My 9 Month Old Son Won't Eat Any Food with Texture

Hi B.,

I just wanted to say that my 2 1/2 YO son won't eat anything that's white (except milk). Mashed potatoes, marshmallows, white baked potatoes, white cheese...forget it! Sweet potatoes, yellow cheese...no problem.

My point is, kids are weird when it comes to food. My only advice is that ALL kids will eat if they're hungry enough. If he doesn't eat what you give him when you give it to him, let him sit there for a few minutes and try again. If he still won't eat...let him get down and play for 30 minutes and try again. Keep it up. It's a pain, but I promise, when he's hungry enough, he'll eat even the chunky stuff he currently doesn't like! (You also may need to show him what to do and stomach the stuff yourself to give him an idea of how to "chew" his food...)

Just some thoughts!
~J. S.

i cant remember now which one it was but one of my kids were like that all i can say is either offer the foods in smaller bites so there wont be as much in his mouth and/or start trying different table foods like mashed potatoes apple sause things with taste and a little bit of texture i dont know if it will help but you can try

Hi B.,
My son REFUSED stage 3 foods and I was so scared he wasn't eating enough. He would gag everytime I attempted to feed him stage 3. I asked his doctor and she said that a lot of children are that way and she advised me to go right to table food and feed him something soft textured or something he would not have too hard of a time chewing. She also told me to make his bites the size of a lime bean or similar. I tried this and he is doing wonderful with his eating now. Hope this helps.

I am a Speech Therapist who works in the area of feeding with children. I went to a training on feeding issues. The presenter consults with Gerber. She is the reason they have come out with all of their new snacks. I just wanted you to know she is qualified. She does not like Stage 3 foods. Stage 2 foods are all purees. Your baby knows how to handle purees. The next step should be solids. The problem is Stage 3 puts solids and purees together. The babys don't know what to do with solids yet and feel the puree and try to swallow it like a puree and therefore gag on Stage 3 foods. They first have to know how to handle purees and solids separately before they can handle them together.
Also, I have an 8 month old going through the same thing. We tried to give her Stage 3 mac and cheese and she just gags and gags. We then gave her kraft mac and cheee (cut in half) and she did not gag at all. Since then we have thrown out all stage 3 foods. We still give her stage 2 and some table food. We give her mashed potatoes, english peas, black eyed peas, mac and cheese, etc. Anything that she can gum. She only has her two front bottom teeth. She hasn't done anyomore gagging.
Hope this helps!

I have a 9 month old daughter who old has her 2 front bottom teeth. She eats stage 2 just fine also. There are a few stage 3 that she will eat because they don't have the chunks in them (like sweet potatoes, bananas). A few days ago I tried to give her one that was chunky (it had pasta in it). I didn't realize that it was so chunky until I opened it, and she didn't like it! So I haven't tried those again yet. My mom & I tried giving her some sweet peas from the table last night. She took them, and seemed to know she had to mash them with her gums, but I think they would get caught in her throat a little. We also bought some bananas yesterday, so when they ripen I am going to try to give her small pieces of it. She likes the jar bananas so I figured she might like real ones!
Also, my mom was squeezing the potato out of some fries the other day and giving it to my daughter lol She loved it!
I might try to wait a week or so for my daughter and then try giving her the chunky stage 3 again.

Hi B.,
I have just been through the same thing! (Still there, really) My son is 11 months now, and just got his first tooth. When he was about 9 months (because his doctor said he should be learning to mash with his gums, chew, etc), I started giving him those Little Puffs (that's what the Wal-Mart brand is called anyway). They disolve quicker than cheerios and are a little smaller, and there are several flavors. My son LOVES them, and has not had a problem eating them. It has also helped his fine motor skills because he has learned to pick them up! I give them to him after he's done eating his meal, so he can practice the mushing/chewing thing. I have gradually started giving him chunkier table foods as well. I can see what the above poster means about the 3rd foods being a combo of solid and puree that's confusing for the baby. My son doesn't do well with that either, but table foods are much easier for him. Hope this helps, and good luck!

Hi B.! My son, who is now 11 months, had this exact same problem. He would not put ANYTHING in his mouth except the usual-bottle, pacifier, baby spoon, and of course his fingers. I asked his pediatrician about this and she said for me to be persistant and give very small bites. That sometimes babies can't figure out how to swallow textured foods like their formula or breastmilk and stage 1 or 2 foods. And it worked. And because I knew that he would not eat all, if any, of the food that I was offering him, I fixed very small portions too. I would put a new food in his mouth and if he gagged I wouldn't press the issue. I would put it aside and continue with his baby food. Each time I would feed him we would do the same thing until one day he decided that it was time to eat chunkier food. It took a while, but he finally got it. And not nothing stops him!! Everything goes in his mouth! EVERYTHING. And don't worry, all babies are different in their development and some just aren't ready to advance to the next stage. And when he is ready, watch out girl...you won't be able to give it to him fast enough. Good luck!

He may just not like the jar food. If you taste it, it is pretty gross. I would try homemade mashed potatoes and peas. Maybe some of that baby sliced fruit or cut up pieces of bananas. I wouldn't do anything where he really had to chew it too much since he doesn't have any teeth yet. I would also try little slices of bread without the crust.....maybe introducing him to food that you are eating right along with him will make him want it more! Good Luck! ANd if he is still gagging everytime just wait a week or two and try it again. I wouldn't worry. Eventually he will eat chunkier foods!

B.,

You already have some great advice here. With the stage 3 foods, if you have EVER tasted it yourself, you would understand why he won't eat it. I used to heat it up a little and then salt and pepper it just a little to take the taste away. If you can eat it, then so will he. Babies even little babies need flavor. If he has been eating off the table that has been seasoned, then there is the reason he won't eat the stage 3. he may be gagging because it doesn't have any flavor that he likes. Try different kinds and heat it up in microwave for 30 seconds then salt and pepper lightly.

good luck

I think that you should just hold off. He'll eat it when he's ready. I used to work in a pediatrician's office, as one's nurse, and he said, that if he's doing that then he's just not ready for that food yet. I have an eleven month old, and he still does that with foods. One day, he just started chewing though, it was weird actually. He'll do it when he's ready, just hang in there. Every baby develops at their own rate. Hope this helps.