Please help... BTDT or put my mind at ease...

DD will be 11 months on Monday 5/18.

She still doesn't hold her own bottle.

She will choke on table food. Hates cheerios, loves Gerber puffs, but we have to cut in half and still chokes - need to watch her very closely.

Will not drink from sippy cup, unless I'm holding it. Otherwise she is playing with it constantly and will get soaking wet. We have about 4 different types of sippy's.

At her 9 month visit, our pediatrician said to start giving her table food slowly, ie: pastina, cheerios, etc...
She just won't eat it, or otherwise will choke. Still going on at 11 months.


Please give me some advice on what to do with any of these 3 issues. I'm definitely driving myself crazy, but want to be reassured!


TIA

Re: Please help... BTDT or put my mind at ease...

First...you need to remember that choking and gagging are two different things.

I would find some friendly foods that she likes, that she cant choke on (remembering she may gag on them though) and just keep working on it...

Does she have a favorite baby food? What are her favorites...Maybe try thickening up, say applesauce, with some oatmeal. Then little by little make it thicker...so she gets used to the thicker consistency..


I dont have any advice on the sippy. Other than if they are playing with it instead of drinking it...I take it away. Can she drink with it on her own?

My eldest daughter didnt hold her own bottle until she was 12 months old. Some kids just prefer Mommy and Daddy to do it.

I was told to prop her with the bottle. It worked. She got tired of being propped with the bottle and figured out how to hold it herself...

HTH

Re: Please help... BTDT or put my mind at ease...

my sons 13 months and doesnt eat very well. he loves cherrios. i give him pirate bootie, veggie sticks, crackers. we were on regular foods about a month ago and he has since rejected it so now were back to baby food. i do mix food into stage two. i put in spaghetti chopped up and carrots that are super soft. also cut up pears which are easy for them to self feed. ds holds his bottle but is a major milk junkie. he cant get it quick enough. some children have more of a gag reflex than others. sippy cups is an issue for us. we bought about 10 of them and theres one that he likes but he doesnt understand once you sip to swallow and the water comes out of his mouth. i put his water in one of his bottles and he drinks it that way. with my 3 year old i had trouble with sippys until about 18 months. good luck to you.

Re: Please help... BTDT or put my mind at ease...

DS was a lot like this at 11 months. I did get him to start holding his bottle on his own around 10 months--I basically stopped holding it for him, so it forced him to hold it. He caught on pretty quickly.

But he gagged very easily on table foods, even half a puff or cheerio. Around 11 months I think I stopped giving them to him, figuring he just wasn't ready for them. I did feed him purees but I tried to make a lot of them myself so they weren't as watery, a little chunkier. I also gave him mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. I think two of the first non baby foods he could eat that were not mashed or pureed were bananas and egg yolks with some milk. Some say cheese is good for their kids, but DS had trouble with that initially. I think part of his problem was taking some time getting used to different textures.

He still won't eat certain vegetables whole at 17 months, though he will eat pureed green beans and peas. Though he doesn't gag anymore, he just spits them out.

As far as the sippy cup, just keep introducing it. A lot of kids still can't use them at that age. DS started to get it at a year. He actually liked the straw cups better, so try those if DC isn't loving sippys.

Message edited 5/16/2009 8:44:58 PM.