Help Needed for 14Month Old Still Drinking a Bottle and Eating Baby Food

He may have some delays or may just be on his own time table. As far as the bottle goes, I gave my little boy a sippy cup of juice/water at that age but he wouldn't take milk from a cup until like 17 months or so. Mine made tons of sounds and said a few things like bye bye or mommy and then around 18 months some kind of flood gate opened and his talking really started to take off. My son seemed on slow side for talking at first and now at 2 he talks more than some kids older than him! I did have a good friend who's son only did this army crawl thing and then walked around 16 months, he is 7 today and doing great, super smart:) As far as the eating thing goes, I think just keep trying to introduce things like applesauce or maccaroni, soft things and he will probably take off in a few more months. 14 months is still really young, if you feel the need to get him evaluated or anything that's great but he may just need a little more time:) Kids are really different and he might just be on his own little schedule.

One thing to remember is that sippy cups require, for the most part, a lot of sucking to get anything out- way more than a bottle. So it may be really hard for him to get anything out of them. You might try giving him the sippy without the rubber part in it. I know it can make a big mess, but it may make it easier for him. We had to do this with my oldest because he didn't understand that he had to suck really hard on the cup to get anything out.

If your son has developmental delays, then comparing him to a child without delays won't give you an accurate picture of what he should be doing. Have you talked to his pediatrician about any of this?

As for the cup, I used the Nuby cups first since they have the soft nipples on them. My son is a year old and just transitioned to a little harder spout (although, he still won't drink from the hard plastic ones or through a straw). Maybe you could try the Nuby and see if he'll take that just to get him off of the bottle and work your way up like we did.

As for the food, my son isn't great about food either. He eats a few things (bread, cheese, plain pasta and snack foods), but he basically refuses to try anything new anymore. I still have to give him stage 2 fruit and veggies because the only fruit he will eat is banana and he won't eat any vegetables at all. I just keep putting things on his tray and hope that at some point, he will just eat it. I've been frustrated by it because for awhile, he wouldn't eat the baby food either, but you just do what you can. Keep giving him some small pieces of food to try to self feed and he'll get there eventually. You can't force them to eat, so you just have to wait for them to do it!

If you are overly concerned and your pediatrician also feels like there are delays, I would contact ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) and have him evaluated. The earlier you can get him some help (speech and occupational therapy may be helpful, although my son is 13 months and only says mama, dada and uh oh, so he probably isn't that far behind in the speech...boys just take awhile!), the better off he will be and the more opportunity he will have to overcome his issues. Good luck!

You may want to ask your Pedi about getting speech therapy referral they specialize in feeding and swallowing issues and could give you some help.

find a developmental pediatrician and eci is another good suggestion. (IMO, don't use TCH)

i agree with what was said about eci and it sounds like your son might have sensory intergration issues alot of what you are saying about him sounds like what i went through with my now 8 year old

I have a son with autism. He had a bad gag reflex too. He had trouble latching on when I was breast feeding him and that was only the start of his problems. He did not say his first real word til he was 3 years old. Your child may just be taking his time, but don't just wait and see. Go to someone who is really experienced with learning delays. There are a few things to look for like lack of pointing, poor eye contact and inablitliy to play with toys approapriately. Not all kids that are delayed have autism. Go to a Yahoo group and search for leaning delays and you may be able to find someone that is really liked to take your child to. Don't let anyone be mean to your precious baby.
Good luck Amber. It is hard, but he may just be not interested in doing stuff yet. It is good that you are aware though as it would be awful to overlook it and find a problem later.

they have sippy cups that are more like bottles with a soft top. try those first. if you think he has developmental delays then he might be right on track and you dont need to push him. if you think hes just being spoiled thats different. talk to your doctor.

Let him keep the bottle--let him eat what he eats. Don't make it a fight, especially if there's a developmental issue. Get suggestions from ECI about what your first focus should be. Good luck--hope this helps!

Hi Amber,
I would not make too much of that. I would not rush him into the sippy cup- apparently he still needs his bottle for security. Let him have it- but keep offering the cup to him. Put it on his tray when he eats and offer it to him several times a day with something other than milk- let it sit around where he can see it so he will become accumstumed to it....he will gradually get rid of his bottle and take the cup.
The stage two food is easier for him to swallow- so keep feeding him all he will eat. Gradually offer him things he can pick up with his fingers- chicken nuggets, ff-green beans- dry cereal-(cherios) grapes etc- then gradually switch him to other foods ......it is not that important that he advance "like the book says". Just offer him things and let him tell you when he is ready.
good luck and blessings

Crawling and babbling at 14 months is not outside the norm. Boys especially are not particularly verbal early on. If your pediatrician is concerned, get ECI. Otherwise, he doesn't sound very behind the curve.

Oral motor skills delays and other delays like that could be a sign of Sensory Processing Disorder. My son has it but not necessarily with those particular problems. When he was a toddler he did have particular textures he would not eat. I have known a friend who had to take her son to a therapist to help him learn to eat. Have you seen him gagging or pushing the food out when he tries whole food? Or does he just refuse to eat it? If he is gagging you should check into SPD. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about it. Good luck. :)

Hi Amber!

I don't have a lot of advice except to say that kids do things when they are ready and the more you push something, the more they will resist (imagine how it will be when they are teenagers! Auugh!). My daughter drank her bottle until she was almost two. I didn't try to get her to give it up (she's my second and last and if she wanted to stay a baby a little bit longer, it's all good). One day she wanted a sippy at the store with her favorite Dora character and was able to let me know so I got rid of the bottles. She is almost three and still likes baby food too. She eats other food too and really only has baby food a couple times a week but it's really not a problem. I would talk to your pediatrician about how to introduce other solids but I'm sure he won't head to kindergarten drinking bottles and eating baby food. Try not to stress and good luck to you!

You need to refer your child to ECI Early Childhood Intervention, you can call your pedi and get the number and make the referral yourself. They have therapists that will come into your home and help you help your son meet his developmental milestones. They can also help with the cup drinkng and eating! My son receives services from ECI and I work for them as well. If you need any help with the referral or have any questions feel free to email me at ____@____.com and I'll be happy to help u out

Hi Amber, I would consider Occupational Therapy for the gag relex. Maybe he will grow out of it but I personally am not one to wait. I like to do as much as I can when I feel like I have a problem on my hands. Not everyone agrees with this approach so do what's best for you. My girlfriend has a daughter who is now 18 months old. At the same age, her daughter had a serious gag relex and would eat nothing other than baby food as well. She started her in Occpational Therapy and her daughter has responded very well! Eating table food now! Good luck to you. The OT might have some insight on the slightly delayed motor skills as well. My son went to an OT for a year for something totally unrelated and he has come so far! I'm a believer. Anyway, if you want to do this, get a "prescription for evaluation" from your pediatrician. Then you can contact an OT to schedule an evaluation. It can take a month to get in, I might add. Lastly, I highly recommend using a big gym environment vs. an individual who comes to your house.

My son is fourteen months old with no developmental delays and he still takes a bottle. I don't think that is an idicator of anything. And he doesn't talk yet either. He says maybe three or four words, Mama, Dada, ball... that's about it. And my nephew didn't walk until he was fifteen months old.

I'm not saying your son isn't delayed, I'm just trying to reassure you that he is not outside the realm of normal.

Now, my little boy does eat. He LOVES to eat. And he can drink out of a straw, but he doesn't really like a sippy cup. I would say try a straw or a different style of cup.

As far as eating I think I would just take normal table food and mash it up as much as possible and gradually make it thicker and thicker. Maybe once he is used to the taste you can get him used to the texture.

Otherwise (and I haven't read the other responses), talk to your ped. I'm sure he or she would have some great advice.

Amber,

If your son is just now crawling you need to get him the assistance of Early Childhood Intervention---ASAP. This is all free thru the state and it will make 100% difference in assisting him to reach his greatest potentional. If you do not know who would provide this in your area then call your local school district--they can get you what company would provide service. Do not delay !!!!

Hi Amber,
My daughter drank a bottle till about 14 months her choice. We would give into her cries, but the doctor just told us it would take a couple days of her crying and her realizing that sippy cups were good. We bought a few different kinds and found the ones that she liked and used them as, wow your a big girl now! Get the cute pictures of cartoons he likes, tries the ones with straws and without and suffer the cries as painful as they maybe and just realize they will only last few days but the bottles will be gone. It worked for us.

I hope this helps. Good luck.