All of the sudden, DS gags when I put food in front of him....

nemosucksII

Tonight, I served spaghetti and I put his plate down in front of him and he started gagging?!  It seems like lately he is going on an eating strike.  Has this happened to anyone else?  How long did this phase last? 

 ** I've started making him CIO for the past week, but other than that no new changes...?!!?  PLEASE HELP!!

ladybugpjb

DS went on an eating strike around 16 months and the worst part of it lasted 6 weeks or so, but he didn't gag unless I managed to get him to eat something that he didn't want to eat.

If he's gagging as soon as you put it down, I have no idea. Are you sure he's not feeling sick?

emnoahmom

I would just try to give him what he does well with. It may just be a food strike as the pp poster's suggested. Perhaps it's textured food? Does he do well with yogurt or soft fruit? One day my ds will love something and the next he pushes it away. I think it's part of learning about preference. I feed ds melon for months and now that he can touch it before eating it, he refuses it.  If he's refusing everything solid, he may not feel so good. Many things can make that happen, such as congestion or constipation, or a sore throat, which they can't tell us about. If it continues, take him to your pedi so you can narrow down the reasons this might be happening now. As for the CIO, I'm not judging any parenting decision, but it could be stress related. Stress effects the body in a lot of different ways, including the way we feel hunger. It's hard to say how CIO effects particular children. Good luck, I hope your lo is back on track and eating spaghetti again soon:)

 

PsyDr04

DS was on a food strike for about 2 weeks, maybe a little longer. Never been so anxious in my life because he is small to start with and can't afford not to take in calories. Doing better the last few days. We discovered it seems he really wants to feed himself, not just with finger foods but by using a fork. We help him get the food on the fork though he does pretty well on his own. We clap every time he gets a piece and eats it. He responds well to that. I think DS was definitely picking up on my stress. Since I relaxed about it, it's gotten a lot better. You can reference my post from last week "why won't he eat?"