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Baby has a strong gag reflex, any advice on getting her used to table foods?
My baby is 9 months old and eating pretty much all mushy baby foods. However, she gags whenever I try to give her things more like table foods, such as mushed bananas or peaches, or avocado, or cheerios... that's as far as I've gotten because she gags and spits up every bite of anything thicker than baby food. She is just now coming around to eating those little baby food puffs but won't touch the wagon wheels.
Any advice on getting her used to table food? Her doctor wants me to start weaning her but I don't think she's ready.
Edit: I never said I was breastfeeding. This is a formula baby (and I will report anyone who gives me flack about that, that's NOT the question).
8 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
Follow your own instincts... Remember that 'Mom" knows best. You doctor isn't there to feel the baby and he may be rushing things a tad. Eating solids is something that we all learn to do at our own pace - little muscles need time to develop and become coordinated. Relax. You and Baby will be just fine in another few weeks or so.
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Source(s): Father of four, grandfather of two ... retired medical professional. - melanieLv 51 decade ago
Editing to add: Oooohhhh - sorry, I saw 'wean' and assumed breastfeeding. Nope, no flack here on that. Everyone has to do what they have to do. But hey, same idea still applies. What's the rush? Your baby knows what she's ready for - if her mouth and tummy aren't yet ready for table foods, there's nothing you really can or should do to push it. Just keep offering it, give her the chance to try.
Your doctor wants you to start weaning, why? Is there any particular reason, or just that doctor's prejudice against breastfeeding?
You cannot push your baby's development in this regard. Keep offering bits and bites to her, she'll let you know when she is ready for them. For now, just let her get used to the taste and feel. Try mushing fruit and blending it with some expressed milk, to encourage her, then slowly back off the addition of milk.
I'd be tempted, in all honesty, to seek a second medical opinion about weaning (actually, I'd switch doctors - any doctor who wants each and every baby to fit into a single regime needs to learn how to think, reason, and observe, and a doctor who cannot do those things is a doctor I don't want touching my baby). And I'm not one of those women who push breastfeeding until the child is five! at fifteen months, my son still nurses, though he gets the bulk of his nutrition from table food.
- 1 decade ago
She may not be ready for the thicker foods. Don't push it. As long as she is eating, who cares if it takes her a little longer? As for weaning, why would your doc want you to start weaning? Do you mean just reducing the amount you nurse? Because the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least 12 months and the World Health Organization recommends at least 24 months. I don't like timelines for babies and solids. They will eat them when they are ready. Good for you for nursing and keep giving her what she will eat and offering the table foods, one day she'll change her mind.
Source(s): http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030700.asp - Anonymous1 decade ago
Placing lumpy food in her mouth is a choking hazard, when it comes to table food the rule is she should feed herself. Also foods that encourage chewing work better than those that do not. Semi soft fruits and lightly blanched veggies are a great place to start.
My son has always eaten table food, and only around a year did he start accepting pureed food(like mashed potatoes, yogurt, soup). Honestly I don't understand parent's desire to spoon feed their kids. Baby-led aka self-feeding is so much easier and safer.http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vas...
Source(s): There is no need to wean a breastfed OR formula fed baby from breastmilk/formula before age two. Weaning from breastmilk before age two has been shown to have risks. Slowly the medical community is catching up and realising that if babies need breastmilk for at least 2 years, they need formula if breastmilk is not available. "SWITCHING TO MILK I've been feeding my baby iron-fortified formula. When is it okay to switch to whole cow's milk? Research comparing cow's milk and formula-fed infants during the first year of life has shown that cow's milk is irritating to the intestines of a tiny infant, causing infants to lose a tiny bit of blood in their stools, contributing to iron deficiency anemia. There is very little iron in cow's milk anyway, and the iron that is there is poorly absorbed. Concern about iron-deficiency anemia has led the American Academy of Pediatrics, backed by solid research, to discourage the use of cow's milk in children under one year of age. One of America's top pediatric hematologists (blood specialist), the late Dr. Frank Oski , Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkin University (and co-author of a book entitled: Don't Drink Your Milk) advised parents to be cautious and not rush into the use of cow's milk, even during the second year of life. At present it would seem prudent to continue giving your baby iron-fortified formula during the second year of life and very gradually wean him to dairy products, beginning with yogurt. If your toddler generally has a balanced diet and routine hemoglobin tests show that he is not even close to being anemic, then switch from formula to whole milk sometime during the second year, but don't be in a hurry. " http://www.askdrsears.com/html/0/T000100.asp#T0310... - How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- racer 51Lv 71 decade ago
give her a little more time. it isn't really necessary to have her eating all table foods just yet. she'll still get the nutrition she need from stage 3 and the few table foods she'll eat. put her on some multivitamins if you're worried and keep experimenting with new things. if, by the time she's a year old, she still isn't taking more table food then have it checked out.
- 5 years ago
I agree that you may want to take your son to a specialist. My son is 9 months, only has two front teeth. He can/wants/does eat just about any kind of table food.
- yahooblooLv 61 decade ago
She`s really not ready, and if you push this she will come to hate meal times - then you really will have a problem on your hands. Give her food she enjoys and let her eat it herself in her own time.
- Tenn GalLv 61 decade ago
Just follow your instincts and give her table food when she is ready for it. Don't rush it.