Feeding issues 22 Month Old

Hi Ladies - I need some advice!! Sorry if this is long...

My DS is 22 months, and has never been a "picky" eater. He'll eat veggies, meats, fruits, whatever.

He does, however, have chewing issues. Since we started him on baby food at 5 months, he has had a SUPER gag reflex. We got through cereal at that stage and the stage 1 & stage 2 jars of baby food.

When he hit the stage 3 foods at around 9 or 10 months old, he would gag often. He slowly got better about it and at a year, was doing fine with that.

We had started giving him crackers - no problem. Toast, no problem. Cooked veggies - problem! he would gag.

At his 1 year visit, the ped said that some babies take a little longer to get the chewing thing down, and that it was OK if he still had to have some baby food and some "regular" food. Just to take it slowly.

Well, here we are at almost 2 years, and he still has issues! He can eat some pastas - spaghetti is fine, but ravioli is not. He gags to the point of getting sick. I swear it's almost like he doesnt always chew his food. If he cant swallow it whole, he wont be able to eat it. I dont know if he is "lazy" when it comes to eating. There are times when I can see him chewing and he eats fine (sweet potato fries are sometimes no problem, grilled chicken - sometimes no problem) And at other times, he "forgets" to chew and makes himself sick!

I am at my wits end. I feel like I am sitting at meal times telling him to chew, but he should be doing this on his own at this point! Otherwise, developmentally, he is fine. He knows a lot of his letters, he speaks well, has play dates, etc.

What am I doing wrong? How can I get him to actually eat real foods? We have # 2 on the way, and I dont want the same issue with her, AND I dont have ANY baby food mixed in with my sons meals!

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Re: Feeding issues 22 Month Old

My son has some of those issues. We mentioned it to the PEd and we are having a feeding evaluation done to find out about the choking...but we are in early intervention for speech so it was easily set up....

I dont know what to do in yoru shoes, but I think I would mention it to the Ped again, have them check out the throat etc and make sure its just developmental.

Re: Feeding issues 22 Month Old

DS followed almost exactly the same course. He had a lot of trouble around 9-10 months, around a year it got better, but he still will not eat veggies that are not pureed (other than sweet potatos) and I tried regular oatmeal with him the other morning. Put tons of milk in it and he gagged too. He also won't eat meat other than chicken nuggets or fish sticks, really soft meats.

His doctor said the same thing at a year, and at the 15 month check-up, I felt he was doing better so I didn't bring it up again. But he still has issues. I am in the process of having EI do an evaluation for him since he also has a speech delay. Children sometimes have problems with chewing or swallowing that they need assistance to overcome. This may not be the case for you at all, but I would talk to your pediatrician again, especially if there is any speech delay, excessive drooling, or trouble speaking as well. Early Intervention is free to anyone in NY state that shows signs of a devlopmental delay, and after an evaluation, therapy may be recommended to correct the problem. Or not, if it is determined that there is no problem.

I would start with the doctor and mention the idea of an evaluation. If your doctor isn't on board and you are still concerned, you can always go ahead on your own.

Good luck, there is a chance it's just taking longer for him to get used to textures.

Re: Feeding issues 22 Month Old

Did you have Doc check the part under the tongue that connects the tongue to the bottom of mouth?
Not sure the name of it...but if it's too long it can interfere with the ability to move food around in his mouth so he can chew it before he swallows. A simple snip and it's done..

My 25 month old is an AWFUL eater! Always was, she's still supplemented on stage 3 babyfoods cause at least i know she's eating balanced food and veggies! She had a gag reflex and still has a prob with some textures, my PED ssaid not to worry, she shows no other symptoms and that's she'll grow out of the texture thing..

Good luck!

Re: Feeding issues 22 Month Old

Re: Feeding issues 22 Month Old

my ds ihas feeding issues and gets therapy for it. he also has a hyper active gag and he has low oral muscle tone and does not know how to chew. he's just started chewing a bit at 27 months, he mainly mushes his food. he also has very little tongue movement.
honestly you would never know that all these things were going wrong in his mouth if you weren't in the field (i am) and his therapist has shed light on a lot for us too. i'd get an eval. just in case, even if he doesn't qualify they can givce u some advice.

Re: Feeding issues 22 Month Old

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll give the ped a call and see if they have any suggestions. Since DS's speech is OK, I feel like he is just slow at getting the textures, or I am doing something wrong in helping him get used to the food changes.

Thanks for all of your comments