Having trouble with solid foods anyone?

Veronica - posted on 01/21/2010

My daughter doesn't like chunky food either, but she loves finger foods. Try introducing Cheerios because they melt easily in the baby's mouth. Also, try sitting infront of your baby and eating the food you want them to try. If they shows interest in what you're eating, then cut up little bits from your plate and put them infront of baby. Continue eating the food in front of him. He may play with the food for a while first, but he will eventually taste it, and then he may want more.

AurarA - posted on 01/20/2010

my akira,wouldnt stop grabbing off our plates, lol! she alwyas wants our food first, she got tired of jar food fast. my others,,,, it just varied , depended on wht we ate.

Katie - posted on 01/15/2010

I personally think he has gone a little long with the purees. He has had the mush for so long that that's what he's used to now and it's going to be harder to make the transition but just keep offering. Offer plenty of finger foods and food right off of your plate at meal times. It may take a little time, but he'll get the hang of it eventually. And don't worry too much about gagging. It's not the same as choking and it doesn't mean that he is about to choke. The gag reflex is there to help prevent choking. And because he has eaten purees for so long, his gag reflex is overly sensitive. If you are pretty worried about choking though, just do a search on the internet and you can find a guide on what to do if your baby chokes.

Melanie - posted on 01/15/2010

It sounds like this is not uncommon. My son Liam was born 10 weeks early, at just 2 lbs. 12 oz. I thought that the difficultly transitioning foods was due to his prematurity and perhaps an oral adversion... however, after reading the posts, perhaps not. Liam hates, HATES his fingers dirty as well. I have tried bananas and other finger foods as well, not to mention when it came time to his birthday cake and the icing, he threw a fit as soon as he touched it. I've just had to keep Liam on stage 2's, other than tomato soup. I think that next I will try letting a cracker soak in it for a while.
The only suggestion his pediatrician recommended was to keep him on formula for a while before transitioning to homo milk to ensure that he getting everything he needs. So he's just on a stage 2 toddler formula. Liam is 19lbs 7oz, which is not bad at all considering his start, so if Isaiah is 25lbs. it sounds like he's still doing well.

Debbi - posted on 01/15/2010

I agree with Shalom. It seemed like my son would want to just straight swallow the stage 3 like he could with stage 2, but with the chunks in them he would choke or gag. So I just stick with stage 2 and finger foods. There's also another topic in this community about "What to feed her" or something like that with lots of suggestions for food. If he doesn't like messy hands, that does seem to add to the issue. Praying that you can find things for him that he likes! Breads would be good and not messy on the hands. Or lunchmeat, cheese. I would totally focus on things that aren't messy for now and make eating pleasurable for him. Later on maybe he won't mind so much.

Kristin - posted on 01/15/2010

Just keep offering the finger foods as an option, eventually he might get used to them. My daughter was all about texture and we would "hide" textured foods she didn't like in really small quantities with foods she did like. She is off the baby food now and on most days eats everything. Occasionally she will still spit the slimy stuff out like pasta, but other days she has no problem with it. I read some where once you really need to offer a food to a baby 14 times before you can decide if they really don't like it. Start out with the teething biscuits and those gerber puffs, it really gets them use to the new textures.

Kari - posted on 01/14/2010

I'm having the same issue with my son. I asked the pediatrician and he told me that all babies have different gag reflexes and you can't force them to eat something they're not ready for. I've been sticking with the stage 2 foods and offering him things slowly to see if he'll take to it. So far he can eat puffs, crackers and pancakes just fine, but he gags if I give him pasta or other slimy foods. I agree with the poster above who said it's probably a texture thing.

Danielle - posted on 01/14/2010

u could try him with biscotti baby biscuits at first just let him hold it if he want to eat it he will in his own tym keep persisting with the stage 3 food little bits at a time even if its just a mouth full he will get used to it hope this helps x

Sarah - posted on 01/14/2010

My one year old (born on the 30th Dec!) is exactly the same. He loves stage 2 stuff but is not so keen on stage 3. He'll eat crunchy stuff but not slimey lumpy foods. He loves banana but won't eat it in pieces....so I'm thinking its a texture thing and its just therefore a time and getting used to it. I just keep trying a few different textures every week but I'm not forcing him to eat the lumpy foods he's not keen on. I think given the weight he is, its fine.....he'll get there in the end! Don't panic!

Laura - posted on 01/13/2010

just keep offering him some of your food off your plate maybe cutting food up into really small pieces? Ive had the opposite with mine where she refused to eat babyfood for about 3 months and could only get her to eat finger food! I fed her pieces of roasted kumara and pumpkin, potato, even bacon! He will eat more challenging things eventually. Try gradually adding chunkier food to the stage 2 jars maybe? Will he eat peas? Raisins? What someone told me was that 'choking' is a part of learning how to swallow chunkier food and they 'practice' by gagging on the food. Some goes down some comes out the mouth. That advice helped me even tho it seemed she was having trouble swallowing things, sometimes i'd soften the food by soaking it in water to help it go down easier. Maybe try cooked pasta like pasta penne pasta cut them up a little maybe. Does he hold onto food an nibble on it? Hope this helps.

LIsa - posted on 01/11/2010

I was incredibly nervous giving him any finger foods coz I was worried he would choke. I started off giving him snacks between meals like small tiny bits of marie biscuit and a few fling chips which melt easy in their mouth. I gave him biltong to chew on when he teethed and now i give him pieces of toast with bovril and cheese on, and fish fingers or chicken fingers. Banana is not a great one coz they choke quite easily on it. Right in the beginning ( about 5 months ) I used a safety chew ( i used the munchkins one ) and filled it with paw paw and he use to suck on that to get him use to solid food.

Carey - posted on 01/11/2010

Quoting LIsa:

my little man is exactly the same. He has a great appetitie and feeding has never been a problem until I tried to introduce stage 3 foods. He gags and splutters and puts on quite a performance but give him a chicken stick to eat and he has no problem :) So I eventuslly decided to pick my battles and as long as he is eating , and I give him lots of finger foods to chew on, then it will be stage 2 for now.

What kind of finger foods do you give him? Isaiah won't even eat the banana cut in half. He doesn't like his hands dirty so he gets upset when he sees that they are,lol... I would love to know what finger foods you give your baby because I want to try some with Isaiah. Isaiah eats wonderful as long as they are the stage 2 foods. I can deal with that no problem. But, he hasn't even been introduced to finger foods because of the gaging. We have tried and I just don't want him to choke. So scary!! I am sure in time he will figure it all out and I don't want to rush him. I did get him off the formula with no problems at all! Thank you sooo much for both of your responses. I love this site! So helpful!!

LIsa - posted on 01/11/2010

my little man is exactly the same. He has a great appetitie and feeding has never been a problem until I tried to introduce stage 3 foods. He gags and splutters and puts on quite a performance but give him a chicken stick to eat and he has no problem :) So I eventuslly decided to pick my battles and as long as he is eating , and I give him lots of finger foods to chew on, then it will be stage 2 for now.

Shalom - posted on 01/10/2010

In some ways it's easier for your little guy to eat off your plate, but there's no harm in continuing eat mushy foods. He might just have a delicate gag reflex. Lots of kids have a hard time with foods that have more than one texture- things like vegetable soup can be a real challenge because they can't quite coordinate swallowing liquids and chewing solids at the same time...for us it's second nature, but for them it's a complicated procedure.



If your little guy is 25 lbs, it sounds like he's eating very well and whatever you're doing, it's just right for him. 12 months is just an average time for stage 3 foods, so i wouldn't be overly concerned about that- i'd be a lot more concerned about choking on foods he isn't quite ready for. Sounds like he's a happy Stage 2 kinda guy!