Tongue Thrust Reflex at 8 months

[~inbalance~]

(((hugs))) Leanne, I'm sure it will end at some point.  Not sure when though!!

I would really stop trying.  Just stop, take a break, and wait.  He's not eating anyway, no point in forming negative associations with it by getting frustrated.

F HATED sitting in his chair up until very recently.  We also decided to switch chairs and I think it's made a difference.

I'm sure teeth really can put them off eating altogether.  It might be too painful for him to want to do right now.

Really, don't worry.  Solids are not that important yet, and they are useless anyway if he won't eat them!  Focus on the milk until he feels better. 

[L76]

Thanks Martina. Just so hard when everything is rubbish. Fixing that seemed much easier that all our other issues. Not quite so it seems!

Just didn't want him to go completely back to square one. It just seems he's never quite got the whole solids thing!

[~inbalance~]

The thing is, you have to look at the big picture.  And taking a break now might be the difference between him getting the hang of it soon, or having problems later on, kwim?  Give it a few days to start where you do very little.  Definitely put the spoon away.  If he is watching you guys eat then of course offer, but if he's showing no interest then don't bug him about it.  When you start trying again will depend on him, and you.  You'll have to get an idea for that, but I'm sure after a few days or a week you can at least offer, and I would offer only finger foods.  If he says no, put it away and wait again.  Then keep offering, but don't push.  You want it to be more like "oh you're not interested?  Ok, no big deal!  maybe later then" and not "why aren't you interested already?  you should be!"  Kids pick up on this stuff, yk?  It's ok, you will get there.  When I look at F and now he is eating now, he is eating the way many moms expect their kids to eat right off the bat.  It's like he's starting new, but he's 9mos!!  He just needed that much time to be ready.  I put the spoon away as soon as he started refusing.  Then I always offered finger foods, but TBH he didn't even want that.  If he didn't want to sit in the highchair, I took him out and he either sat on my lap or once he could he sat on the floor (I swear he spent every meal in my lap for months! ).

Having a tricky eater has taught me so much more about solids (and patience!).  T was so easy, well he was textbook.  Even eating was textbook with him, he followed every natural progression the way the books said, from single purees, to different combinations and textures, and finally to finger food.  But with F I can finally, truly understand why some babies need to wait to be ready, and why it takes them so long to get it.  Remember you still have so much practice time before a year when solids are 'supposed' to be the main focus, and a lot can happen in even just a month's time.  

BTW, I don't believe there is such thing as a square one. 

[*Liz*]

Honey I agree with Martina. J sat on my knee and ate those organic corn snacks or rice cakes for months. Sometimes pear puree - then he went off that and for a while we had nothing.

I got really worried and actually it was when I gave up that he started to eat. Only a few things, all of them kiddie type food, but he did eat.

And that is what I do to this day - I offer food and TBH I don't care what he does with it.

And yes - J goes on major hunger strikes with teeth - doesn't eat anything.

How much milk is he getting? J would never eat full of milk no matter what the guidelines day.

((hugs)) Megan is so easy with solids compared to Jacob and I can imagine how hard it is to have had it the other way round.

I actually ended up going to 3 bottles before he was eating solids to stimulate some hunger. He was about 10.5 mths then. And it did help (also got rid of a lot of bottle fights as well as he was resisting his as well).

[L76]

Awww you ladies really are lovely you know that! 

You make us all feel so much better about things.

He's taking 4 daytime bottles - the first three are 7oz bottles - he sometimes takes it all - sometimes 5-6oz. Bedtime bottle is 8oz and normally he takes the lot. So perhaps a total daytime amount of 20-25ish. Nighttime he takes one (sometimes two on a bad night) - usually 4-5oz. So plenty definitely.

Milk has actually got a lot easier to give him (on most days). Hope I don't jinx that now! I did wonder about when to drop the AM bottle to stimulate some hunger. A close friend of mine who's LO is 2 months older had a problem with him eating and as soon as she dropped the bottle he started eating his lunch. Perhaps his little tummy can only take so much (especially with all that wind in there too!).

I can't remember when I dropped the AM bottle with DD. I think it was not long after she started nursery which was about 8-9 months. But like you she was an angel eater (and still is - her most used sentence is "mummy, I'm still hungry"!!!).

Some days I've not even bothered to try the food. Others I think, ok todays the day he'll get it and persevere with it. I think I am just desperate for him to eat more during the day to try and stop the 4hr NWs every night!

I keep trying to get a look in his mouth and even shone a tiny torch in there earlier to see if I could see the teeth. I can see one of the front teeth and the one beside it - you know when you can see the clear bit breaking through. The other front tooth - well , the gum is bulging white so no doubt enroute and about to make an entrance!

[~inbalance~]

Oh sweetie, you do know he could be eating great and still having horrific NWings, you just never know! 

Great news on the milk intake though.  He's at least getting enough in that respect which makes it easier to relax on the solids front.  I'm sure Liz and others could help you with dropping bottles over on bottle feeding when you get to that point.

[L76]

I think he'd need to be back taking some solids before I attempt to try and drop the night feeds. We are doing slightly better as not all NWs are fed now but he does still have one feed at least.

[~inbalance~]

Leanne, I was reading my baby/toddler nutrition book and saw a little blurb that stood out and reminded me of your thread.  Not sure if it would help, but here it is:
"Help for Gagging - Osteopathy can help with the premature or hyperactive gag reflex, which may have something to do with a forceps birth."
I can't remember if you tried osteopathy, but just thought I'd put it out there for you. 

[L76]

No forceps birth but I did wonder about trying osteopathy again. He had it when he was a few weeks old but not since. Wondered if it would help with the wind issues too?

[~inbalance~]

It did help with F's wind issues.  It's one of those things too that you might need to go a few times to see a difference.  I would definitely take R back.  Our osteopath always commented on how tight F's diaphragm was which was likely trapping wind.  He'd always get so many burps out of him!  Last time we went back he said it felt so much more relaxed than it had previously.