Concerned About My 15Th Month Old Still Only Eating Pureed/baby Food

Someone asked something similar recently, and it was some disorder the child had with avoiding the textures. You might talk to the pediatrician to rule that out. Since you have twins, could it be she was a preemie? Then it might just be her time line. I wouldn't worry too much about it if she is showing tendencies to want to eat it herself (grabbing handfuls or trying to use the spoon herself).

While I don't have any suggestions for you in getting your baby to eat "solid" foods I *do* know of a class at CPMC that I plan to take. My 4 year old has eating/food issues and I want to prevent this in my 1 year old

Planting Seeds for a Lifetime of Healthy Eating for Toddlers and Preschoolers
A workshop for parents of toddlers and preschoolers to learn skills for: helping children establish lifelong healthy eating habits, meeting the nutritional needs of children, making easy and nourishing meals for the whole family, establishing a good emotional relationship with food, and avoiding battles around the dinner table.

Wednesday, May 20
9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.
$30
Location: Women's Health Resource Center at California Pacific Medical Center
3698 California Street, Lobby Level
San Francisco
Call ###-###-#### for more information.

Hi N.,
My son was the same way. We would joke that he would need to take baby food to school. He was unable to eat anything lumpy. Just keep giving her strained food. Still give crackers ans cereal and let her self feed those. Every kid is different and you don't have to do the toddler stage of lumpy food. Eventually she will want to try more big people food around two and a half. My son will be 19 years old in two weeks and he has been eating very well since age three. So just keep offering big people food that she can eat off the tray. Cereal, crackers, cheese, fruit snacks and as long as she has no physical problems it will be alright. I am an old Mom of 3. 27, 18, and 11, I also have two Grandchildren and another one on the way, so there is a little bit of experience talking. Good luck and I know your discomfort in the whole highchair tray of BARF. Try not to worry and both of you will be fine. :)

Hi N.,
My son, who is now 22 months old, also had problems with solid foods in the beginning. He would gag on the chunks, too. I think some babies just have a more sensitive gag reflex and develop the ability to chew and swallow solids later than other babies. I really wouldn't worry. You can't always follow text book guidelines as to when a baby should start doing something. I say feed her what works for her and what she's comfortable with. My son now eats solids but even so, there are still times when something is too big or he can't chew it well enough and the gagging thing happens again.
(Have you tried feeding them avacado? It's soft, easy to eat and very healthy for them. My son loves it!)

Best of luck to you and your little ones! Try to make meal time pleasant for everyone involved. ;)

E.

Don't worry, my daughter preferred pureed foods through 18 months and then switched to regular food. I was worried too, but everyone told me she would eventually switch and she did!

The first line of digestion occurs in the mouth, where the saliva/chewing help to break down food into chyme paste, where it can them be swallowed.

There might be an issue with not enough saliva. One sign might be cracked lips or at corners of mouth..
There are some reasons for reduced saliva:
Not enough vit A,
an increased metabolism,
smoking inside the household,
being on prescription medications.

Giving lemon juice or honey before a meal can increase saliva. You can try that and see if it helps.

Magnesium is a common deficiency. It is hard to find a body system not affected by a magnesium deficiency and it includes the nervous and digestive system. Lack of appetite, vomiting, agression (as some have said) unstable blood sugar levels,headaches, and more are magnesium deficiency symptoms. Salmon, baked halibut, and brocoli are good sources, as is Dimagnesium Malate, which is a chelated form that the body can use because it is recongnized as food. Another option is Fluvic acid (not folic acid)which has magnesium in it, in an ionic form that can easily pass to cell membranes. It also had 60 other trace minerals in it. I highly recommend it. It is a fairly tasteless liquid, which makes it easy to give. You can find it online or at the health food store.

Another thought is, there could be a food allergy. My nephew threw/spit up alot when he ate. By the time he was 4, they FINALLY narrowed it down. A food allergy to apples, and another food I can't remember right now. Glossitis, (a swollen tounge) can contribute to not being able to swallow, and can be caused by food allery, dehydration, or vitamin deficiencies like Vit B/E/Zinc/Iron.

It could be due to not being able to chew:
fungal infection in the mouth (white tounge),
tonsilitis, ulcers, infections, glossitis.

I would consider starting to look for a medical reason for this. Online searches might help. If symptoms persist, and you get nowhere with a standard medical doctor consider someone who might think outside the box. Dr Graeme Shaw in Los Altos ###-###-#### uses western and eastern approaches, and standard and natural methods. There is another doctor in Redwood City, his name is in my file, and still another in concord ,John Toth ,###-###-#### that you could call and see if they can help you. I haven't used any of them but they are specialists in chronic illness, and they think outside the box.

Keep looking for answers, ask God for knowledge, direction and insight, he gives it to all who ask. God bless you,
Gail

Our 2-1/2 year old experiences the same thing. He came to us through foster care last May, and we have adopted him since. But he has tactile defensiveness, so he doesn't deal with certain textures very well. He has gotten a lot better through occupational therapy, but there are still things he struggles with. We just have to watch for the gagging, and help him to understand that he needs to chew. He has had a lot of difficulty with chewing and knowing how to use his tongue the right way to push food over to his teeth to chew. I'm sure if you talk to your pediatrician, they might be able to help you, and even recommend someone that can further help.

Does your daughter have her first molars in yet? I noticed that it was after my son's first molars came in that he was more interested in eating non-pureed foods. One meal he especially liked in the beginning was when I took a can of Trader Joe's organic vegetable and lentil soup, heated it up with half a can of water, some rice (could be just cooked or leftover), and ground turkey. He also started munching on apple slices or asian pear slices.

I've seen other friends' children eating mainly pureed baby foods after 1 year of age too, so it may not be too much of a concern...it may be that each child is at a different pace when it comes to moving beyond the pureed stuff.

I have twins too (b/g) and my son was the same way as your daughter. They were preemies and it was definitely a texture/tactile thing. He still has issues as of today with textures and tactile things and he is almost 5. Every so often he will still spit food out due to texture. He had speach delay issues as well and has a cross bite (from the pacifier), all of which have played a role in this other issue. I say, give it until 18 months and if she doesn't change slowly by then, definitely talk to you pediatrician and pursue some therapy for it. Also, keep a look out for speech delay as well, they tend to go hand and hand, based on what our speech therapist told us.