Author Topic: Gagging on any lump  (Read 4605 times)

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Offline Haribo2012

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Gagging on any lump
« on: August 10, 2016, 08:51:07 am »
Hi started DS2 on puree food 4 weeks ago and thought I'd move onto lumpier foods he's 6.5 months but he struggles with anything lumpy. He gags to the extreme that he vomits big style, I know it's not choking and gagging is normal but I wondered if this had anything to do with him being a reflux baby and whether it's better to take it slower and stick with smoother foods longer.

He always gagged on attempting a dummy too.
Zoe


Offline anna*

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2016, 08:54:44 am »
What if you skip lumpy foods and take a more BLW approach and give him bits of food to gum/chew on so he can take it at his own pace? FWIW Stan couldn't handle lumper foods until he had been on smooth purées for a while longer (Audrey wouldn't let me feed her baby foods at all).





Offline michaeljacknnugg

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2016, 09:09:27 am »
He needs to learn to manipulate food in his mouth, which will then allow him to chew and swallow the lumpier stuff. I'd recommend BLW too, I've not even had to think about lumps etc. I just gave him food and let him eat!
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Offline Haribo2012

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2016, 09:09:51 am »
I tried letting him have toast and banana to hold but he gagged on that too....he's a mystery to me this one ha ha! You think by number 2 you'd have the hang of it.

I'll try some soft veg sticks maybe and see what happens, part of me is a little nervous as the amount he sicks up when gagging is huge.xx
Zoe


Offline anna*

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2016, 09:11:59 am »
Yes, maybe very soft veg stocks so they will turn quickly to mush?





Offline Haribo2012

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2016, 09:31:19 am »
I'm ashamed to say I'm a bit scared...with all the reflux issues and him being happy now the puree seemed safe. I know that's not good to think like that and won't help him in the future though.

What veg is best, carrots....??

DS1 just ate everything from the off so I can't remember x
Zoe


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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #6 on: August 10, 2016, 09:33:13 am »
You could always wait a while and keep doing soft purees for now, there's no rush :-*
There must be *something* you can add to a very smooth puree to give it just the tiniest bit of texture. Something like polenta grains maybe?? That would make it just the slightest bit grainy, then you could take it from there?





Offline Haribo2012

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #7 on: August 10, 2016, 10:22:08 am »
He will eat porridge made quite thick and the baby one with Apple flavour has teeny bits in.

Thanks I'll keep trying and be back for inspiration xx
Zoe


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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #8 on: August 10, 2016, 11:01:17 am »
The other thing you could try is mixing some stage 2 food with the smoother stuff. And I'd keep giving him bits of food to hold - something like a pita bread stick?

If he's throwing up loads, could you maybe allow a little longer between his milk and his solids so his tummy is not so full?





Offline Haribo2012

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #9 on: August 10, 2016, 11:32:17 am »
Oooh thanks good ideas  :)
Zoe


Offline Lolly

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #10 on: August 10, 2016, 19:32:41 pm »
My two refluxers were awful gaggers too, they are both tongue tied too so I was never sure if it was the reflux or the ties. I had numerous incidents of gagging until they threw up- usually when it was just me there to clean up them and everything else ::)

I found banana was one of the worst things as it sticks to the roof of the mouth, one of the  organic baby biscuit things were awful too for the same reason ( Heinz biscotti I think!).

I did a mixture of puree and finger foods but I made the puree quite thick and moved to mashed foods fairly swiftly. I found the mashed texture better than foods with small lumps, some of the jarred baby foods were awful for bits which seems to make things worse. Mine both had things like broccoli in the early days as it was easy to hold. The did ok with toast and finger sandwiches and pasta always went down well. They used to like fingers of fruit too, pears were good and they used to suck all the flesh off fruit like plum and nectarines and have a handful of skin left.

The gagging stage didn't last too long with DS, with DD it took longer and she still has a bit of an issue with gagging now at 7.

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Offline Haribo2012

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #11 on: August 11, 2016, 05:45:46 am »
Thanks Laura, I'll brave it with some finger food I think. I did make his porridge thicker last night and he gagged and threw up but I just wiped him up and carried on lol. Don't think he likes much in his mouth.
Zoe


Offline creations

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #12 on: August 11, 2016, 07:06:24 am »
Have you tried the solid porridge fingers instead?
I never made them but they always seem to have a great following on BW and across parenting foodie sites etc.
Thing is with some LOs the thick mush sticks in the mouth and is harder to manipulate to push forward with their tongue so they might gag more, the lumpy food is a surprise and they are not sure how to deal with it so reject it or again gag as they are not manipulating the food in their mouth before it reaches the gag reflex.

Your LO is still very young and I don't see any harm in continuing puree a bit longer but it's recommended not to delay too much on the finger foods because of the various developments it helps and because some who stay on puree for a very long time then find it really hard to move on to proper meals.

Soft veg batons which pp suggested are firm enough for LO to pick up an manipulate in their hand and mouth so they have more control over it but also soft enough to squish into a mush in their mouth.  Steamed carrot, parsnip, celeriac, turnip, sweet potato and fruits such as apple and pear either lightly steamed (not too long or they fall apart!) or oven baked (better as the outside is drier to pick up but the inside is soft almost like puree), all these things served in large batons or wedges might be more preferable to lumpy foods.
Have you tried little pancakes?  It seems to be another fav amongst BLWers.  My DS ate loads of them.  Little fat ones like American or Scotch pancakes - self raising flour, egg, milk (or water if you are not doing milk) makes the basic batter but you can add apple puree or grated apple or carrot, whizzed bananas, all sorts really.  They are easy to pick up and not lumpy.


Offline Haribo2012

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #13 on: August 11, 2016, 08:39:32 am »
Thanks creations I'll check out the porridge fingers, he had quite thick porridge this morning and was fine, you can see him moving it around his mouth so he's getting the idea. DS1 was always so easy that I forgot how to do all this.

With the veg fingers do they need to kind of dissolve when they gum them?

He's come out with a cold today so might have had something to do with the puking so I'll prob try next week.

I only really started the puree a bit early as we have to come off reflux meds soon and was hoping some solids would help  ???
Zoe


Offline amayzie

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #14 on: August 11, 2016, 12:48:07 pm »
Hey hon- there are some super good suggestions here! I'm a speech path and the reflux history will make him a super cautious eater and gagger for sure! definitely not forcing things and taking it slowly is a good idea. Lots of playing with food, let your LO touch, squeeze and elf feed soft foods.

There are lots of kids/babies and even adults who actually skip the lumpy solids all together. It's actually a super weird consistency if you think about it- some bits smooth, some bits sort of lumpy... there are plenty of ADULTS who gag on this! Think yoghurt with soft fruity bits, rice pudding etc- lots of people self select not to have these so it's totally fine to move to soft finger foods as i think others have suggested.

Probably the most important thing with the whole thing is to keep it relaxed and fun, no pressure- let him get food on his hands, face, around the place- let him take control...
Katy, Mummy to Hamish!


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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #15 on: August 11, 2016, 12:49:24 pm »
With the veg fingers do they need to kind of dissolve when they gum them?
root veg will need to be cooked so that a fork goes right through easily rather than al dente I would say, just to avoid any harder bits, but it is not vital, with finger foods often they will just avoid or spit out the bits they don't like.
Mine really liked steamed asparagus, then green beans, they certainly do not dissolve when gummed but can be gnawed and sucked and generally stay enough together for LO to have a good go at them pulping them up before they try to swallow.  Sugar snaps and mange tout were harder and he still struggles at times now with them, there is a long stringy bit which can cause DS to gag at 5yo unless we remove it or cut it up into smaller pieces (which is then not really the sort of finger food you want for a 6 month old as it is more of a bit than a wedge).  Most kids seem to like chips - we oven bake various veg into "chips" which are great finger food (or potato wedges with skins left on)
You could try cooked apple or pear instead?
Apples are supposed to be brilliant for reflux although I thought they were quite acidic but it was more recently I discovered they are supposed to be good.

Mine couldn't have coped with dropping reflux meds at 6 months even though he was big on solids. I hope it doesn't cause any further problems.


Offline Haribo2012

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #16 on: August 11, 2016, 16:53:59 pm »
Thanks some great suggestions  :)

Weaning is exciting but yes coming of meds scares me, we are dropping the dose rather than cold turkey as paed suggested and GP is supporting us, so by time we give it up totally he should be about 9 months.
Zoe


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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #17 on: August 11, 2016, 18:00:21 pm »
Sorry you prob already worked out how you want to proceed with meds wean and possibly had another thread but if it's ranitidine you are dropping I would suggest dropping a whole dose (if you do 2 per day now to drop to 1 per day) rather than a reduction in each dose, it's just from my experience plus what I read plus advice here, a slow wean of Ran doesn't work very well.


Offline Haribo2012

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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #18 on: August 11, 2016, 18:06:09 pm »
No it's omeprazole and gp said there is no evidence either way but others have said you can get acid rebound.
Zoe


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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #19 on: August 11, 2016, 18:14:24 pm »
Ah ok. I think I read omeprazole is easier on a slow wean but can't be sure. The rebound certainly comes with the Ran though.


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Re: Gagging on any lump
« Reply #20 on: August 11, 2016, 19:18:35 pm »
Hate reflux....I've halved his dose over the last month by 0.5 ml every 2 weeks and I think we get a few days of slight rebound but he copes ok then it settles.

I'm avoiding acid type foods and some fruit purée haven't been great but nothing as bad as I thought x
Zoe