12 month old choking on everything except stage 2 baby food

[bonniejo80]

My daughter will be a year old in one week. She has only just now got the hang of eating stage 2 baby food without gagging or choking. I have tried mashed potatoes (still chokes), scrabbled egg, rice husks, teething cookies, and the toddler yogurt bites. She will gag or choke on anything but the baby food. She was a preemie (32 wks) but her DR said she still should be eating more variety of solid food. He said that since she has no problem with fluids, that she shouldn't need a swallow study done. She has 2 top and 2 bottom teeth but she doesn't really chew anthing. I am scared to give her anything. At this point, there is no way I can give her a piece of birthday cake unless I blend it. She chokes and I have to finger swipe the piece of food out of her mouth because she turns red and cant breath. What do I do?!

[Buntybear]

Hi, I am going to move your post over to Eating for Toddlers. x

[Canwi]

Is she able to feed herself anything?  I know you mentioned teething biscuits - did she hold them herself?  Does she ever gum any toys or put things in her mouth herself?

[amayzie]

Hi Hon- Look that sounds really scary for you!! Choking is scary and can be really scary for your LO! I'm a paediatric speech pathologist in my job- so have some experience with what you describe.

The fact that the doctor said that you didn't need a swallowing study done because she can swallow fluids confuses me a little. Often babies can swallow fluids- but have issues with lumpy textures and other more complex foods. The fact that your LO was preemie means that she is at risk for having feeding issues as you describe- and may need more direct support in real life. I would suggest seeing if you can get an assessment by a speech pathologist (or Speech- language pathologist..) that specialises in baby feeding issues. As well as your LO being more at risk because her physical skills might be not up with her peers- but also as a result of the different invasive treatments that she may have had in the NICU. Just by being inutbated- or having a feeding tube they can become sort of wary of things in their mouths- hypersensitive we call it. THis can mean that they are then extra sensitive to different textures in foods and can choose to only have foods they feel safe with. The fact that she has been having some choking incidents may be contributing to this aswel.

Some ways you can help her before you see a speech pathologist:
- See if she can feed herself finger foods. If she is in control she may feel more comfortable and be keener to try new foods
- Try to do some oral play- so things like getting her to hold a washer in her teeth and pull against it like a tug of war, encourage her to crawl around with toys or cloths in her mouth, encourage her to play with toys in her mouth. THis can help her to become less sensitive.
- See if she'll eat foods that wil dissolve easily- things like cereal puffs, - cheese and bacon balls we recommend for older children..

Try to remain calm yourself- especially if she gags- gagging is a learning thing that all children do and is not the same as choking. Choking is when the food gets stuck and she can't breathe. This is of course a really serious situation- but trying to remain calm is also important here too- you want her to have positive mealtime associations...

Does this make sense? I really do suggest that you see a speech pathologist for a review as with her history it may not 'get better' on it's own... I'm not suggesting that it's an indication of a wider developmental issue- it may just be related to her eating and the experiences she had as a little bubba..