1 yr old--5 mo after solids and still on purees

[lkmiscnet]

Should I worry? DH tells me he'll come around in his own time and to let it go.

The only thing he'll eat of any texture are these organic puffs I bought. He just started feeding those to himself a month ago. Although, I can make the purees a thick enough texture to stick to the spoon. He does get a wide variety of pureed foods.

I have tried giving him pieces of pancake, minced apples, banana cut up into tiny pieces, shredded carrots, part of a muffin (which he turns into tiny crumbs), bread...

All he does is smear it on the high chair tray or sweep it onto the floor. I have demonstrated eating it in from of him, but he just will not eat it. When I try to get it into his mouth with my hands or a spoon, he purses his lips and turns his head away. I also have him try using his own hand, but it's a no go.

He predominantly is BF. His big main meal of solids is dinner time. He averages about 2.5 oz of puree a day. He cries when I put him in his high chair in the morning or at lunch time and turns his head away. Sometimes, I am lucky enough to get him to take one bite when I slip it in there, and he will eat a bit more at those times.

I just worry that I am missing out on crucial window of opportunity to get him to try/like different foods, when I can't get him to eat anything of any significant texture without gagging and on occasion vomiting.

He does eat avocado that I spoon right out of the avocado. I make his baby food from pureed veggies and fruits.

Even if this is an issue at his age, it's not like he can be force fed, so not sure what a solution would be anyway.

He weighs 17.5 lbs...

[Hoopin' Mama]

I don't have experience with this, but I think you should just follow his lead. If he's still getting all that breastmilk he must be healthy and you are making healthy purees.

I would remove the organic puffs. If they are what I think they are, that's junk food and since he won't feed himself fruit he probably doesn't need to feed himself junk food.

ETA: I just noticed the vomiting/gagging comment. Hmmm, maybe someone could weigh in on what that may be from.

[jess5377]

If it was me, I'd bring it up with my pediatrician and see what s/he thinks.

Most children's hospitals have feeding clinics and an inability to eat actual solids/textured foods is one reason why many infants need their assistance/treatment. It could be a non-issue, but there's no harm in bringing it up.

[cheryllynn]

I still prefer to give my baby purees over solids. The few times we have given her solids, she poops them out about the same as they went in. To me this means her digestion system isn't mature enough to handle digesting solids.

My La Leche Leader frequently said that for the first entire year the majority of nutrition should be from breast milk and that any other food is for entertainment. I woould probably discuss with doctor just to rule out any physical reason, otherwise I'm sure your babe will eventually start eating solids.

17.5 lbs is on the low side. Any concerns about his weight? Have you thought of adding more good fats to the purees like organic unsalted butter or ghee or coconut oil?

[newbiemama09]

i would not say it's anything to worry about, although his weight seems a little low- perhaps get that checked out.

i am a big believer in child-led learning, so when he's ready he'll do it. tips that helped us introduce solids to DD:

if he doesn't like the high chair, sit him in your lap (or maybe try a bumbo on top of the table!)
eat every meal with him. sit and demonstrate using utencils and eating foods sitting at the table.
try to get him to eat solids at every meal (yobaby yougert is GREAT for breakfast or lunch, it's DD fav)
puffs are a GREAT way of getting them to use fine motor skills and self-feed. there are other foods like that you can buy to help increase independence.


i think you're off to a great start. some kiddos just refer milk over anything, and there is NOTHING wrong with that!! keep going at a slow pace, and let him make the decisions to be ready. good luck mama!!

[alegna]

Personally I'd phase out the purees. Offer soft solids that he can self feed. MANY infants really aren't interested in solids at a year. Also, babies fed purees sometimes have trouble transitioning to regular foods- another good reason to skip them.

-Angela

[Mawood]

I am a SLP from Germany and in Germany baby feeding issues are also addressed to us and occupational therapists. There is a slight chance that it has something to do with his perception e.g. of different consistencies. Does he like to feel the different food and "play" with it meaning touching and mushing it? I would address it to the pediatrician just to make sure it is not just him being picky. Mostly children have some kind of a reason for a behavior. If so it is not a big deal and can be helped!

[MamieCole]

"Solids before 1 are just for fun."

I don't think there is anything to worry about at this point. Breastfed babies do not NEED solids before they are one year old. The only reason to introduce them is for fun, exploring, experimenting with different tastes and textures. Your LO seems to be on the petite side, so this may very well be his way of letting you know that he needs the higher calories/fat from breastmilk rather than solids. He just may not be ready yet.

If he still has an aversion to solids in a couple of months, then I would suggest seeking some professional guidance. I think you should just keep offering finger foods at meals. If he eats them, great! If not, that's ok too.

And just as a measure of comfort, what a 12-month old does as far as eating habits go is not necessarily an indicator of what kind of eater they will be at 2 years, 3 years etc. DS1 was a very adventurous eater when we first started solids. He ate everything we ate. A very varied diet. Around the age of two, he became super picky and would only eat mainly veggies. Right now we are in a stage where he prefers carbs and fruit and will hardly touch a veggie. So just about the time you think you have it figured out, they change the game on ya. Hang in there!

[lkmiscnet]

His ped does want him to go to a feeding clinic and while his weight is on the low side, she was not overly concerned about his low weight since he looks healthy and his dad is tall and skinny.

To make a long story short, we have been through physical therapy with our DS before and it was a complete waste of time and money. So, my DH and I had decided to wait a couple of months before investigating yet another theraphy option further.

Our DS was born about a month premature and has basically lagged behind in most all of his motor skills by 1-2 months. I diligently took him to PT weekly for 3 mo and all he would do is cry the minute I handed him off to the PT (he even did that with a substitute PT). She was very limited to what she could do with him because he was inconsolable. One session, she held him the whole time (an hour!) while he cried and walked around with him, trying to console him, which was a big waste of time/money and made me feel terrible that I was putting my baby through that and not holding him myself. I could have consoled him in seconds. He has always been a very fussy baby and tempermental outside of the house, but at home, I could console him quickly and he was happy. After about 6 visits, I wanted to stop going, but I thought I would be perceived as a bad mom and I persisted with the bad experiment. Even if I held him, he just hated being there and would cry if I dared try to put him down. The PT ended up having to show me various exercises to do with him at home, which, I don't think really had any impact in the end.

He ended up developing at his own rate and is just fine (pulling up to stand now), which is why my DH (and me) thinks it would be a waste of time to do the feeding clinic route too (at this point). My DH just thinks we should relax and let him develop at his own pace. Clearly, that has been the case with his motor skills...

Our DS's ped knows of our DS's sensitive personality and suggested videotaping me feeding him and taking close ups of his mouth, so the feeding clinic can see if there are any issues, knowing that they probably won't be able to work with him one-on-one. He also has stranger anxiety now just to add to the mix.

But, what are they going to do about it anyway if he does have eating issues? It's not like they can force him to eat. He will turn his head away, purse his lips, push away the spoon, all of which will just get him upset. And, out of the comfort of his own home and in front of strangers, he will get hysterical. I know my DS and he will not be a willing and relaxed patient. And, I'm not sure of what "tricks" they would be able to teach me. I mean, the spoon only goes in one way, unless they want me to try turning it upside down...If he's not developmentally ready, he's not developmentally ready. Right?

So, I wanted to know if there were other mom's going through similar feeding issues with babies at age 12.5 mo (though his corrected age is 11.5 mo) or who have gone through it already and have emerged now with a LO who is a happy eater? Surely there must be other babies out there like mine. There are moms who don't start solids until close to age one or beyond. Hmmm...I might do a post on that.

Knowing that babies develop at different rates, I just don't want to go overboard with worry again and would like to heed the voice of DH's reason.

Our LO did start eating those crunchy puffs on his own a month ago out of the blue, so to me, that's progress.

[kamane18]

Originally Posted by lkmiscnet

So, I wanted to know if there were other mom's going through similar feeding issues with babies at age 12.5 mo (though his corrected age is 11.5 mo) or who have gone through it already and have emerged now with a LO who is a happy eater? Surely there must be other babies out there like mine. There are moms who don't start solids until close to age one or beyond. Hmmm...I might do a post on that.

Knowing that babies develop at different rates, I just don't want to go overboard with worry again and would like to heed the voice of DH's reason.

Though DS is rather picky, he does do pretty well overall with solids. DD on the other hand would ONLY eat purees, puffs or cheerios until WELL after 12 months. In fact I think it was more like 18 months (!). We were getting concerned but just kept trying and offering gently and somewhere around 15 months she started eating small pieces of grilled cheese (made with unsalted butter and organic cheese and whole wheat bread) and then by the time she was 2 she was eating a decent amount and by 2.5 she was a better eater than her cousins and most of my friends' kids! Now she's almost 5 and getting rather picky again but still - she just did it on her own time...

[wombatclay]

In terms of what the clinic might offer... there are all sorts of games/toys that can exercise the mouth and help a child become comfortable with oral motor sensations/actions/coordination. My dd2 has SPD with very specific food texture preferences. Her occupational therapist played games with her and gave her a variety of "chewy" toys that gradually helped her expand her preferences.

This addresses slightly older kiddos (my dd2 was about 18mo), but this list has great ideas for oral motor games for infants.

Anyway, programs like EI are free (and the therapy is done in your home) if you qualify (not financial qualification, it depends on your child's needs) and may be worth exploring. That said, it's easier to address concerns sooner rather than later but your kiddo is probably fine! Just follow their lead.

[alegna]

Dd wasn't interested in solids at ALL until around 11 months. She was 13 months the first time she ate as much as a couple of tablespoons of food across a whole day.

-Angela

[Carhootel]

my ds is 15months and still prefers purees. Yogurt is his favorite food. Occasionally he'll eat chunky stuff but he usually takes a couple bites and spits it out. it's annoying but he didn't start solids until 11months either so he's just late on the stuff I figure, I haven't been too worried