My 7 Month Old Has No Idea How to Chew

[umsami]

DS3 is my fourth baby--so you'd think I would have figured out most of the common problems.  Unfortunately I'm encountering something I've never faced before.  DS3 has no idea what to do with food when it's in his mouth.  He sits there...smiles...and watches it dribble out.  It's kind of cute--but a little frustrating.

I've always exclusively breastfed up until 6-6-1/2 months all of my babies.  We never use bottles (nothing moral, just too lazy to pump)... but I don't think that's the problem.  (At least it hasn't been with the other kids.)  He's interested in food...but just doesn't know what to do with it when it's in his mouth.

Any suggestions/ideas? I'm not worried that he'll starve or anything--I mean most of kids pretty much live on breastmilk well past their first year.  The thing is, his eating some food makes my life a lot easier when leaving him with DH. 

We've tried runny oatmeal and pureed fruits and veggies--and he seems to react the same way to everything.  It's been going on about 2 weeks now--so I'm guessing I need to be doing something.  I've tried moving my mouth up and down and going yummy...and he just laughs at me.  :)

[Mosaic]

Here's a handy chart of feeding milestones:

http://www.fdhkids.com/developmental_milestones/feeding_development.html

I dunno, maybe I'm too eager to suggest this given my experience with my littlest DD, but if your mama instincts are questioning something on your 4th kiddo, it certainly wouldn't hurt to get a feeding evaluation if he doesn't get the hang of things. I think 7 months might be on the early side to worry; but then again, if he does need a little help to get things going, it's also easier to start earlier.

You might also want to try thicker purees or maybe give him something to chew on like a straw or something crunchy in mesh.

[umsami]

Oh thanks Mosaic--that's a wonderful chart.  

DH works across from our pediatrician, so maybe I'll have him go in and ask.  He's off this week, which will give me another week to see if anything happens.  Hopefully, it's nothing major. 

Thanks again :)