Solids and Lumpy Foods

For some reason, none of my boys ever did will on stage 3 foods. They were all kind of gaggy.. and they went straight from stage 2 foods, to solids.

My 9 and a half month old son had/has the same problem. He gags on lots of lumpier foods. He can't eat the puffs either. I have been giving him foods like pasta and shredded cheese. They have more texture than 2nd foods. But he does not gag on them. I am still mostly feeding him 2nd foods. The Yobaby yogurt is more expensive but it is also one of the only individual packs that is made with whole milk. If you switch yogurt, make sure it is made with whole milk because your baby needs the fat.

The only way he'll learn to eat is if you keep giving him chances to try. All my kids skipped stage 3 foods. We just fork-smashed whatever we were eating at mealtime and fed that starting at around 6 months.

Most babies will gag for a little while when they are learning to eat. It's pretty common and the best way to 'get over it' quickly is to simply keep feeding and let them practice. They need to learn to chew/gum food and then use their tongue to move it to the back of their mouths. So the food will trigger their gag reflex a few times while they learn the best way to do it.

Also, some kids prefer harder food when they are teething. My kids never liked puffs... normal Cheerios disolve very quickly in the mouth and are healthy. There is no nutrional value to puffs (check the label!).

As for yogurt, if you read labels, that YoBaby stuff is one of the WORST ones you can feed your baby. It's VERY high in sugar for such a small container. Your baby is much better off if you buy a large container of plain yogurt and just spoon it into a bowl to feed. If you compare the labels you'll see that usually the flavored big tubs have less sugar and just as much Good Stuff as the little containers (you have to calculate since the serving sizes are different).

My 2 year old still has trouble with some foods - somehow when she's eating them she triggers the gag reflex and sometimes will even throw up. I haven't yet figured out how to deal with that as it doesn't happen very often, and doesn't happen with the same food multiple times...it may be pasta today but not tomorrow, then it might be bananas the next day, but not the day after.

Anyway - with yogurt, I get the "Dora" yogurt. What you're looking for regarding yogurt is a special icon that has a big L, and little a and little c - stands for "Live and Active Cultures". I know Dannon has it, and the Dora yogurt has it too. My daughters LOVE them. Yes, it's okay at 9 months - both of our girls had yogurt young than that (our oldest was on antibiotics for chronic ear infections - yogurt helped her tummy).

Good luck!

First off, I would always check with your pediatrician first and always keep them informed of everything - and NEVER be afraid to call your pediatrician's office and talk to the nurse if you have any concerns.

My cousin's 18 month old just got off babyfood. He would not eat solids to save his life. At this age it became a power play thing and they finally had to use tough love and the 1st day they spent 1 hour at the dinner table before he would eat his solid food and they found giving him a TON of praise each time he ate it helped tremendously. At 9 months, I would not worry yet, as long as he's getting all his proteins, vegies and fruits (vitamins, etc..), just keep introducing slowly and eventually he'll get there.

My middle daughter had the opposite problem - I tried feeding her baby food, yogurt, etc... for over 3 months and she would NOT eat it - but as soon as I gave her solids (either cut up really tiny or through those strainers (you can get at Target), she was fine. And by age 2ish, she now loves yogurt and anything smooth, but she didn't for a very long time.

Just keep trying and if he's choking, he's not ready.

As for yogurts - I think they all have a ton of sugar in them (even Yobaby). But it's very hard to find yogurt that is not fat free or low fat (be careful a lot of those contain bad "sugar" products like sucralase and nutrasweet, which should be banned in my opinion, especially for a child). I bet if you read the labels of some other full fat yogurts (I think why they recommend Yobaby is because its one of the only ones that is made with whole milk vs. skim), you would find one that is similar to Yobaby.

Good luck!

Another thing to consider when purchasing yogurt is the fact that alot of the 'kid friendly' yogurts are full of sugars and food coloring. No one needs those, especially not our babies! Better foods are worth the price. You can feel good about feeding your baby real food with no added CRAP! :)

H., my son is 10 months (although his adjusted age is around 9 months due to his early arrival), and he has the exact same symptoms. We've attempted to transition him to table foods for the last month or so (at the suggestion of our pediatrician), but he gags on everything and winds up throwing up. Our pediatrician told us to go back to pureed food for the next 6 weeks or so, while trying to introduce table foods again toward the end. If he is still gagging on and throwing up foods with texture at that point, she said she would order a swallow study to see if it's something physical or just a maturity issue. My son also has reflux (now managed well with medication) and was delayed in babbling (due to chronic ear infections), so his pediatrician is not sure if any or all may be related. I guess time will tell.

On your other issue, my son did not tolerate YoBaby yogurt well at all, so we were given the OK to give him Yoplait thick and creamy yogurt (no fruit pieces, it's completely smooth) in small doses since it has a lot of sugar in it. You could also try plain yogurt (almost no sugar) mixed with pureed fruit (e.g., peaches, mangoes, applesauce).

Because kiddos this young need whole milk products, you should stick with YoBaby. I have yet to see another brand make whole milk yogurt. If you sign up on their website sometimes they send you coupons. You should use whole milk yogurt until they are 2 - when they don't need to have that much fat anymore and can be switched from whole milk to 1%.

Not sure what to suggest about the gagging, but I have to weigh in about yogurt. If you are feeding your baby any type of dairy, I would suggest getting organic and without hormones, and definitely get a kind without anything but yogurt, i.e. no sugar or flavorings. Our almost one year old loves yogurt, and we mix it in with other things she's iffy on (such as beets, lentils, other fruits and veggies all mashed up) and when we put yogurt in, she will eat it. Also, babies need high fat, so get whole milk yogurt, that's what we do, and it's buttery and rich and good for them. For more info about feeding your baby, I highly recommend the Super Baby Food book (http://www.superbabyfood.com/) which has a TON of great info. Good luck!

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Hi H.,

"Back in the old days" (my oldest is 17) they said no dairy until 1 year old, but since he seems to be OK with it...

I have never tried it, but I have been told that it is not hard to make yogurt if you can find a way to keep it at the right temperature during the process. You would just save some of the yobaby (if it has live and active cultures) and mix it into some milk and heat to proper temperature, let it sit and culture. I think the La Leche League cookbooks (Whole foods for the Whole Family and Whole foods for the whole world) might have instructions. Or check with your library. Occasionally at yard sales I have seen yogurt makers but have never bought one.

You can use whole milk like several moms have said, for the fat content for little people. As your family matures you can go to 2% milk or 1% or skim if you want to have lower-fat yogurt.

Otherwise I would just compare the ingredients and see which cheaper yogurt seems most like yobaby.

Good luck!

K. Z.

I had the same problem with my daughter gagging as she was introduced to solids. I spoke with a pediatric dietician and she told me this is normal and ok. She is doing very well now after only a couple weeks. Gagging is VERY different from choking. Babies don't know how their gag reflex works and when they gag while eating it teaches them to use it properly. This is not putting the baby in harm. They will get used to it the more they eat. This is just new to them. Ask your pediatrician for their thoughts and also how to be aware of signs of actual choking (and messures to take if choking does occur).

As far as the chewing concern, you can hold off for a little bit with the stage 3 foods. The puffs turn to mush and their is no reason to even have to gum them. I would also say that with the yogart watch how much sugar and sodium your little one is getting. His kidneys are not ready to deal with sodium yet and sugars do not digest well. Also, NEVER feed him any of the "light" yogarts with the artifical sweeteners. Those are very bad.

Again, ask your doc what they think and go from there. You should only have to make a phone call for this rather than making a whole appointment and then you will have correct info. Good luck!

If he's not ready for the food then just wait. He won't be missing anything. Same with the yogurt. I fed my son the YoBaby stuff when he was younger because I felt better about the ingredients in the YoBaby when compared to the other products. If it is too pricey for you then you can simply skip it; the baby doesn't have to have yogurt.

You could get a hand Baby Food Grinder, and try grinding up table food...veggies, chicken, fruit, pasta etc., and see if he might be able to eat that.
If it is too thick, add broth, sauce, or gravy to thin it a little.
Does he eat Cheerios if you put them on his tray?
I think Strained baby food sometimes encourages babies to be lazy...I always started with mashed soft fruit and/or vegetables...you might try doing that to get him used to texture.