[femalephish]

She doesn't swallow! I am mostly feeding her small, soft bits of food. I'll put them on her high chair and let her play with them and sometimes I'll pick one up and hold it out. If she leans forward and opens her mouth (which is often) I feed her. Also I let her share things like apple with me and she pulls it into her mouth over and over again, each time getting little pieces. But then when she seems done- I put her down and she coughs or gags and I realize that she has TONS of food in her mouth! Sometimes it's like she hasn't swallowed any of it! What's up?<br>
When I feed her on a spoon (applesauce, sweet potato, yogurt ect.) she swallows ok. I feel like I am doing something wrong. We didn't rush the solids. She is 10 months and really interested in food. When I am eating she reaches for my food and smacks her lips together like she's chewing. She has 6 teeth with more coming. We still breastfeed, alot.<br>
What do you think? Am I rushing her? Does she just need practice? I just don't know what to do.<br>
-Courtney

 

[wombatclay]

I think she sounds ok... my feeling is that solids are mostly for exploration until a year (or more), and if she is nursing, getting some solids, and growing/happy/hitting milestones at a pace that is normal for her then really all you need to do is provide the opportunity and let her have fun.<br><br>
My ds is about 8.5 months now and he sometimes does the same thing... he'll "finish" eating and then I'll realize he's got a mouth full of random food! Of course, he sometimes has a mouth full of other random stuff (a rock or twig, a block that his bigger sibs lost under the couch, etc.). I think some kiddos just like using their mouths like they would pockets! My mom says I was like that... she never knew what would be in my mouth! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"><br><br>
What I try to do during mealtimes is to give ds just a few bits of "whatever" at a time so I can keep track of things. He seems to do the chipmunk thing when there is a lot available all at once? But it's not something I worry too much about. My dd2 has sensory problems and did, in fact, have difficulty swallowing some foods but at just 10 months and new to the adventure of textrues I bet your little one is just having fun. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[texaspeach]

I was wondering about this too. ds doesn't swallow his food either when he self feeds. when I feed him (apple sauce, soup, etc) he swallows fine, but it's usually mushy stuff.