11 Month Old

Even if you daughter doesn't have any teeth, she can still eat stage 3 or soft table food, they say you don't need teeth to chew. My son had a huge texture problem and he had teeth. We had problems with him accepting stage 3 and table food, you just have to keep on offering, make sure you give her little pieces and she will get it sooner or later. Good luck!

My son got his teeth pretty late too. He got 1-4 between 11&12 monthes and then nothing for the longest time. He's 2 years + now and still doesn't have his eye teeth or his 2 year molars. Thick food used to make him gag. And wow, if there was even the littlest chunk of noodle or something it wasn't pretty. So I backed off and made the transition to table food very gradual. First just baby food thickened with cereal that gradually got thicker. Then Gerber stages 3rd foods and finger foods like puffs that he could control himself. He was slower getting to the table food than most and he's still super picky, but be patient it'll happen when she ready. Oh, I did give him toddler formula from 12-18monthes. He couldn't/wouldn't eat much table food so I wanted to make sure he was getting proper nutrition.

If she doesn't have teeth, she does need smoothly pureed food. If you want to start giving her real food as opposed to single baby food, you can get a little baby food mill (OneStepAhead.com $15 for a white hand crank mill) and grind some of your table food for her.

You could always just call a speech therapist & see if they have any suggestions. One of the things they're trained to do is help with textural/swallowing issues.

Don't worry about it she just might not be ready for it yet. And if she doesn't have any teeth that makes it even harder. My 16 month old is still eating pureed food as her molars are just now coming in. She does eat some 'real' food but it took her a long time to figure out she had to chew before swallowing.

I am wondering what you mean by "trouble". My son had trouble with lumps or foods with inconsistent textures. We saw a speech therapist at 16 months and they determined that he had a muscular issue with his tongue so he was unable to move the food to the sides and it would get caught in the gag reflex area causing him to vomit frequently. As a result, my son developed extreme food aversions that we are still struggling with at age 4. Any way, not sure how big an issue you are experiencing but if you want to talk to someone who has been living with this and some of the support and medical help I have found please feel free to contact me. Beth

I agree with the poster who said, 'Sometimes it just takes longer...' My little guy had texture issues until after his first birthday. He may have been 15 months or so before we could succesfully feed him chunky foods. It took him a while to figure it out; now he is 23 months and eats like a champ. It will happen in due time. Pureed or chunky, she is still getting the nutrition that she needs.

Keep mashing the food, and talk with your doctor. Sometimes it just takes longer, and especially if she doesn't have teeth. She has to do all the mashing with her gums! That's hard. :)