[Kellileanne]

I am trying to get Caitlin to eat some table food. She won't even eat stage 3 baby foods. She loves french fries and gerber puffs (and cheerios). She is getting really good at getting the cheerios/puffs in her mouth (fries too). But, she does gag pretty often, even with the puffs. Any advice???

[MaggieMoo]

It took Alex a long time to get use to table foods too. The bad thing is that he didn't have a lot of teeth by the time he was 11 months. He still liked the stage 2 foods and always gagged on the stage 3. By the time he was about 13 months I did a few stage 3's and he seemed to do better. Now at 15 months I am getting braver and giving him more foods. I guess I am much more paranoid now than I was with my first. I think it has to do with my oldest ds had a mouth full of teeth and Alex didn't. He still doesn't have a lot...molars are coming in before he gets the rest of his bottom set of teeth.
Have you started giving her some mashed potatos? What about jello? Alex LOVES jello!! And it is kind of funny to watch him try to pick it up while it is slidding all over his tray. He also loved the puffs (and still does)...I tell him all the time that I think he might turn into a big puff!

[mondk]

We call Joshie our little "mooch". We always feed him first because dh is a couch potato and thinks he must eat in front of the TV (I know, bad habits and all that, YOU all tell him; lord knows I've wasted my breath). Anyway, Joshie will eat a full plate and dessert even and once he spots Daddy with a full plate of food sitting on the couch, he locks in on him and wants whatever he is eating, which is usually what Joshie just ate, just mashed up. So Daddy will give him little bites of things, but has to be careful because Daddy loves pepper...so much so that he usually has a little food with his pepper.

To get Joshie to eat what we eat, I sit at the table with his highchair right next to my chair. He eats whatever we eat, just his is mashed or pureed. I will take a bite of mine, then give him a bite of his. This works really well. If a piece of something doesn't get ground enough, he will kind of gag on it, but then will take it out with his fingers and just put it on his tray and we go on. We must also have milk or juice in a sippy right there so if he gets choked, he knows to take a drink and usually does without prompting.

Hope this helps!

Blessings, Michelle

[Kellileanne]

Thanks ladies. Caitlin loves her puffs and cheerios (just started those recently). She loves french fries but gags on them (my mom thought she was choaking saturday when she was just gagging--freaked her out and I was right there and made her lean forward and she got it on her tongue and got it swallowed). I talked to the daycare today and she is having trouble there now too, there is a baby 2 weeks older and she is 100% on table food. So, I am afraid it is getting worse. Is there anything I can do?? Should I call the pediatrician? I would really like to get Caitlin on table foods by 1 year but the way we are going it isn't going to happen.

[kcmour]

Kelli....I'm pretty sure you know Alex's story. Our pedi. referred us to a pediatric OT to work on Alex's gagging & vomiting while eating table food. It's much better now, but he still gags sometimes. Don't be discouraged if Caitlin won't eat stage 3 foods....I think a lot of kids skip over them...they can be rather nasty looking & smelling! Alex now eats: Gerber puffs & crunchies, cheerios, small pieces of cheese, peaches, pears, apples, carrotts, bananas, wheat bread, macaroni noodles....I can't think of everything. He LOVES his food & makes these cute little yum yum noises when he eats. Maybe ask Caitlin's Dr. about her gagging.

[Boston73]

Originally Posted by Kellileanne

Thanks ladies. Caitlin loves her puffs and cheerios (just started those recently). She loves french fries but gags on them (my mom thought she was choaking saturday when she was just gagging--freaked her out and I was right there and made her lean forward and she got it on her tongue and got it swallowed). I talked to the daycare today and she is having trouble there now too, there is a baby 2 weeks older and she is 100% on table food. So, I am afraid it is getting worse. Is there anything I can do?? Should I call the pediatrician? I would really like to get Caitlin on table foods by 1 year but the way we are going it isn't going to happen.

Brady loves puffs!!! Especially the Peach..I like them too, haha You mentioned before how C loves french fries, so I've been dying to try them with Brady. We were out to lunch the other day and I ordered some. Well he loved them!!! They were a little hot so I had to wate a bit. They were the real fat kind, so I broke it in half and gave half to Brady. He held it in his hand and just sucked on it. It was really funny..he's definitely a fan of French Fries!!

[Mom2MandyandTristan]

Same here with the puffs. Tristan is now giving us a hard time eating the table food too. He will close his mouth real tight and then shake his head no everytime we bring a piece of food near his mouth. All we do is cut it up as little as we can (he only has 6 teeth 4 on top 2 on bottom) and leave it on the tray for him. He will eat it when he is ready. He is a lil stubborn one I tell ya!

[Kellileanne]

Thanks ladies. I will probably call the pediatrician, especially with the issues that the daycare is having with the gagging too. I don't know if it is tied to the reflux or not. I'll let you guys know!