still struggling with chunker solids

Hey all,

I was wondering if you ladies could post suggestions. My two are still struggling with chunky food. They will eat puffs and those things, but if I try chunky jar food or even our food they wont eat it. They even turn there noses up to cottage cheese. I guess they I'd love to hear of what foods you started with. I know there was a list in first year but I can't find it now, and the links in second year all seem to be posted for older toddlers.

TIA

 

You know I have a similar problem with my guys, especially Eli, when the foods are soupy. He hates that kind of texture. Even yogurt with fruit bits in it, is a problem. He somehow manages to swallow all of the yogurt, and spit out the bits.

He'll eat regular solids, including bits of meat, but doesn't like chunky/soupy foods. I think it's the combination of textures that is hard for them.

 

Here is the link from FYStarting solids
Have you tried smoothies? I started with cheerios and puffs..then moved on to small sized bites of people food (like peas, green beans, etc).

 

Thanks for the replies so far. I should mention that DD now tends to gag on the bits of food and makes herself throw up. I seem to be growing more frustrated by the day. Please clarify something for me. I'm afraid to give them bread and rice, as to me these would cause them to choke. Am I wrong? I've heard of people given their LO's toast, but I've never tried it. What I'm doing right now to try to curb this, is that I'm mixing a little oat or wheat cereal with their jarred food. I'm leaving it chunkier than usual. I'm just really struggling with the chunky next stage foods or even table foods. They will eat a tiny bit and then refuse it.

I haven't tried smoothies yet, but will look some up. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for the link from FY.

 

Someone here...I think becky5 suggested just switching over to all solid foods and working on the chunky/soupy stuff later.

My boys eat regular solids fine (I usually cut it into small pieces.)--they eat toast, chicken nuggets, corn, peas, and a bunch of other regular foods without problems. The only texture they have a problem with is the mixed texture that you are talking about. If they can eat Puffs and cheerios, they can probably eat toast.

 

Mine dont like chunky things either and are still on pureed food. However, I puree less and less and they seem to cope with what Im throwing at them as long as it isnt too chunky. Mine also eat puffs and bread no problem. DD will eat melon but will spit out the bits she´s chewed off! LOL! I guess they´ll get there in their own time. They eat yogurts with bits in so I guess they are making progress! <_<

 

I think you are doing the right thing, thickening up the purees with oats & cereal. Mine never had trouble with rice or toast, so it might be worth a try for you to see how they handle it.

 

All 3 of my kiddos gagged and freaked with stage 3 food. We just bailed and did stage 2 and table food. They still don't like chunks in yogurt. They think if it is on a spoon it should be smooth. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

You might try the small curd cottage cheese, I think there is both large & small... Also, have you done cheerios? we started those pretty early, mainly for hand/eye control, but they will do those pretty well.

What about thin banana slices? or thin/small avocado chunks - very ripe/mushy ones. I still like to slice the fruit I give to them fairly thin, even though the rest of the chunk is about 1" square, but its only about 1/8" to 1/4" thick. Seems that if its thicker they don't chew it well, or gag or spit it out...

Also, making lentils is pretty easy, I mix lentils & cottage cheese sometimes... or yogurt. We still do the whole milk yogurt quite a bit.

for breakfast I make a mixture of 1/2 oats with 1/2 of this mix of barley/millet/quinoa/lentils and some chopped up veggies in there while it cooks. we mix in some yogurt and add flax meal on top. you can make it as thick or soupy as you need. I don't really consider it a "baby food"... as we like to have oatmeal in the mornings... I just try to make theirs full of more nutrition by adding all the exras.

Be careful of adding too many grains/breads at once, I know around a year I started adding in grilled cheese sandwiches and other breads etc, and the babies got constipated...

 

I just came here myself looking for food advice! My two eat toast and rice all the time. It's all they seem to care for. In the morning I give them toast with cream cheese and sneak in avocado or grilled cheese. They eat cheerios, dried fruit, cookies, melba toast and muffins. They will not eat much else without a fight. I spend hours cooking and trying different recipes and they throw things on the floor and look at it in disgust. The food I make is chunkier style...chicken soup, lentil soup, Italian meatball soup but they will only eat it if Baby Einstein is on. Some days they will hold a banana and eat it, other days it ends up on the floor. I am forever experimenting with their food and have offered them everything. I have no idea what the heck to do about this feeding business. Everyone I talk to has no idea what I'm going through since their kids eat everything.

 

your not alone, my two are 15 months and we are still on purree's its been a struggle since we tried they choke and gag on any solids and we have a specialist to help us work on it---the waiting list for a feeding clinic is 4 months its a daily struggle and seeing other toddlers same age eating hamburgers and everything else is yes very frustrating!
have you tried the mesh feeders? we had no luck but you might since yours eat puff's.

 

one of my girls has a breathing issue due to a traumatic birth, and its really done a number on her gag reflex. I waited to give them solids until they were almost a year old because of a multitude of food allergies, prematurity (6 weeks), and lack of teeth (they are coming in slooooowly). So we finally got them to eat a bit of pureed stuff and they gag on it. One finally started to eat it but very limited. The other, the one with the gagging issues, would just gag and throw up, then she'd turn her nose up to it. I can't offer the same thing, same color, or texture for a day or two because she'll not want it.

They are now 19 months old and with a set of molars on top at least, they are able to eat chunkier baby foods, but she still gags on a lot of things. So what she will eat is very limited, and how much she eats is maybe half of her servings. She drinks a lot of breastmilk and cows milk when she doesn't get enough in and I've felt like this contributes to her appetite being diminished for her table foods. I've tried witholding the milk until after she eats and it improves a little bit, but not as much as her sister. I have also tried limiting their milk intake (one breastfeeds and gets no cows milk so I just nurse her AFTER her meals), but they still don't chow down like others.

We also had an issue with not having a kitchen table for a while. And we have two different high chairs where one sits higher then the other. We put our little gagging girl in the higher up one so she feels she has more control over her food and what she sees. We also have a kitchen table and are trying to eat more meals together as a family (they LOVE that and would rather NOT be the only ones eating).

It just seems to be taking time and since they were 6 months old they have also been very anemic. I think the one whose eating more is much better (she's way pinker) but the one who gags may still have an issue. So for us, its an issue that's gotten worse and hasn't really gotten any better. I too want to get a therapist or something - her gagging/breathing issue has been an issue when she was trying to breastfeed and that's why I ended up pumping for her.

I'm glad we aren't the only ones...

 

We had to skip stage 3 chunky foods. Mason would just spit out the pieces and Logan would gag and spit it all out or throw up the first time he hit a chunk. I did what you are doing by adding the cereals to the purees. At some point though I think it tasted more like the cereal than the puree and they quit eating it. We had good luck with puffs, crunchies, cheerios and goldfish. They also ate small bites of banana, avocado, sweet potatoes and canned or jarred soft diced fruits. I put a few things in the food processor during the transition (like green beans) to make them chunkier. That seemed to be ok because it was all chunky. Fish sticks was an early meat for them because they are pretty mushy. Pasta (even overcooked) is supposed to be a good starter too, but I have one that still won't eat it.

Good luck - feeding time is still our biggest battle and it's still a guessing game as to who will eat what and for how long.