10 Month Old Won't Eat Solids/feed Herself

I don't understand why your doctor would be concerned. My DD didn't eat solids until she was about 12-13 months. She did the same thing with chunckier foods like gagging and throwing up so I stopped giving them to her and only offered them about once a week. They mostly just sat on her tray but eventually she tried them on her own and now she's 16mo and eats anything I put in front of her. It took her a while to figure out that she had to chew them before swallowing. I personally wouldn't be too concerned it just sounds like she's not ready for solids yet.
As for the no crawling, do you give her plenty of tummy time? I know once they figure out how to roll over they just do that every time they go on their tummy. My DD did the same thing she's now a speed demon and my nephew never crawled he scooted everywhere and then went straight to walking. Hope this helps and shows that its ok for kids not to do exactly what everyone else's kids are doing.

Since you have two concerns, it wouldn't hurt to contact Child Find and set her up for an appointment. My youngest two both had feeding therapy and it helped with the gagging and chewing stuff a lot. One of the things we were to do was to give them meltable solids like Pirate's Booty, etc. before anything else. It helps them "find" their mouth. We also use the Beckman Tri-Chews (not the green, XT) and they help. I don't remember off hand where Ault is, but if you're where I think you are, I know a great feeding therapist in your area. The advantage to Child Find is they test everything. When I took my daughter in, I got some really good help for something I wasn't even aware of or concerned about, but boy did it help! She's a much happier little girls these days. GL! I know the frustration of a kid who doesn't take to eating naturally, especially after a kid who never had any problems.

If I were you, which I know I'm not, I would just stop the solids until the doc checks it out. Why risk more throwing up/trauma? Best of luck to you!

The doc probably just want to observe her to see what's going on - after your doc observes her, discuss Child Find with him. They have free testing to see if kids (birth-3) have developmental delays. Truthfully, he may be more concerned about the crawling than the eating.

Just fyi - my kids were "gaggers" too and around 10-11 months, they got the hang of eating chunkier foods. With my first, I would mix stage 1 and 2 together and cut the pieces to make them smaller.

I would take a deep breathe and relax. Your son's doctor is probably trying to see if there is a texture aversion or not. My son wasn't one to transition the "stages" well. They go from smooth to hunks of food. I would stick with stage 2 if she likes it and maybe try making some of your own...this way you can control the thickness. I made mine thicker before making it chunkier, and it seemed to work for my son. I also wouldn't worry yet about the crawling. My son did the commando crawl for awhile, and then started walking, THEN crawling. Milestones are there to give you guidance, but don't freak out about them. If you can find a new mom's group, you may want to try attending a few meetings. It is really nice to see "my child is behind in this, but so far ahead in this." Continue as you are, let the doctor make any suggestions and be happy that he is so involved.
Also, they make some corn husk "crackers" in the baby section that melt in the mouth of the baby. My son gobbled these up and I think it helped him transition to the self feeding because he liked them so much. But again, I wouldn't worry about the self feeding either at that age...Easier said than done. :)

My youngest wouldn't eat anything solid at all until just after a year. He's totally fine and eats like a horse now at 2. Your little one just isn't ready for solids--give her digestive system more time to mature. If she won't start eating after a year then maybe look into help, but formula/breast milk is all she needs nutritionally for the first year.
If everything else seems fine then trust her body to know when she is ready--American doctors tend to push feeding solids much earlier then babies actually need them.
J.

He's looking for a food aversion or an overactive gag reflex, but the likelihood of her being outside the range of normal at this age is very slim.
I highly recommend the book "My Child Won't Eat!" published by La Leche League. It is current, medically accurate, and very reassuring. You could find it on amazon.com or borrow it for free from your local LLL group (find a contact at www.lllusa.org.)
Best wishes!

My son, who is 18 months, is very similar. He gags,especially with baby food, and has had problems picking things up and still won't try to use a spoon to self-feed.

I discovered that he really doesn't like a lot of the baby foods but is more interested in what we eat. He regularly mooches old fashioned oatmeal, bites from a sandwich, and small chunks of fruit and manages them just fine. However, when I try the chunky baby food, he goes back to gagging. So it may be that your daughter doesn't care for the baby food.

We also discovered that our son has some eye problems that were totally screwing up his depth perception, which explained a lot of why he doesn't try to use a spoon yet. He has since gotten better at picking things up and is starting to self feed with small things, like fruit puffs or small pieces of bread.

My MIL also told me that several of her kids wouldn't eat solids of any kind until they were 18+ months old.

Try not to worry too much about the eating/self feeding, but keep an eye on it. Keep trying to teach her how to pick things up and I liked the suggestion of using things that dissolve, so she learns that food doesn't always stay hard to chew.

Good luck with your doctor's visit.

Just try and wait until her appointment i know its hard not knowing whats wrong with your baby but im sure the doctor will figure it out at the appointment! My daughter likes to hold her spoon after i dip it in food and thats how she figured out how to feed herself better. well good luck and hope all turns out well for yall!

ditto on the texture aversion. Be glad your doc is on the ball and taking this extra time with your daughter : ) Good chance there's really nothing going on, but it could be a sign of delays too. Positive note- the earlier you find anything out about your child the better the chances are of full recovery from everything! Just be patient and enjoy learning all there is to know about your wonderful daughter.