Infant Not Swallowing Her Food

Updated on June 29, 2010
A.D. asks from Monroe, GA
7 answers

I have a 10 month old and she is starting on table food. We are having a problem getting her to actually swallow the food. She only has her front teeth so she nibbles a bit, but does not swallow. Moments later I find the chicken we gave her in the side of her mouth just mushed up. Is this normal and how do I get her to swallow?

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T.J.

answers from Fort Walton Beach on

10 months might be a little young for chicken. Since I do not know her eating habits, I'll tell you about our son.

Our DS started about one year old on table food. He had a hard time with the textures of regular table food. He was fine with chunky baby food and would eat that with no problems. It took over a month just to get him to eat soft table food. He would literally gag on the food... he just couldn't take the texture for some reason. We just kept offering it.

Keep feeding her the baby food and slowly introduce the table food. Make the baby food as the main meal and the table food as a "side", something she can play with and touch while you are feeding her. She will eventually figure it out.

Good luck :)

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P.M.

answers from Portland on

She's not equipped with enough teeth yet to shred or mash meat well enough to make it safe to swallow. I think this natural reluctance to swallow solids that many babies experience protects them from choking. Give her softer foods that she can safely mash with her gums. To start with, use ground meats or cut tender meats into very thin slices across the grain, so there are no long shreds that could give her trouble.

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A.D.

answers from Portland on

At this age, we were pureeing her meat (use more water than with veggies while pureeing meat) and mixing it with pureed peas and carrots (she LOVED it). Just make sure to add A LOT of water so it doesn't get all dry and crumbly!

At this age, she really is too young for meat chunks. Especially if she only has her front teeth. If I rememeber correctly, our little one wasn't eating meat chunks easily until she got her 1 year molars. Now that she's got her canines at two years, she's a pro.

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J.B.

answers from Houston on

I didn't actually introduce meats to my first until after his one year bday. I just continued to use the puree baby food meats. He is still not a huge meat eater. At that age I did mashed banana, yogurt, and baby food. You can cook veggies really soft and mash them up, you can do mashed potatoes. But 10 months is still really young and breast milk or formula is still a huge part of their nutrition. If you want to give more fresh food, a blender works great. I used to give my son this brand of yogurt that had really big chunks of fruit. I would just run it through the blender and it was perfect. There is no rush on table food. Better to ere on the side of caution I say. If any part of you feels a hesitancy, that is probably your mamas intuition. Some babies eat a lot of table food at a young age, but I held off and my three year old is a pro at eating today:)

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D.S.

answers from Tulsa on

if she has no teeth I would only give her hamburger and cooked vegtables and pasta. tuna would be ok. but I would limit it at that

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S.R.

answers from McAllen on

Dear A.
My kid used to store food like he was a hamster jajajajaja, but I started giving him a bit of water and mash his foods a wee bit more, and that solved the problem.

Hope you find this helpful, good luck!

M.P.

answers from Provo on

I give my 8 month old water to drink while he eats table food (he refuses puree's but will eat chunks). That way she has a texture she is more used to. After a while she'll get it. Oh don't use a sippy, use a plastic cup or something and help her drink. That way you know she has some water and not just playing with it like my son tends to do. That and learning how to drink out of a cup is better for babies.

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