Son Gagging

Sorry ladies but I don't agree with you when you say this woman's child is too young for table food. You don't know what the progress was for this child to be having table food now. My son was eating cereal (from a bowl NOT in bottle) at 2 weeks. By the time he was 6 months, he was done with 3rd foods and was eating table food. He is a teenager now. He's very healthy and there's never been a problem. Every baby is different and some can't handle that progession but some can.

T., it may be that he's so excited to eat table food and loves it too much that he's not taking the time to chew his food well enough. Try softer table foods (sweet potatoes, eggs, chicken, french toast, etc) for a time. Does he have his molars yet? If not, maybe consider waiting til he does have them. After switching to the softer table foods, if he's still choking, take him to his doc and let them know what's up.

T. every child is different. Some start eating table food at 6 months, some at 9 and some at a year and even some at 15 months. Whenever your child wants to start is absolutely fine! And if your son is gagging daily then it seems to me like he's not ready for the table food. There's no shame in going back to the jar food. A carrot is a carrot whether you give it to him in little chunks or pureed in a jar. It's all the same. My pedtrician wanted my son walking at 12 months and he had just started pulling up at 11 months. I guess "according to the books" now they are suppose to walk then. And it's like sorry lady he's not walking. He started walking at 15 1/2 months old. My point is that no matter what ANYBODY says every child is different and this is YOUR child! He'll eat table foods when he's ready.

I agree with Drama Momma that some kids are just more ready, earlier, than others. In fact, my pediatrician said that at that age I wasn't advancing my son's diet enough, given his progression (and we didn't even start any solids until 4 months, so it wasn't like we jumped the gun there). She said many times parents underestimate how strong those gums are--kind of like a mortar/pestle effect in mashing food.

That being said, if you're taking care to avoid chokables (like big chunks, meats with skins, grapes, etc.), and this is new behavior with foods with which he previously had no problems, there might be a couple of reasons. It could be like someone else said--he's so excited about really exploring foods that he's eating too fast and therefore not chewing enough. If that's the case, try over-dicing the foods to see if that helps. (I mean, TINY...I once had a friend tease me about how small I was making my canataloupe!)

If it's only happening when he's burping, that makes me wonder if there's some sort of reflux going on. Maybe he's eating too much so that his stomach's full? Or, he's got an intolerance for something? If that's the case, try feeding smaller meals more often. Or go back to mashing foods for him to see if that helps. It may be that he's always done this but that with baby food it's already like liquid so he just "reswallows" without gagging, but now that there are actual chunks it's gagging him. It might take some trial and error. Good luck!!

Hi! I have three boys and I study natural health and nutrition. Ive heard many times that you should drink your food and chew your drinks for good digestion. Maybe you can throw his food in the blender for a second. Also certain foods may just have a weird texture to him and it makes him gag. If he is just doing that with certain foods this may be the case. Acid reflex is usually cause be poor digestion so some enzymes would help and blending the food. Hope this helps

Gosh, I know times have changed, but I distinctly remember (20 years ago) my son eating his first McDonalds' cheeseburger at 10 months! Granted those are softer than most "table foods," but I definitely wouldn't assume he's too young to be eating the stuff his mom has prepared.

T., I think you are exactly right - that he's burping up a little something. Pay attention to what he's doing right after he eats; certain things, like the posture of a kid leaning back and with his head curled up to watch something, can make the burps come up with more force. You want just the gases to ease their way out, and remember that opening is in the upper back of the stomach.

Hi T., my son had very sensitive gag refelxes. He still does sometimes and he is 21 months, there are just certain textures that he does not like, for example, he gags at cottage cheese. So I think partly it can be the textures they dont like. Keep trying! All will be fine!

My son has acid reflux & he does the gagging & choking thing. I thought it was allergies but it happened with all sorts of foods. It all started after I started weaning & he went to solid foods. I would get him checked out just to be sure because it will get worse & I waited a while & I wish I hadn't.

Hi T.,

Have you tried taking him to a doctor. He might have a gag reflex or acid-reflux. There might be a food that he is allergic to and that's why it happens only sometimes.

Keep a journal of the foods he eats and make notes on the reactions.

Melaleuca makes a wonderful product called Florify. It works beautifully with the digestive tract. I take it to keeps my crohns in remission. And for my acid -reflux.

Let me know fi you would like to lern more.

God Bless!

J.

I would think that you are talking about regular table food?? If you are, 9 months old is too young to be eating table food. I would stick to the regular baby food that is really soft and breaks down easier. They have different stages for children learning to eat food, I would really wait to give him any table food till he is at least a year old. A nine month old probably doesnt have enough teeth to get what your feeding him broken down enough not to choke on. I think if you go back to baby food, and give him softer things this wont happen. Poor little guy!!!!!!!

By anything do you mean table food? Six months is pretty young for table food in my opnion and I would think that he's not ready for it. Maybe switch to something pureed that can be easily swallowed.