Baby doesn't swallow

[s2391]

Hi,

So my son is 7.5 months and he is being baby led weaned because he hates to be spoon fed and refuses if the spoon is given to him, so I had to choose the baby led weaning option which he had responded well to. However, although he has accepted everything I have offered him, he doesn't swallow the food. He will bite some off, explore with his mouth then push it back out of his mouth. I called the HV about this and she said if it continues when he is 9 months then, he will get speech and language, however she also mentioned that it could just be new textures and he's still learning to swallow.

I'm writing this to see if any other mothers has experienced this with their child and did they in the end swallow their food???

Many Kind Regards,

A confused worried mum!!!

Hi OP

As long as your LO is still drinking his milk, you really don't need to worry too much about what he is eating. Milk has far more nutrients in it than the quantity of food a 7 month old would eat. It's all about learning new skills, and exploring flavours and textures. "Food before one is just for fun" is true!

If your son is enjoying tasting and playing with foods that's a great start, just try to stay calm and cheerful and not put any pressure on him. He's probably swallowing more h=than you think.

What sorts of foods is he trying?

I would just give him some of what you're having rather than prepare special food -- the only things you have to be careful with are salt levels and choking hazards like whole grapes and nuts.

Have you tried things like plain yoghurt or soup? They can be messy but are easy to swallow. You can give bread or fruit to dip and suck on. You can even dip things for him and hand them to him. Or just give him a little bowl and let him make a mess.

He can swallow because he swallows his milk.

Good luck, and try to relax x

Hummus is good too :)

Hi, we also did BLW and my son just wasn't really very interested in food until around 10/11 months. He spat EVERYTHING out until just before his first birthday when he suddenly changed. He now eats everything and anything.

I think it's more common than you think so don't panic. Certainly at 7.5m I wouldn't be worrying. Do you model chewing and swallowing food? So eat meals together and show him what to do. Put loaded spoons on his tray and let him practise getting it to his mouth and tasting it. Thick porridge and full fat Greek yog are good at sticking on the spoon.

Follow SR Nutrition on Insta if you have it - invaluable to us when weaning. Really puts your mind at ease.

Dd2 was like that. She had no speech problems except getting her to shut up.

What happened was her older sister gave her a chocolate button at 10 months. Then about a week later I had an ice cream and she bent over and licked it, then she was happy to eat.
She didn't like mixed textures at all though, it either had to be complete slop (the 4 month jars, wouldn't even take stuff we'd made unless it was through a sieve first) or finger food. She wasn't keen on food until about 7 or 8yo when she started eating well. (as oppose to dd1 who ate everything in quantity from the moment of weaning, but went off food at a similar age).
She did have days she ate and days she didn't for a very long time.