12.5 months, refusing solids

[Carolyn_mtl]

Dd turned 1 on Sept 1st. She is still exclusively breastfed. Our ped wasnt too happy to hear she wasn't eating, and wants me to give her iron drops (same kind that turned my niece's teeth black..umm no thanks). We went for an iron test, and low and behold, her levels are great
But I am a little concerned that she shows no interest in food. Well, that's not entirely true, she puts everything into her mouth (toys... dirt.. lol), but if she tries any food she gags, often to the point of throwing up. She turns her head and gets upset at the sight of a spoon.
Do I just wait it out?
I also always thought I would have my children under 2 yrs apart, I cannot risk my milk drying up in pregnancy considering that's all she is consuming (she won't drink from a bottle or sippy cup, she doesn't seem to understand how to suck on them, she just chews the nipples).

[elizaMM]

I say wait it out. Just keep putting it in front of her or her behind it-- like on your lap while you are eating. It'll happen.

Bravo on the iron!

You could try open cups, carefully. And/or use a straw and put your finger on the top to hold the liquid in and then put it in her mouth and let it go so the stuff falls in her mouth. That's how we taught to use a straw. Might just get her started getting used to the idea that tastey stuff comes from places other than mama. You could even start with breast milk? Hand express if you don't have a pump? Or cow's milk. My son didn't seem to notice the difference but he wasnt' as discriminating as your daughter seems to be :-) Good luck!

[pbjmama]

I don't have a problem with a 1 yo being solely breastfed but because your dd has an interest in food but gags and already has a negative association with feeding I would not wait. I would get an evaluation by a speech and occupational therapist. If they discover nothing wrong that would be great! They can probably give you tips on starting foods with kids who have a strong gag reflex. If it is discovered she has an issue and needs feeding therapy by the time you get the evals, results and start therapy she will be closer to 14 or 15 months.

[Mama2mc]

I agree with the PP - my DS was almost exclusively breastfed at 1, but I would be worried if he gagged and threw up when trying any type of food. DS does hate certain textures, and was never a big fan of pureed meals. Trying different textures might help, to avoid the 'dreaded spoon' perhaps you could let her have some finger foods? Or maybe fruits/veggies/bread cut in different shapes? If she puts toys in her mouth, a colorful and fun shaped food could help...

[Kmama2]

Originally Posted by pbjmama

I don't have a problem with a 1 yo being solely breastfed but because your dd has an interest in food but gags and already has a negative association with feeding I would not wait. I would get an evaluation by a speech and occupational therapist. If they discover nothing wrong that would be great! They can probably give you tips on starting foods with kids who have a strong gag reflex. If it is discovered she has an issue and needs feeding therapy by the time you get the evals, results and start therapy she will be closer to 14 or 15 months.

i agree with above. The gagging would worry me as well as the fact that she won't even drink water out of a cup? Or you say she can't figure out suck on them. Ds has been drinking water from a cup since 5-6 months old and using a straw since about 8-9 months. But the fact that all she consumes is breastmilk is totally fine. I wouldn't worry about her nutrition just maybe get her a feeding/ speech etc problem.

[pbjmama]

Coming back to see if OP checked in. I was thinking about the sucking also and that could indicate an oral motor planning issue.

[nextcommercial]

I would also have her evaluated.

But, perhaps you can put table foods/finger foods in her tray and let her feed herself.

Is it just the spoon food that she's gagging on?

[CourtBChase]

I want to agree with all the previous posters, about getting an evaluation. But don't freak out! She may be totally fine, and even if she has some swallowing and or/oral motor planning issues chances are really good that by addressing them now you can head off long term problems. I have worked with kids (as a nanny and in an integrated preschool) who had sensory and speech issues and there is a lot they can do to help kids with these kinds of issues, if that is what is going on. But, chances are also good that it is nothing at all. My daugther is 14 months old and I would guess her diet is still 80% breastmilk. She will eat some things, but many many things are still just thrown on the floor (or chewed ona bit and then spit out). I have many friends whose children did not start actually eating much food (as opposed to mostly playing with it) until 15-18 months. Good luck!

[Carolyn_mtl]

Thank you all for your input. My ped is supposed to be getting us an appointment at the feeding clinic to get an evaluation from an OT..
She gags on any type of food, purees, small soft chunks, crackers.. we've pretty much tried all textures. I don't even bother trying to feed her with a spoon, I just let her play with it, and she rarely tries putting it in her mouth, but if she does, she makes an awful face and either spits it out or tries to swallow, gags, and at times throws up.
I've tried letting her sip from a regular cup, she lets it all dribble out of her mouth. She actually managed to swallow a little, but then the next sip she looked like she was choking on it.
I was thinking of trying a straw next....
She is constantly babbling, says "this" and "that", she can stick out her tongue (so I don't think it's a tongue tie issue, which I've read could be a problem).
I'm hoping she'll be one of those kids who all of a sudden just starts to eat everything...

[pbjmama]

The kids that suddenly start eating are the kids that develop an interest in food at the sudden. It isn't that they can't eat, they choose not to eat. Your child may develop an interest but if she can not swallow it won't matter. If she can't swallow food or drink correctly she may be aspirating the food and liquid you give her that she can keep in. It sounds like your ped has set you up with the next step is and hopefully will get you in for evals quickly. I hope you are able to get an answer quickly!

[swd12422]

DS was exactly like this, except he was FF so he knew how to use the bottle.

Definitely try the straw cup and see how that goes. Also give her a spoon or soft narrow toy to play with while you eat. (If you have anything like a plastic/rubber baby toothbrush w/ no bristles, just for gums, or a rubber drumstick, that's perfect.) Let her play with the spoon/toy at every meal, and start dipping it into the food you're eating, or into the puree you're trying to feed her. That way, she'll get interested in the flavors without taking in too much texture. You can slowly, gradually build from liquids like broth (if the purees don't work right away) to thicker and thicker purees until she's taking a glob off the end. Then you can try more firm foods like a small chunk of avocado rather than a mashed one, things like that.

This is what our OT did with DS. (And yeah, I agree w/ PPs that an eval is a good idea, but you could start doing this while you wait for the appointment if you want.) We had to teach him to use the straw cup (put breastmilk in there and see how she does). Then we'd make him smoothies and having to suck a really thick smoothie through the straw helped him develop the right muscles for chewing and swallowing solids. (Another rec from the OT -- thick smoothie, small straw to make it difficult, but not too difficult at first...)

Good luck! I hope she resolves this quickly.

[blessedwithboys]

Originally Posted by Carolyn_mtl

Do I just wait it out?

Ordinarily, I would say yes...however...in this case, I heartily agree with this:

Originally Posted by pbjmama

because your dd has an interest in food but gags and already has a negative association with feeding I would not wait. I would get an evaluation by a speech and occupational therapist. If they discover nothing wrong that would be great! They can probably give you tips on starting foods with kids who have a strong gag reflex. If it is discovered she has an issue and needs feeding therapy by the time you get the evals, results and start therapy she will be closer to 14 or 15 months.

[lkmiscnet]

I have a 15 mo old DS who eats very little solids as well--probably 15% of his diet--and mostly pureed or mashed texture. He will eat chunks of fruit, but still has problems with things like green beans or teeny tiny bits of broccoli florets or anything bigger.

After starting him on rice cereal, I got him some organic puffs, which dissolve once wet in the mouth. He just surprised us one day and started self feeding with them. So, that got the ball rolling, but it's been rolling very slooowly.

He is breastfed mainly.

He has sensory issues, but every once in a while he surprises us by eating something we thought he wouldn't. He seems especially receptive to being fed off my fork when we eat out and will eat salmon, egg, bits of toast as just a few examples.

I had a feeding clinic appt last month for him, but cancelled it. With our DS, I really think it comes down to him just not wanting to eat (he prefers BM) and being very picky with what he will eat (I sometimes offer up 4-5 different things and when I think he's not hungry and I'm just about to wrap up, he'll eat the 5th thing), so I figured there was nothing they were going to be able to do to change that.

I thought I would give it another couple of months and see how it goes, knowing that I can always reschedule it. Some days I think he does have texture issues that could be helped by a clinic and other days he just surprises me and seems fine. So, I'm in a wait and see mode for the time being.

One tip you might try with your DS is to get an electric toothbrush (one of the cheap ones like Arm and Hammer for $6) with an extra soft head on it and let her put that in her mouth and chew it. My DS loves the vibration. It helps desensitize the mouth for kiddos with oral sensitivities from what I've researched and can help them accept food with more texture.

Here's a helpful web link about oral aversions, if that is the issue:

http://grey.colorado.edu/shortgut/in...rom_developing

Best of luck. Please let us know how the clinic evaluation turns out. I'm quite curious myself as to what they actually do and what solutions are proposed.

[Carolyn_mtl]

I wanted to add a little more background info.

At 3 days old my milk came in like crazy, rock hard bowling ball boobs, and dd couldn't latch, so I pumped and she ate from a bottle (that only lasted a day, then she was able to latch again). We didn't use the bottle again for months, and then when we tried, she seemed to not understand she had to suck it, she always chews it..

She never took a paci. I remember saying she seemed to have a strong gag reflex.. She did however suck her thumb from 11 weeks til just over 6 months, almost constantly. She stopped soon after some teeth came in, I think she bit her thumb a few times, and now never sucks it..

At 8 months I tried introducing solids, mashed avocado. Seemed semi into it, and ate (and swollowed, very little to no gaging) maybe a teaspoon amount, off my finger. I tried a few more times, but she always turned her head away. After her 9 month appt (ped was pushing solids) I tried the avocado again. She ate a little, I really forced it, and 2 hours later she started vomiting severely (bile, went limp, called 911, went to hosp, they didn't do anything for her as her vitals were fine, vomiting lasted 3 hours and she was fine). We assume she is allergic to avocado, but allergy tests were negative..

So after the avocado incident I stopped trying to get her to eat for about a month .. I doubt she associates that whole thing with eating.. But maybe??
I'm having so much anxiety over this. God forbid something happened to me, what would she do? She won't drink from anything.. Ahhhh.
She puts toys in her mouth like crazy and never gags. She drank from a bottle at 3 days old.. She swallowed avocado at 8 and 9 months (although she really didn't want it..)

[Carolyn_mtl]

Any other ideas??
TIA

[pbjmama]

I understand why you feel anxious about how she would be fed if something were to happen to you. Let me reassure you that your child would be fed. It may not be pleasant for her but she would not starve.

From what you describe the gagging is based on swallowing, which is a different experience than mouthing a toy. I don't think that vomiting in itself indicates an allergy. Has she been exposed to other latex? I would caution you when she does get around to eating banana as it could also be a problem. Do you have avocado in your diet?

The more you tell us about her the more it sounds like she has sensory issues. She puts toys in her mouth like crazy and never gags. Do you feel this is more than other children her age?

Maybe this list will help you evaluate.
http://www.sensory-processing-disord...checklist.html
Based on what you said I would take a look tactile dysfunction #2 and oral input dysfunction #1. The others are worth reading too it just seems these two in particular may fit your situation.

I've been in a similar place and it is scary to think something might be 'wrong' with your child. I hope you get some answers soon.

[Mrs.Music]

I would think that eventually she'd come around to the idea of solid food since everyone around her will be eating it. That being said... My DD was almost exclusively breastfed until 18 months when my milk supply started to go because I was pregnant. But she never had any gagging/aversion/vomitting.

[clevelandmama]

My 8.5 month old daughter also gags whenever anything of substance (mashed food or v small finger foods) hits the back of her tongue. She nurses well and will take a bottle and a pacifier, so I'm hoping it will just pass as she gets bigger. I did mention it to our Dr who didn't seem concerned since DD is almost 19 lbs so clearly gaining weight just fine.

Good luck figuring out what's going on with your daughter! Just curious, did she spit up a lot as a newborn? My DD was a spitter upper and colicky...don't know if it's related, but seems like it could be.

[mrstanimal]

My son is almost 16 months, and isn't interested in food. Nurses like crazy, but so far mostly plays, rarely eats. The past few days he has tried ITTY BITTY pieces of scrambled egg, chicken and peaches, and seems more willing to taste, whereas before he flat our refused.

He is very strong-willed and independent, so I think that's part of it. My ped would probably flip if I told him he still almost exclusively nurses. He was tested for iron, and it was a wee bit low, so he was prescribed a supplement. Ugh, awful ! Constipation and black sticky poop. It was funny to read the label for the supplement: "Give between meals". Ha !

I know how that anxiety and stress over non-eating feels, especially when surrounded by babies who eat voraciously. Breastmilk is pretty good stuff. We know some toddlers who are completely weaned, and don't eat much of anything that has nutritional value during the day, so in that sense, I'm glad my son is still such a big nurser. Good luck !!!