Problems weaning - can't swallow?

[paranoidmum]

I have been trying to wean my 20-week dd for the last 2 weeks. Have tried both baby rice & pear, every consistency possible, & mixed with breast milk, formula & water. DS happy to take food into mouth, but then spits it out.

She's showing all of the usual signs for weaning (I've read GF, Annabel Karmel etc), weighs nearly 15lbs (10lbs at birth), and already has 2 teeth.

It seems that she just has not worked out how to swallow. Should I just keep on trying, or leave it for a few weeks? Any advice appreciated.

If she still has the tongue thrust reflex or the gag reflex she is not ready, Try again in a couple of weeks. At 20 weeks there is no rush.

Totally agree with Btb - definitely sounds like the tongue thrust reflex - your ds is still primed for sucking and swallowing and not quite ready for mush yet. Loads of time for him to lose that reflex.

Pupuce linked to a good baby site on the "What is going on???" thread. These bits seemed relevant:

"If you offer him a small taste of food, can he swallow it, or does he push it back out with his tongue? The tongue- thrusting reflex is a protective device that begins to diminish at around six months of age. When babies are really ready for solids, the muscles in their mouth and tongue are developed enough to transfer food from their tongue to the back of their mouth. This action has to be coordinated with swallowing, and most babies younger than six months are just not ready."

"Is your baby teething? Teeth usually don't appear until he is six or seven months old, which is evidence that the tiny infant is designed primarily to suck rather than to chew. The increased salivation that accompanies teething can also aid indigestion. I have had two babies out of six who got their first teeth at four months, however, so the appearance of teeth is only one indicator of readiness for solids."

Phew - that was longer than I thought.

Thanks to both bob's ... I'll give it some more time!

Hi all, I was just wondering if anyone else has had this problem? My DD is 7 months and so far has liked her food - we've been giving her smooth purees of fruit and veg mainly. But our 'proper' blender broke and we tried using a hand blender to do the veg. It wouldn't go quite as smooth as before and when DD had had a few spoonfuls she choked and brought the whole lot back up! We had a few 4+ month jars in the cupboard and she was fine with one of those. I will be hotfooting it to Argos to buy a new blender, but when are babies normally able to tolerate slightly more lumpy food?

forgot to add, we tried blending it with some milk and water to make it smoother, but no joy!

give it 2 or 3 more months, though it really depends on the child. My ds never liked lumps in his pureed food, though would suck on finger food. He is now 3.5 and eats everything (and I mean everything), but still tends to suck rather than chew tougher things like meat. My dd on the other hand was "chewing" things at 6 months before she had any teeth at all, at was never bothered by lumps. Our mouli broke about 3 weeks after I started her on solids and I never bought another. She too eats everything.