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charlie had a strong gag reflex and threw up a lot when he started chunky solids. he was still eating soupy/puree like textures well past 1 year. i think some kids have a stronger gag reflex, or they have sensory issues. if it persists, you can meet with a swallowing specialist (they exist), because it can become a problem.

i wouldn't worry right now though. your lo is very young! and now charlie can eat anything and hasn't had a sensitive gag reflex in 2 years.

I've read that some kids gag reflux are located much more up front than others. So I wouldn't worry as much - easier said than done! Maybe just go back to purees for now and start trying chunkier purees in another week? If he still gags then go back to purees and try again in another week?

GL!

That was pretty normal for us through 10 months, especially with scrambled eggs. It made me a nervous wreck, but the pediatrician said he had to learn how to eat different textures. Practice, practice, practice!

Bringing this thread back up in case anyone has an update? My LO is still very young (6+ months) but appears to have a super sensitive gag reflex as well. I can't even feed her purees--she gags at anything that isn't liquid! At our 6 month appointment our pediatrician recommended just going to finger foods ("spears" of banana or roasted sweet potato) on the theory that some babies gag less when they've handled the texture with their hands first. She said to keep trying almost every day, as she wanted her to get iron in her (she is breastfed). Well, the BLW approach (as much as I really want it to) hasn't worked to help the issue at all. And the gagging has been full-on vomiting (of all her milk meal--she hasn't managed to ever get any food in her tummy).

I'm just looking for encouragement that folks have had babies grow out of this. And any tips on what you think may have helped de-sensitize the gag reflex!

My pediatrician told us to just keep trying and trying, but I'm thinking maybe LO just isn't ready for any solids yet and we should take a break for a week or two and revisit.

@stratosphere: We had to stop doing BLW or anything with chunks of any kind because LO had the worst gag reflex. He had to do very very smooth purees...in fact our ped wanted only stage 1 foods. After a while I started to thicken them (decided to forget about disliking the idea of rice cereal) and then eventually moved to stage 2 pouches and now he likes those thickened a lot and can have puffs and crackers. It takes a long time, and I still wouldn't give anything that can break off!

@lawbee11: @spaniellove: Thanks so much! That is so helpful (and encouraging). I don't think my homemade purees were smoothe enough, so I stopped last night on the way home and got some Stage 1 Earth's Best purees, and then thinned (the peas) even further with breastmilk, and she actually took some in her mouth without gagging! First time ever with food in her mouth and no gagging. I don't think she swallowed any--she pretty much spit it back out--but I'm just happy she didn't gag/wretch. I think we'll just take it slow, not force the issue for now (despite my pediatrician's fear about her not getting enough iron...which is based solely on the fact that I'm breastfeeding and not on any test or symptom of anemia). Thanks so much ladies!

@stratosphere: My LO had a very sensitive gag reflex, and when purees didn't seem to be "working", I tried larger spears blw-style around 6-7 months and that was a major mistake--in hindsight, now I realize she just wasn't ready for solids, period (some babies take longer than others), and forcing larger spears on her gave us some very scary choking episodes. 3 times, I had to turn her upside down and do the back thrusts and twice she ended up throwing up everything to stop the choking. Awful. awful.

Finally, I realized that my baby was on her own timeline and we took a break of a few weeks from all solids. I decided to wait till she showed interest. Finally, we started back with purees but she didn't really get INTO food till a week or two after her first birthday.

Now she eats like a champ! Last night, she ate an entire fillet of salmon and half a cup of broccoli and kept asking for more--I had to cut her off! She's 18 months now.

I just wanted to post an update, since I often search the forums for a topic/issue I'm experiencing and find it super useful when others update the threads with how they resolved.

Well, LO is almost 9 months now and I can say that her severe gagging has almost disappeared. It turns out she was on her own timeline and just wasn't ready for solids at 6 (or even 7) months. Right around 8 months she suddenly was able to eat both purees and some BLW finger foods without gagging. It's like her gag reflex was on its own timeline and didn't go away (or move to the back of the tongue, as I understand is what actually happens) until 8 months, instead of before 6 months for most babies. So for others' reference, there is hope! Listen to your gut, and just follow your baby's cues. I wish I hadn't let our nanny stress me out so much about pushing solids "on time" at 6 months, and then try to scare me that 7 months was way behind.

My LO is now a HEARTY eater, eating 3 solid varied meals a day at almost 9 months--from salmon chunks, cottage cheese and sweet potato spears to roasted beet puree to smashed blueberries and steamed broccoli florets, she LOVES food now. Such a relief!

She does of course still gag up food once every few meals when she takes too big a bite, but of course that is a totally normal (and of course a SAFE response to prevent choking!) part of baby led weaning. I just wanted to update and let future mamas know that the super-sensitive gag reflex did indeed go away on its own, just a few months later than "average."