Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>10 Month Old - Food Aversions
Unregistered 11:56 AM 09-19-2017
I have a 10 month old who will not try any food that is not in purée form. I've tried offering a huge variety of foods and textures. She gags when anything other than a smooth purée goes into her mouth. An example is Step 3 baby food with the soft food bits. She just gags and then refuses to eat anything else. If I offer her anything else after she has gagged (including smooth purees she will normally eat), she throws a tantrum.

I'm not sure what I can do to transition this girl to solid food. I did not intend to continue with purées after the age of 1. Has anyone ever dealt with this before? Her parents have the same experience at home with her. At her 9 month well visit, her pediatrician told them to just keep putting food in front of her but I've never seen something like this. It goes beyond "picky eater". Thanks for any advice you might have!
Reply
storybookending 12:06 PM 09-19-2017
I have a 3 year old in my care that was appearently like this. I did not have her as an infant. I only know about it because she has a one year old brother that did it for a few days when trying new foods for the first time. Mom said sister did it for a few months but eventually got over it. She eats everything I put in front of her now as a 3 year old.

A child will not starve themselves. Just keep putting things in front of her and she will get it eventually. Are you always spoon feeding these items? Did you try putting things on a tray and havin her self feed? My almost 10 month old loves to feed himself, he's not very good at it, but he is learning every day.
Reply
Unregistered 12:53 PM 09-19-2017
Originally Posted by storybookending:
Did you try putting things on a tray and havin her self feed? My almost 10 month old loves to feed himself, he's not very good at it, but he is learning every day.
Oh yes! I only spoon feed her the purees but everything else is placed in front of her. Some examples are Cheerios, green beans, peas, bananas, pieces of toast or tortilla, beans...it goes on and on. She will pick up the items but throws them on the floor. She'll never try anything. I've tried hand feeding her some of these items as well but the gagging begins right away. Now I only place them in front of her. Once she throws something on the floor twice, I take it away and she has to stay in her chair and watch the other kids snack. I have her in the middle of other high chair babies who are great eaters to try and encourage her. I make a big celebration out of the other babies eating their foods.

Anything else I could do? The story about your three year old gives me hope! Haha
Reply
Leigh 01:04 PM 09-19-2017
I have tube fed twins with oral feeding aversion. What I do with them is give them puree with a variety of tools to eat with (this gets them used to putting food in their own mouth). I use one of these https://www.arktherapeutic.com/arks-...al-motor-chew/ and one of these http://www.babybananabrush.com/product/bbb/ along with those super cheap toddler spoons that are pretty flat (so they don't hold a whole lot). Rice rusks are another thing that are easier to get kids to try. Yogurt drops, puffs-stuff like that. Also, dum-dum pops...that's something that's easier to get them to try.

I'd first work on the hand to mouth thing and get her used to putting things in her mouth. I'd brush her teeth (or gums) and encourage chewing toys to get her mouth used to different textures. There are so many options with tools to help desensitize her mouth-I'd create a list for the parents and ask them to start working on desensitization and to provide you with tools for their child, as well. If she goes until 12 months like this, I'd encourage a feeding evaluation.
Reply
laundrymom 02:57 PM 09-19-2017
Sounds like you are on track. Just keep repeating. She will get the hang of it. I would seriously consider going to all feed herself sized pieces at every meal. No purée or spoon feeding her.
She'll catch on.

Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Oh yes! I only spoon feed her the purees but everything else is placed in front of her. Some examples are Cheerios, green beans, peas, bananas, pieces of toast or tortilla, beans...it goes on and on. She will pick up the items but throws them on the floor. She'll never try anything. I've tried hand feeding her some of these items as well but the gagging begins right away. Now I only place them in front of her. Once she throws something on the floor twice, I take it away and she has to stay in her chair and watch the other kids snack. I have her in the middle of other high chair babies who are great eaters to try and encourage her. I make a big celebration out of the other babies eating their foods.

Anything else I could do? The story about your three year old gives me hope! Haha

Reply
MarinaVanessa 03:07 PM 09-19-2017
Wait, she's 10 months? I doubt it's a food aversion. I'd tend to think that it's more like she's a baby and her natural gag reflex hasn't gone away yet. A baby's gag reflex is a baby's natural way of preventing choking. Considering that a typical baby (in most circumstances) should get most of their nutrients from breast milk or formula any food before they're a year old it's really just practicing for being ready for table foods.

I would definitely keep offering though, but maybe just soft foods like pieces of bananas, cooked carrots/sweet potato, avocado, soft slices of peaches etc.
Reply
Unregistered 03:54 PM 09-19-2017
Originally Posted by MarinaVanessa:
Wait, she's 10 months? I doubt it's a food aversion. I'd tend to think that it's more like she's a baby and her natural gag reflex hasn't gone away yet. A baby's gag reflex is a baby's natural way of preventing choking. Considering that a typical baby (in most circumstances) should get most of their nutrients from breast milk or formula any food before they're a year old it's really just practicing for being ready for table foods.

I would definitely keep offering though, but maybe just soft foods like pieces of bananas, cooked carrots/sweet potato, avocado, soft slices of peaches etc.
I agree! It's just for practice at this age but I want her to be ready to make the switch to table food at one, if possible. It's really about wanting to ensure I'm doing all I can to aid in her development. I think it's more frustrating because my other babies will eat anything placed in front of them with no issue.

I like the idea of discontinuing all purees but is it beneficial for her to be tasting foods at least, even if only in purée form? She'll eat any type of baby food and eats cereal. I just figured getting to taste them was better than never tasting anything at all. I even try to match the solid to the purée. For example, if we are having peas, I'll give her solid peas along with the purée to help her realize they are the same thing. I'm not sure if it helps but it sounds like a good idea in my head!
Reply
laundrymom 05:47 PM 09-19-2017
I guess it makes sense.
I dont know. I stopped buying purée in about 1991.
I just feed soft foods and tiny pieces from what I feed other kids.
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I agree! It's just for practice at this age but I want her to be ready to make the switch to table food at one, if possible. It's really about wanting to ensure I'm doing all I can to aid in her development. I think it's more frustrating because my other babies will eat anything placed in front of them with no issue.

I like the idea of discontinuing all purees but is it beneficial for her to be tasting foods at least, even if only in purée form? She'll eat any type of baby food and eats cereal. I just figured getting to taste them was better than never tasting anything at all. I even try to match the solid to the purée. For example, if we are having peas, I'll give her solid peas along with the purée to help her realize they are the same thing. I'm not sure if it helps but it sounds like a good idea in my head!

Reply
Ariana 05:51 PM 09-19-2017
Originally Posted by laundrymom:
Sounds like you are on track. Just keep repeating. She will get the hang of it. I would seriously consider going to all feed herself sized pieces at every meal. No purée or spoon feeding her.
She'll catch on.
Completely agree. With my own two kids we skipped puree and went right to regular food and they didn't really start eating much until around 10 months. To me she is right on target. She will get the hang of it if this is all you offer her and she is hungry. Like all tantrums just ignore! As for gagging that is something that happens because she is used to food not touching the gag reflex zone in her mouth. A spoon bypasses that and of course puree just goes down the gut without chewing. She needs to get used to that feeling and used to gagging before she understands that this is how food works. The gag reflex at this age is not near the throat so don't worry too much about it. They gag long before it will become a choking hazard.
Reply
MarinaVanessa 03:39 PM 09-20-2017
I've always skipped purees and offered baby bite-size pieces of soft foods, boiled what I could or steamed it so that it was soft. So far you know she'll eat it if it's soft so now it's just letting her get the practice of getting the hang of figuring out how to eat it chunky.

Just remember though that if it's her gag reflex no amount of practice will help. It just comes when it comes. You're doing just fine. Ne patient and keep doing what you're doing. Eventually she'll get it
Reply
Tags:baby food, food aversions, picky eater, won't eat
Reply Up