Blw question?

drbethc

How long did it take for your child to stop gagging and throwing up?

henrytviii

A little over a week of twice daily meals, then by two weeks he pretty much never gagged again. He usually just gagged but he did throw up a few times.  It was stressful and I was starting to think I had made a mistake, then everything just clicked.  I'd say it was 10 days of gagging, 10 days of chewing really well and letting everything drop out of his mouth down his bib and now we've been really eating for about 2 weeks and he can manage a larger variety of foods/textures/sizes.

He was never spoon-fed, I'm not sure if it matters, perhaps if there gag reflex had already moved back further or if they were used to sucking things off a spoon it might take longer? Hope it gets better for you.

drbethc

Bluenoser4ever:

We have been doing BLW just over three weeks and DS has only gagged a fee times and never vomited. Are your food pieces maybe too long?

no...usually he will gag and throw up if a small stray piece gets loose in his mouth...now I'm wondering if has to do with the fact that we did start with pur?e.

 

cmurphy09

Ya, know I never really thought about it. Around the same time I stopped bf'ing, regretfully, at 3mns. I tried a few different formulas bc at first she had bad gas, spit up until I found one that works best. So i'd say, 4mns.

Now she's on a daily regiment of baby food and about 4 to 5, 8oz bottles daily. Hasn't gagged or spit up in quite awhile.

khill86

DS rarely gagged and never vomited.

I'm thinking that since you started with purees, your LO got comfortable with just swallowing food. When you spoon feed, you essentially put the food at the back of their mouth and they just swallow, because what else would you do? It's hard to manage food at the back of your mouth.

Now your LO is having to learn to chew, move food around, and swallow when he's ready. I'd still pursue BLW. The only way he'll get better at it is if you let him practice. Be patient and trust that he'll figure it out! Good luck!

henrytviii

I think it really depends on the kid.  Many people say they never saw any gagging, others say it was a real problem at first.  We went from EBF to BLW and we still had a huge issue with gagging and saw vomiting 3-4 times, usually the stray pieces too.  It was as if he learned to bit of a piece before he learned to properly move the food around it his mouth.  It didn't matter the type or size of food.  It was just a matter of giving him time to practice like khill suggests. I too was posting about this with questions and was ready to throw in the towel.  It did get much better very quickly. Also my son never seemed bothered by this, his little eyes would be all watery and there would be a pile of vomit on the table and he'd reach for his next piece of food with huge grin. It might be more challenging if it is upsetting your LO, I'd just keep trying.  It will get better.

jennyelf

henrytviii:

I think it really depends on the kid.  Many people say they never saw any gagging, others say it was a real problem at first.  We went from EBF to BLW and we still had a huge issue with gagging and saw vomiting 3-4 times, usually the stray pieces too.  It was as if he learned to bit of a piece before he learned to properly move the food around it his mouth.  It didn't matter the type or size of food.  It was just a matter of giving him time to practice like khill suggests. I too was posting about this with questions and was ready to throw in the towel.  It did get much better very quickly. Also my son never seemed bothered by this, his little eyes would be all watery and there would be a pile of vomit on the table and he'd reach for his next piece of food with huge grin. It might be more challenging if it is upsetting your LO, I'd just keep trying.  It will get better.

 

This was pretty much our experience too. Basically biting off more than he could really safely swallow and then gagging it back up. It definitely got better, but it seemed to take awhile in our case.