https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 28 May 2026 22:53:07 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2098047 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 13:28:27 +0000 Adira 2098047@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This sounds like something I could've posted when Xander was that age. Even at 12 months, Xander struggled with more textured food and was JUST starting to eat the stage 3 purees and barely ate any finger foods. It's just a time thing, I think. Eventually Xander got past it (maybe by 16-17 months?) and now eats a wide variety of finger foods! But I remember feeling so stressed about it because he seemed so behind from other HB babies the same age. &lt;3 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2098027 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 13:17:28 +0000 spaniellove 2098027@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: At some point EI considered feeding therapy and someone consulted with us so we got a few pointers about his texture aversion. One thing that was mentioned at some point was that textures should be as even as possible without surprise chunks or bits, because that often triggers gagging. So things like skins or purees with random chunks were potential offenders. But if LO will accept a teether, they suggested the banana or razberry teether, because those have a textured surface. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097863 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 11:34:01 +0000 ShootingStar 2097863@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: I interpreted the "food before one is just for fun" as that time was for practice and that they didn't need to be balanced meals because the actual nutrition comes from BM/formula. As opposed to right now where we try to have fruits, veggies and protein as a part of every meal, or least balanced over the course of a day.</p> <p>I think most people reduce or stop formula by 12m, so that's why they *need* the 3 meals. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097834 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 11:10:44 +0000 Mae 2097834@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@abbydabbydoodlebug: thanks :) I guess I feel like my gut instinct is to just let her be. Keep offering and she'll figure it out in her own time... but the call with the doc yesterday sort of threw me for a loop because it made me feel like I'm not trying hard enough. But it seems like there are so many varying opinions on this... the "food before 1 is just for fun" v. the "well by 12 mo REALLY she should be eating three real meals" thing. I'm always hesitant to just ignore what a doctor tells me, but I do really feel like LO is maybe just on the slower side of getting into solids (esp prob because she has no teeth!) and like... I'm probably not going to be giving her bottles and purees when she's 2 so just chillax about it... haha </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097828 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 11:05:31 +0000 abbydabbydoodlebug 2097828@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: My DD gagged and threw up almost every day, even with purees, for... 2 or 3 months. I'm pretty sure it was related to teething somehow. We never figured it out. But yeah, she's 13 months now and will pick up and bite things with skin, but always gags and spits it out and doesn't eat it. Even hot dog/sausage type things. The only meat she can/will eat is ground. She sort of bit of some steak last night but she's not into it. I make a lot of tacos and pasta to get her to eat some meat. </p> <p>So I sort of went off on a tangent, but my point is that she'll probably get better with time. Lol. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097791 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 10:38:14 +0000 Mae 2097791@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: I feel like I've actually been pretty unconcerned about her progress with solids (I mean... trying things consistently but not WORRIED about it). But I talked to our ped yesterday about something unrelated and she wants me to really push solids more (finger food type). And that got me feeling like maybe she is *behind*. Although after I spoke to her (and after this post) I talked to my husband about it all when he got home and he reminded me that the ped I talked to is in our ped practice but not the doc we usually see and not someone familiar with her previous issues and so maybe we don't need to follow her advice as much as the ped we usually see (who said at her 9mo appt, in total, eh whatever is fine and she should be mostly drinking formula now anyways haha). </p> <p>@skipra: hm I don't think I knew those existed. I'll look for them!</p> <p>@spaniellove: I'm not really hesitant about it. Just trying to figure out if there is a way to get her more comfortable with finger food :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097630 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 08:43:47 +0000 spaniellove 2097630@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If it's the spoon feeding purees that you're hesitant about, do you think she might like something frozen in a silicone self feeder? Just to preserve her self feeding skills but present the food in a different way. And maybe give her smoother options. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097622 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 08:38:18 +0000 skipra 2097622@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Have you tried the thicker purees that have small chunks? Like the ones they sell in bigger jars? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097617 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 08:34:27 +0000 illumina 2097617@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it's normal. My almost 18 month old still gags on some foods...like when trying to shovel handfuls of spaghetti in at once! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097612 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 08:29:37 +0000 spaniellove 2097612@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You probably remember J had severe gagging issues which usually led to vomiting and our ped had us work very slowly from thin purees no matter where he was supposed to be based on his age. His gagging has always been linked to his reflux, so when the reflux is under better control he can tolerate more. I think melts and puffs dissolve faster than food normally does so she may not have to do as much work with her mouth and tongue to eat them, whereas the food with skins and little bits probably annoy her because now she has to work to clear them from her mouth! for us, after the projectile vomiting phase stopped I learned to have a cup of water handy to help him clear his mouth out after a bite. He still has issues with not feeling that he has food stuffed in his mouth, but at least he's not getting mad. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097610 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 08:27:53 +0000 Anagram 2097610@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My baby was still gagging a lot at that age, too! And also not really "chewing" foods well. It just took her a little extra time. Since we'd had so many feeding issues prior to solids, I think I really fixated on it too much---but then I read someone else's post in my birth month (Lawbee maybe?) whose LO hadn't had feeding issues but also wasn't into solids yet and that calmed me down. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097587 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 08:08:13 +0000 ShootingStar 2097587@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Babies' gag reflexes are much closer to the front of their mouths than adults, so they're much more prone to gagging. It's actually a safety thing to keep them from choking. At close to 16m he puts huge fistfuls of good in his mouth and sometimes gags. We keep an eye on him for choking, but he always works it out and swallows. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097516 Fri, 06 Mar 2015 03:08:20 +0000 sarac 2097516@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yeah, this is really just a time thing. It won't last forever. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097453 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 23:29:06 +0000 Mrs Green Grass 2097453@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You might want to try actual Cheerios nth at still pretty much melt but require a bit more chewing. It took us quite a while for eating to become normal but at age 2 he eats pretty much everything... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097436 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 22:41:22 +0000 hellobeeboston 2097436@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son has always had a super strong gag reflex. Even now at 2.5 he will gag if he gets too much food or a weird texture. It just took time when we were in purée phase. I just kept up with it and kept an eye out, it got much better, but sounds similar, just weird with textures.</p> <p>Oh - and my son didn't get his first tooth until 1 too so I waited on a lot of stuff, since he was such a gagged, I figured it just gave us more time to figure it out. He was good early on with tofu, shredded cheese, peas, rotisserie chicken, hmm, what else. He's kinda picky </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097424 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 22:27:46 +0000 Mae 2097424@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsRcCar: I'm talking about finger foods so no way to really thin chunks of food :) She eats puffs like a champ so I feel like she CAN chew... she just sort of... doesn't haha. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097411 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 22:10:28 +0000 MrsRcCar 2097411@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Have you tried thinning the thicker foods? My kids have food issues but we are handling them through EI. Not too much help but I know what it is like. Big hugs! :heart: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-still-gagging-a-lot#post-2097400 Thu, 05 Mar 2015 21:59:05 +0000 Mae 2097400@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So LO has been on solids for 4 months (she's 9.5 mo now) and she still gags a LOT. She usually has no trouble eating puffs, melts, freeze dried fruit (if I break it into little pieces), small pieces of pear, and egg. (She also likes purees but obviously no choking on those).</p> <p>She pretty much always gags if I feed her oatmeal, peas, blueberries, diced cooked peppers with the skin on, whole beans, or meat. </p> <p>I feel like it is a texture thing, since she loves blueberry puree. Like she has issues with food that has a skin that might get stuck on her tongue or that she really has to gum a lot like meat. A few times she has gagged and thrown up and I can tell she isn't chewing her food super well (sorry for the gross imagery lol). </p> <p>Any tips for how to help her eat a bigger variety of foods? Or is this something that babies just have to "get" on their own at some point? Also she has no teeth yet (but I do think she could do a better job mushing stuff with her gums..) Thanks :) </p>