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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

my 6 month old has started gagging when eating..but then vomits all the food

14 replies

bumbly · 03/02/2008 18:59

ok so he is getting used to lumps etc but problem is after a bit of eating ok he starts to gag...and then vomits all he has eaten..all - i presume cuz he has initiated a gag reflex and vomits just coimes second nature to him...

so by end of meal he has eaten nothing!!!!!

starting to get worse and worse

any suggestions?

worried he is associating eating with negative experience of vomiting

hv not helpful at all and says just give bigger lumps and get on with it

thia happens with either soft banana or slightly fibrous meat for eg

OP posts:

hairtwiddler · 03/02/2008 19:01

This is quite common I think, have had a few friends whose children have grown out of gagging and vomiting.
What happens if given finger food?

hobie1 · 03/02/2008 21:06

Same problem with my 10 mo. All started after a chest infection when an episode of coughing would bring on profuse puking at the end of a meal. Really frustrating for me and grim for her. So far am finding that feeding smaller meals and LO 'getting down' as soon as she slows down her feed intake towards the end of meal has helped. I think that's due to distraction of play/bath time etc. Going back to puree hasn't really helped ,neither did finger food. Try distraction and smaller portions - all that's working our end!

AitchTwoOh · 03/02/2008 23:03

does he find the experience of vomiting negative? does he cry? he's only very wee, bumbly, it REALLY doesn't matter if he's not eaten anything.
deep breaths... is it possible you are getting a bit too stressed about this? his gag reflex will move, you'll just have to wait until it does, that's all. your hv's advice sounds fairly helpful to me, to be honest, it's just not really what you want to hear.

AitchTwoOh · 03/02/2008 23:04

and personally i think distraction is a bad direction to head in at such a young age, if you're trying to avoid negative associations.

Original poster

bumbly · 04/02/2008 08:48

actually lo gg reflex has started after being ill and now with cough is worse too

yes am worried as now been weaned a month and seems like going backwards...

OP posts:

LIZS · 04/02/2008 08:51

He's quite young for lumps and isn't needing the nutrition of the food itself yet as long as his milk intake is good. dd could n't tolerate lumps until a year and would often vomit it back. Her ability to keep food down (of any sort !) declined when she became more mobile , rolling/crawling. Paed not particularly concerned. At a year(and walking) she suddenly started helping herself to all sorts and coping better.

theUrbanDryad · 04/02/2008 09:03

bumbly - you could be describing my ds 6 months ago!! i'm sure Aitch remembers my anguished posts here and on the BLW forum!

i started to wean ds at 24 weeks straight onro finger foods and he got on ok but then, like your lo, he developed a nasty cough which resulted in vomiting. i tried everything - gave purees, gave snacks, stopped for a week then started. eventually he outgrew it, but he didn't really start eating till he was about 9 months.

what i wish i'd done, with the benefit of hindsight, is just chilled out. as Aitch says, there's no rush. maybe just up his milk a bit if he seems hungry, give him little bits, if you're doing purees don't worry about him eating all of it, maybe just give him soft finger foods like melon or cucumber (ds loved these because it was cold on sore gums!) and let him get on with it. if he's not distressed by the vomiting (my ds wasn't, particularly) then give him finger food meals along with your meals, and just let him get on with it, cleaning him up if necessary.

sorry to witter on, i just wish i could go back and do it again, and i hope to save to the worry and heartache i went through with ds!! HTH

AitchTwoOh · 04/02/2008 10:36

have a look at this bumbly, judging by what these women are saying it's not uncommon at all for babies with coughs and colds to vomit, and it may be nothing to do with the gag reflex. remember that he will do 'well' and then 'less well', that's normal, we don't all progress in a linear fashion when we learn new things. you've got ages before you need to worry about things (apart from laundry ).

AitchTwoOh · 04/02/2008 10:37

oh yes!, i do remember that UD, particularly the triumphant spaghetti bolognese and wine photos, lol.

Original poster

bumbly · 04/02/2008 19:30

thanks sooooooooooooo much to you all

i am finding this parenting one worry after another

didnt think there would be more serious stiif - and now it is weaning/vomiting

OP posts:

Original poster

bumbly · 04/02/2008 19:30

thanks sooooooooooooo much to you all

i am finding this parenting one worry after another

didnt think there would be more serious stiif - and now it is weaning/vomiting

OP posts:

AitchTwoOh · 04/02/2008 19:33

BaBaBoBo · 02/03/2008 23:24

My DS still does the whole gagging then vomiting thing every so often at 12 months. Infact if we are going to be out at meal times we take totally smooth food. Anything with bits of hard veg in are an absolute no no. He can now manage very very cooked rice and smal bits of pasta as long as they are in lots of sauce with things like mushroom in. He goes to nursery now and keeps being sent home with a note saying he kept gagging on the food so they just give him yoghurt.

thelittlestbadger · 04/03/2008 19:29

My DD (8mo) has just started doing this. She has a bit of a cold and is growing teeth at the same time - Joy for the badger household.

on a related note, she was taking purees happily if home made, now she is rejecting everything except fruit and sweet potato. Should I carry on giving her veg at the moment or shall I just give fruit puree until she is totally clear of the cold and the teeth have subsided a bit? I thought it might be the texture of the thicker veg puree but she turns her head away and won't look at it. Any thoughts?

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