Baby Gagging

Ok my kids are 5 1/2 months. At 4 months, the pedi and I agreed one of the boys was definitely ready for solids, and I should start. I did, and he took to it really well. We were a little less sure of the other, but agreed that I should start introducing the concept - getting him used to the high chair, playing with the spoon, seeing what happened with it. So I did - and he took really well to it, too! Better, at first, than his brother!

Well, I took a break from it for a few days, because things were just crazy. I was sick, his brother was sick, so I put it all aside. Then I started noticing him gagging on the medicine syringes every now and then (he is/was on Prevacid). I figured it was just the med itself, he NEVER takes it well. He would also gag himself with his thumb - but I know he was just sticking it in too far. So I sort of made a note of how far he could get it in without gagging and NEVER put anything in further than that. And then he got rotavirus. And so there we were, nearly 4 weeks later, and I had yet to try solids with him again.

At that point I had basically stopped giving him the Prevacid. Every single time I tried, he gagged and spit it back up - which sort of just made the problem worse, you know? I've tried even just holding the solutab in his mouth to let it dissolve - he STILL spits the vast majority of it right back at me, after gagging on just my finger being in his cheek. He hasn't been acting reflux-y the way he used to, so it seems ok that I stopped. And, frankly, I just can't get the meds in him, anyways. (Issue to bring up with the pedi next visit, I know.)

So last week (about a week after the rotavirus was completely done), I decided to start back up with solids. I sat him in the high chair, and offered him a spoonful of rice. And he gave me a look, and so I just touched the spoon to his lips (to make sure he got the idea this was about eating), leaving behind a tiny bit of cereal. Well, he GAGGED! I mean, it's not like he choked - it was not in his mouth. Just the mere touch of the spoon on his lips made him gag.

So I tried it with my finger as a spoon. We managed to get a tiny bit IN his mouth, but still, he balked at it, and got scared and gagged instead of swallowed. So then I tried a tiny bit of applesauce instead (in case it was the rice), same thing. I gave it a rest for a week, tried AGAIN, and he gagged so bad he threw up - just from a tiny dot of rice on his lip!

He does occasionally gag on his bottle, too, but that's usually only when his rhythm gets messed up.

Any thoughts on what could be causing this? We're at the pedi next week, so I'll be bringing it up then. It just seems really odd to me that he can shove all kinds of toys in his mouth and be fine, but the moment that spoon goes near him, forget it!

 

We got the same thing going on....My DS had/has reflux so bad that it turned into feeding aversions so bad that he is currently seeing feeding specialists for it. It took him 3-4 months to learn not to gag on purees and we had to do it 3-4 times/day practice - He sees the specialist once a week. She works to break down the gag reflex with special tools that you use at home too. He still needs the purees watery. We've made no progress on texture foods yet and he is already a year old. We do Prevacid, but it always causes gag/vomit UNLESS I do it first thing in the morning....Then he can't vomit anything. But he still gags.

The feeding specialist told me some reflux babies have this issue. It's pretty common. It's been a long road the past 6 months, but we've made progress. He eats 3 jars a day with little problem only if it is watery enough and he is used to the taste.

I know there are other ladies on this board with similar issues and a few do see feeding specialists too for it.

Good luck!

Oh, and I forgot to say...Yes, my son does occasionally gag on the bottle too...But I figured out it wasn't the bottle itself, but the liquid that continues to drip out of the nipple when his rythm gets messed up. I switched to a non-drip nipple and that cured that problem. And he also mouths all toys with no issue....It is a textural problem of foods that makes him gag.

 

No help here - just hoping you get it figured out soon. :hug99: Have you touched base with your pedi on this? Maybe they have some ideas?

 

My girls gag on their bottle and solids when they are done and don't want any more. They also stick their fingers down their throat and gag themselves. They don't mean to do it, they are just drama queens.

If he is gagging when you try to feed him solids then he doesn't want it. I would just try once a day and if he gags then put it away and try again the next day. My girls open their mouths WIDE when they want solids, but when they are done, they gag.