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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Table That For Now


My little tiny bebe went to her 9 month check up at the doctor's last week and the doctor suggested that it is time to transition to a "toddler diet" which would mean cut/mashed up table food for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks. Currently, our baby is eating oatmeal cereal twice a day with a baby food fruit or vegetable and nursing in between. I have tried giving her small pieces of Puffs on two different occasions and both times she gagged, the second time she threw up enough to soak her outfit. Our doctor suggested mashed soft fruits and small pieces of pancakes and waffles for a start. I also have a food mill which I can use to pulverize things into baby consistency.

Yesterday I decided to try putting a banana in the food mill and giving it to her with her oatmeal in the morning. She recognized it as foreign right away and refused to swallow. Finally I did get her to swallow it despite the terrified look on her face and some whimpering. When I tried to sneak a second bite in with a spoonful of oatmeal she was not having any of it. She just cried and held it in her mouth. When she finally swallowed, she then wouldn't open up to eat any more of her oatmeal. I had to take her out of her high chair, calm her down, and slowly sneak little bits of oatmeal in her mouth to show her it was just oatmeal until she finally ate the rest of it.

I decided that maybe she was expecting her usual baby food fruits for breakfast and was resistant because the banana was something unexpected (though she has eaten baby food bananas, so all I can surmise is that it was the slightly thicker texture). So after her morning nap I decided I would make some pancakes. I put a tiny bit of butter and syrup on one of the pancakes to make sure it was delicious, then put it through the food mill. Sure enough when I fed her the teeniest tiniest little mushed up bite she instantly got that terrified look on her face and started crying while trying to get the pancake mush out of her mouth. I attempted to retrieve it for her but that scared her more. Eventually she gagged and threw up all over herself. Super.

So I am going AMA, and table-ing table food for another month. Say what you will about age, this girl is not ready for table food. Everything I've read suggests she can eat small bites of meat, cheese, breads, and well-cooked fruits, veggies, and pastas. I'm pretty sure she would absolutely choke if I gave her any of those things. In addition to her terror, followed by gagging and throwing up when I've tried to give her tiny morsels, she also is not interested in putting any of those things in her mouth when I've offered them to her. She doesn't try to eat my food or really put any small things in her mouth. She can pick things up with her pincer grasp, but she really does seem to think that these things are not food when I put them in her mouth rather than showing interest in tasting and eating them. So rather than adhering to the medical milestone markers, we're moving forward at the baby's pace.

I would love to hear your stories about transitioning to table food and what you've tried (successfully or not) with your own babies! It's always good to know I'm not alone, and maybe get some new tricks to try... when the time is right, of course :)

2 comments:

  1. I would say that this is far from abnormal at this age. We were really "on schedule" with Lucy and she was eating fine, but she's pretty picky now. Molly thought baby food was just weird and refused to eat anything until about 8/9 months. Even then it was only what she could snag off our plates. She never really cared for pureed stuff and would rather have just nursed like crazy to make up for it. She's now our BEST eater and will try anything! Hang in there - I would also google around and see what you can find about consistency issues. Some kids are just really weird about texture and so on, but you do need to practice and just sort of keep plugging away at it. Keep us updated!

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  2. Eeek! I cannot relate, I am sorry to say. Jay eats everything I give to him. He has 3 meals a day...baby food- a whole container and cereal after. He has cheerios or puffs one time a day and has bottles through out the day. He can't get enough to eat! Just follow your gut, Em. Carsen will let you know when she is ready. Just present things to her and see what she does...At first, Jay played with Cheerios not knowing that they were food. Now he picks them right up and scarfs them down :) Hang in there, mama!

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