Finger Food Dilemma

My Mom use to always clean my babies mouth with a white softest cotton or voil cloth piece tied to her 2 fingers use to put Glycerin on it and use to clean my babies tongues and throat with it they would Gag at first but she use to pull out a lot of phlegm that according to her accumulates due to excessive Milk drinking.. it just now makes sense to me the cleaning of the Tongue that is recommended to us to do with Brushing.. but just a suggestion just follow it if you feel comfortable.

that's still really young......may be he's not ready.....put them away.....and try again in a couple of weeks....

My daughter is 10 months old and gags on cheerios and puffs. I think they get stuck on the back of her tongue since they are so dry. She does really well with peas, cut up avocado, fruit, lunchmeat, even some cheese. I make the pieces very small and watch her closely. Sometimes I put the pieces in the side of her mouth so they are already in position to be chewed up. We keep trying the cheerios every few days, giving her only a few at a time. She's doing better now. It may just take a little more time.

Good luck! It is scary when they gag on food.

I agree that you should try some softer foods that don't really require chewing. Scrambled eggs and little (like 1/4 inch) cubes of tofu worked great for DD at that age. She's super independent, and a big eater, so definitely wanted to feed herself already at that age, but really didn't have very many teeth or know how to chew. We also gave her 1/2 slices of ripe bananas (like slice the banana, then cut each slice in halves or even quarters, so they're nice and small). Overcooked small pasta can work, too. Just keep it soft, and GL!

My now 14 month old did not take any real interest in finger foods until closer to 12 months. I would not make an issue out of it or the child may begin to resist eating all together. Just offer the food during meals, if he eats it . . . great . . . if not, no big deal.

MAybe try one of those self feeders? Mine is a munchkin. It's a net that you put the food in to and then snap shut. It has a handle for baby to hold. They kind of suck the food out. It worked great for teaching both of kids to self feed without a choking hazard. They can be a bit of a pain to clean (especially when filled with banana :) ), but it is a hassle I am willing to go through.

My daughter had a sensitive gag as well. For some reason, she did really well in the beginning with diced banana, ritz crackers, honey nut cheerios, and canned peas. Those are the main ones that she fed herself for at least a couple months. I was alternating with the 2nd and 3rd stage foods, and once I tried making butternut squash for her that was a nightmare, it was too stringy, didn't work for us lol.

My daughter never cared for the puffs or the apple wheels either. You can try the zwieback toast if you haven't already, that may get him used to chewing on something, its really hard. Anyway try what I suggested, maybe it will work? Keep trying. He will get it soon.

Have you tried bananas or avocado? They are both so soft, my daughter did really well on them. He's still pretty young, I wouldn't really worry too much.

Just hold off a little while. My youngest didn't start really eating until she was 15 months old. She's now a healthy 10 year old.

Our son had a very sensitive gag reflex. Only recently has he grown out of it and he's almost 3. We didn't make a big deal of it, just let him try different foods until he could manage swallowing or manage the texture. No biggie, just took him some time that's all.

Could be a sensory issue. Watch it closely. Consider consulting with Early Childhood Intervention.

Maybe if you tried something that isn't as dry like peas, cheese scrambled eggs or cubes of firm tofu. Good luck.

Our son was the same way. His first finger food was french fries. He saw us eating them, and I offered him one. Then rest is history. He started eating everything after that. Don't think that b/c I gave him french fries he didn't learn to eat healthy. Fruits and veggies are his favorite.

Don't worry, he'll learn to eat. They do things on their own time! Good luck :)

He will get the hang of it. My daughter didn't really catch-on with finger foods until a little later. I am sure you are already doing this; however, just give him really soft things and cut into super small pieces. The puffs are probably to big for him even though they disolve. Just cut things in really small pieces b/c he is still learning to chew. Just give it time and eventually he will get the hang of it. Good luck!

I hope this is not the case with you, but...we had a very similar experience with my son. It turned out that he had/has oral motor sensitivities related to feeding and required OT services through ECI. He has since been discharged but he still has minimal problems with feeding. We are just more aware of his needs now when a problem comes up. Just a thought to put in the back of your mind.