good luck!

My 5 year old son was very picky about textures. He would not est lumpy foods like the stage 3 baby foods. There were also certain foods like grapes (even peeled) that he would not eat. Again it was the texture, he would put it in his mouth and feel it and if he did not like the way it felt he would spit it out. He would cheerios and biscuits though. At some point after 2 he got over it and now he is pretty adventurous eater he even eats seaweed at Japanese restuarants. Anyway I would still mention it to your ped. we described our son's texture thing and she told us that a lot of kids have different texture issues wit food and it was not uncommon and it would be a concern if quit gaining weight on his curve. But I would be sure to mention any other issues that may not seem related just so they have a full picture.

Hi J.,

Have you tried a different brand of Stage 3 baby foods? I've got a 10 1/2 month old too, and I've noticed that Gerber Stage 3 and Good Earth Stage 3 are a lot less lumpy than Beechnut Stage 3. Maybe if you try going back to the smoother foods, then more gradually move to the lumpier textures that might help. Maybe he's just not ready for those big lumps??

My son still doesn't do well with the biter biscuits, so I've stopped giving them to him for awhile. He always bites off a piece and tries to swallow it without chewing and ends up choking. Hang in there, you'll figure out what works best for your little one!

He might have low tones in his mouth. My youngest son had it and a therapist would come to the house once a week. After a few weeks I stopped the therapy because the stuff she was doing I could do. All the low tones means is that they need the inside of their month woken up. You massage around his mouth and before he eats you use a nuk tool inside his mouth to wake it up so when he eats its ready. After a couple of months he was fine. Before then he would make himself throw up if he didnt like the texture of the food. There are still a couple of foods that he prefers not to eat, like cake but other than that he's good.

Hi J., my 10 1/2 month old daughter does the same thing. Give her a baby food with much texture, and she will gag until she throws up EVERYTHING (this has happened around 5 times in the last 4 months)! I have figured it is something she will outgrow, but if she continues I'll talk to my ped about it at her 1 year well check. I breastfeed her, and she gets 2 meals of stage 2 a day, mixed with some oatmeal cereal. I try to give her lots of different tastes, and for now, keep it well mashed up. I wish I had advice, but I did enjoy your question and the other responses. Best of luck, looks like most likely it is not that unusual and just something we will have to live with! F.

Jen, my sister's son had similar issues with food when he was a bit younger. It was almost like he did not like the textures of some food. And it's okay. As long as he is not losing a lot of weight, don't worry. He is at that age where he will start to slim up some from more activity. He will eat when he is hungry. My sister's son likes some cereals, fruits (baby foods). Don't stop introducing him to a variety of foods. He will find some things he likes. You have years of picky eater tendencies to look forward to!!:-)
J.

I am so sorry that you are going through this. It is very exhausting, constantly worrying about your child eating. My youngest is allergic to dairy, and has acid reflux so from the beginning I knew she was predisposed to texture issues. She would basically gag and throw up almost anything but I am lucky and my nephew was this way and my father-in-law is a Pediatrician so I have some good resources. Basically you can "prep" them or do exercises to help them get used to different textures. I was told to start with jam or jelly and put it on their lips so that they use the tongue to lick it off. Sounds weird but something about the thrusting of the tongue really helps with the gagging thing. Also make sure that you continue to introduce him to different textures. Once you introduce a texture or food it can take up to 15 times before a child knows if they like it or not. This is very time consuming and requires a lot of patience but it will pay off in the end. Also there is no need for Stage 3 foods. Give him regular food that is cooked a bit too long so that it can be mushed around in his mouth. I personally would gag too if someone gave me that nasty Stage 3 food. :) The reason many children don't lose the weight if they aren't eating a variety of foods is because they still get the calories just not variety and the nutrients that they need. My children did not have teeth until they were over a year old so not having teeth won't stop him if that is an issue. Some things that you can start with include bananas, cooked carrots, cooked green beans, pasta with parm. cheese, little bits of deli meat, bread sticks, rice, flaky white fish. I hope this gives you some ideas. It is hard if you don't have experience with these things and unfortunately the pedi. many times doesn't take the time to help with issues that aren't posing a problem yet. Unfortunately, many young children have food issues and it results in very picky eaters. Good Luck. You are a very good mom to seek out advice and want the best for your child!