bite, chew, swallow, repeat...

when do they stop stuffing and stuffing and stuffing their mouths? ivana starts off by taking nice small bites, but eventually just tries to shove it all in her mouth. marina doesn't waste time and just shoves it all in right away. they both end up gagging and spitting everything out and then not wanting anymore, cuz it (the food) made them gag

i keep saying, "finish what's in your mouth first" and hold their hand with the food down, but it's not working.

 

Oh yeah Maia does this too, I was told that because they have low muscle tone it is easier for them to chew when they have full mouths.

Do they poop things out whole too?

 

Conner fills his mouth SO full that he has to usually hold his hand in front of it while chewing so that the food doesn't fall out! EVERYONE comments on it & my MIL panics EVERY time that he's going to choke. I think we're just so used to it & he's never choked, so we don't worry as much. However, he never gags...which is shocking since he's such a gaggy kid.

And, yes, Cohlee, things come out whole for him, too . Interesting about the muscle tone....where did you hear that? I'd love to tell my MIL that, but I know she'll google it & want more info !

 

the thing is, is that if i feed them (which is usually), i give them "normal size" bites, and they *seem* to chew it up just fine. i haven't seen whole things in their poops, but i just gotta say that the pulp from the mandarin oranges comes out in their poop and it's SO GROSS!!! lol

 

I've noticed mine tend to stuff smaller bits (like Cheerios, small pieces of toast, etc.) into their mouths - but if the bites are a bit bigger, they aren't as likely to stuff. And you are right, the mandarin oranges in poop are disgusting!! :bad:

 

Mine do this, too. And neither of them are great about taking small bites off a larger piece, so I thought I'd try to teach them....I bought those fruit ropes made by Clif (like fruit leather, but in twisty rope form), and gave each kid a large piece. They both just shoved the whole things in before I could even do anything, and we had a major gagging/choking episode.

I pretty much cut everything into small bites, and then sit there right next to them while they eat, sometimes taking the plate away if they go too fast. Or, I just feed it myself...(although I'm trying to force myself to do this less).

 

Mine do this too. Sometimes I make them show me that their mouth is empty before I let them take another bite. I also hate when they hand me the wad of nasty food they gagged on and say "Mommy its too much!" and then they don't want to eat anymore. I wish I had some advice for you, but we are still dealing with it so I'm sure my advice is no good.

 

I just wish mine would eat enough that would equal an entire "mouthful"!
I actually just sit right next to them and give them only a couple peices of food at a time and when they have eaten that I give them a few more peices. If I put an entire meal in front of them an entire meal ends up on the floor. sigh....

 

My DS did this with fruit one day and gagged on it. Since then he's rarely stuffed his mouth. DH and I usually will try to show them by us taking only one piece and eating it. It has not stopped the behavior totally but it has reduced it.

 

J does the same thing and sometimes has to hold his hand in front of his mouth. R will half way chew something up and then decide to take it out of her mouth to look at it and then decide she doesn't want it anymore. :bad:

And, yes, I hate Mandarin oranges in the poop!

 

I remember MANY times coaching Jacob through snacks and meals: "Chew and swallow.... then you can have more." I would demonstrate it and believe it or not, he actually did seem to understand, in that specific moment. It does get better over time (as with everything!), but my boys will still sometimes do the chew-up-spit-out-and-hand-to-Mommy routine.