11 months and choking and any solid food, HELP!

[Jonah2014]

My son is 11 months old and has all
His teeth except his back four, he had his first 2 teeth at 2 months, weaning as been very difficult as we didn't go through the sucking with food stage because he's always had his front teeth so he's would always bite more then he can chew and swallows it whole ( attempts to anyway?) he wont bite and chew swollow food in the Order he should no matter what I give him, he violently chokes and vomits it up, I'm aware he needs to be eating finger foods now but whatever I give him dont work! I have persevered with him and surely I can't keep leaving him choke and vomit 2-3 times a day? I can't even give a biscotti without this happening! My health visitor told me to give him toast but surely that's even worse as it don't melt? If I cut up things Into little hits he's fine! He needs to learn and I'm out of ideas! ??HELP! Xx

How was he with breastfeeding? Did he/could he have a tongue or lip tie? Just trying to think of reasons why he has difficulty with moving food around his mouth.

I think I agree with your HV that something he can give a good chew but that won't immediately disintegrate (like toast) could be a good idea. Has he had finger foods from 6 months with this always happening?

My DS had his two front teeth when we started weaning at 6 months ish, and he also didn't do the "sucking from a spoon stage", as we did baby led weaning. It's not vital that they don't have teeth before they start to eat. They can learn from just having finger foods and feeding themselves. Which is why I wonder if there's something more going on like a tongue tie.

You are confusing choking with gagging. Choking is silent and i doubt your baby is really choking.

And yes you leave them to gag. That's how they learn.

Your HV is right in giving him toast. She's just suggesting the easiest finger food in terms of effort for you. You can omelettes, fruit, meat anything really at 11mo.

My eldest was like this (he's now 5). He gagged on everything and vomited frequently till he got the hang of it. It turned out he has a very, very sensitive gag reflex. Once he was eating ok, we still found things like teeth brushing problematic. Every time he had a cough he vomited. Or if he got very upset and cried a lot, it frequently ended in a gag and a vomit.

Happily, he got much better about a year ago (although the dentist is still a challenge!)

Re finger foods, I would avoid hard things like raw Apple and raw carrot, but also very clingy sticky stuff that can get caught in the back of the mouth and cause gagging (like cucumber slices). Toast, omelette, soft fruit, well-steamed veg, cheese pieces etc would be my suggestions.

Yes he is tounge tied I'll look into that maybe that is the issue, he choked yesterday to the point he nearly fainted and he was silent didn't cough or heave either thank god was vomited after 10 seconds of tapping his back! I've tryed all the soft foods, I'll have to have a chat with my hv about his tounge tie see if she advices for him to have it cut! Thank you x

My Ds is 13 months but we had similar issues to you until just after 11 months. His tongue tie was dealt with at 2 months and he also teethed early at 4 months. In the end, time has helped resolve it. I definitely would consider offering strips of buttered toast which do seem easier for them to practice on. Small sandwiches with tuna mayo or egg mayo also quite good. I would also recommend trying porridge with mashed fruit for breakfast using normal porridge oats so you can experiment with the texture you offer.That way you can work out and increase texture he can cope with and build up both your confidence. I also found the Organix carrot puffs helpful to give him another safe finger food to practice on as they basically melt in mouth so you know he will deal with it one way or another .It is really hard to go through but it does slowly improve. Even now, when he has a sore throat or bad cold we have to go back to purées to avoid the projectile voms.

My DS (who is 1 this week) is exactly the same, and is not just gagging, but is choking (silent, goes very white, red around eyes, needs to be taken out of high chair and over knee to stop choking, usually then very sick) - I get really really fed up with people telling me he is just gagging - he isn't! He also had 6 teeth by 6 months so it's been so hard to get him into solids. Happily eats lots of puree, even really lumpy, but struggles with proper food.

My HV suggested things which he can chew but then disolve so he gets used to chewing but without having to deal with swallowing, and then moving onto to other stuff, so things like cheese puffs, Pom bear crisps, grated cheese or grated apple, etc. So we are doing that and it's going ok, and he does seem to be getting better at dealing with food, very slowly.

I now am finding that he isn't so interested in solid food though, just plays with it and throws it on the floor... But I guess that'll happen eventually.

Hope that helps. And hope others come along with more advice too, as really interested to hear from others with similar problems.

You could try a first aid course to help you deal with any potential choking. Might help you to relax a bit at least.

I would agree with your health visitor. Continue to give solid food- he is nearly 2. You are almost surely confusing gagging (which is completely normal and how they learn) with choking. Have you done on reading on baby led weaning to help reassure you maybe?