Rattly breathing sometimes after solids

[lunalovegood84]

My baby is 6 months and has been having solids for around 3-4 weeks. I have been giving him homemade purees and some baby porridge. He doesn't take big portions but seems interested enough, opens mouth etc, although he is also very easily distracted by Cool Things in the kitchen eg the washing machine. He also sometimes starts to shout or make daft noises during feeds but will then open his mouth for some more food.

Anyway the issue is that occasionally right after some spoonfuls of solids he starts doing loud noisy breathing that sounds rattly or raspy. It sounds like he needs to clear his throat but hasn't. It doesn't last very long and he doesn't seem distressed but it is a little bit scary as I always panic that he has aspirated some food or water especially when he is being noisy and distracted rather than focusing on the food. It happened more at the beginning but I thought we were over it, however today at lunch it happened again.

Any ideas what this is? Should I get him checked out? Anything I can do to prevent this? Would appreciate some insight.

Hello. Is he sitting upright while he eats, or tilted back?

Hi, he is in his highchair (IKEA antilop).

Hmm, not sure... I wonder if it is just as you say, that he needs to clear his throat?

Took him to GP today and showed her a video of him making the noise. His chest sounds fine but she's referred him to paediatrician to check his swallowing reflex. Hopefully all is well and he's just taking his time in learning how to deal with food.

Aw, glad she was able to help.

Hi ... my 7 month old is doing exactly this. I started her on stage 1 purées when she was 5.5 months and she is now on stage 2, and it has happened with both stages. She also did it today after sucking/chewing/swallowing a rice cake. It doesn't happen every time she eats, but pretty often.

It is really bothering/upsetting me for the same sort of reasons you described. In fact, I actually just don't want to feed her solids any more and feel totally out of my depth with weaning. It doesn't help that my partner doesn't seem to think it is a big deal.

Did you find anything out about what might be causing this or if it is within the realms of normal? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. :(

Hi, I meant to update this thread. So we were referred by the gp to see a paediatrician and everything is fine.

He was thoroughly checked out by both gp and paediatrician and there were no holes in his palate or noises in his chest that might indicate he was aspirating food (my main concern). The paediatrician said that aspirating food would lead to chest infections and he's never had any of those.

Her explanation was that we all have different habits for clearing away our normal throat secretions. A lot of people clear their throat, some people make other noises. She thought that he'd got into the habit of making this noises in an attempt to clear it. He still occasionally makes the same noise, but he usually coughs now after a few seconds and sounds clear again.

Hope that helps. I know how you feel, it used to make mealtimes very tense for me. The gp and hospital were great, took it seriously and investigated thoroughly, didn't make me feel like I was wasting time. I'd recommend doing that because I have a lot more peace of mind now I know its nothing harmful.

Thank you. My baby has also been checked over by a paed at 4 months for a different issue and she had no palate deformities either. Her lungs were clear then, but she was only taking breast milk at that time. I would imagine though if a baby were aspirating solid food, they would certainly aspirate something as runny as breast milk.

She's never had anything even remotely resembling a chest infection either. One cold so far and that's it. She's coughing a lot quicker now to clear the noise and it isn't happening as often ... I've slowed down with my spoonfuls and try to make sure she has definitely swallowed each bit before giving her another one.

Thanks for your reply. :)