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<\/p>\nBaby-led weaning, or infant self-feeding, is more popular than ever when it comes to starting to add solid foods. But whether your new eater feeds himself soft avocados, sweet potatoes, or other crushable treats, or uses a spoon to suck the puree, you’re likely to see your baby gagging and trying to push food out of his mouth. You may even notice that your baby vomits while drinking bottled milk or breastfeeding.<\/p>\n
Gagging may seem scary, but it’s a natural part of the learning Xi process and is to be expected. That said, excessive vomiting is not healthy. Read on to find out why babies vomit and when to need attention.<\/p>\n
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Vomiting is a natural way to protect your baby’s airways and a normal reaction to a new taste, temperature or texture. Thank you for the gag reflex; Babies must learn!<\/p>\n
According to Diane Bahr, author of Nobody Ever Told Me (Or My Mother) That! As the baby grows, the reflex shifts backwards. But by 10 months of age, something must touch the back third of the tongue to cause vomiting. As the reflex moves backwards, the baby learns how to tolerate the new oral experience and continues to explore toys, food, and fingers with the mouth, learning to Xi every step of the way.<\/p>\n
In other words, babies’ tongues are particularly sensitive to vomiting that prevents choking, and most babies vomit regularly when they are Xi eating solid foods (even before that!). As long as the gags are not persistent and they are mostly unaffected, gags may not be a problem.<\/p>\n
In breastfed or bottle-fed infants, frequent gagging may indicate a loss of control of fluids in the mouth. Signs that your baby is in trouble or having trouble keeping fluids away from the airways include:<\/p>\n
Whether spoon-fed or self-fed, babies who vomit multiple times per meal may have difficulty coordinating oral movements to eat solid foods safely, which can lead to serious complications. Talk to your pediatrician about these symptoms and how often they occur, and your child may be recommended for a feeding evaluation to determine the cause of their problems.<\/p>\n
Gagging is not a comfortable experience. Children who vomit frequently or always because of specific foods or textures are more likely to develop feelings of aversion to those foods. Learning to Xi to eat should be an enjoyable experience!<\/p>\n
Think of it this way: When babies learn to walk Xi, they will stumble, trip, and fall. It’s part of the development process; Most children will get back on their feet and try again. But if the child falls repeatedly and it hurts, they will learn to protect their body and may not want to try again for a while, relying on crawling.<\/p>\n
Eating is also a developmental process, and excessive vomiting can lead to developmental arrest in children. This can lead to picky eating, fear of food, and food shortages, and children can become highly picky and eat only a few different options for a few months. Food aversion arises as a result of repeated negative experiences with food and requires professional intervention.<\/p>\n
Consult your pediatrician if you notice that your baby is always upset after gagging or that you avoid certain foods that cause gagging.<\/p>\n
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Gagging can also be a sign of frequent gastroesophageal reflux (GER), where stomach contents rise up to the throat, causing distress in the baby.<\/p>\n
GER often occurs at mealtimes, but it can also occur throughout the day. You may notice that your baby gagged when lying down or reclining in the car seat. If you notice that your child is also vomiting while eating, it is important to share that information with their doctor.<\/p>\n
If food or stomach contents are inhaled into the lungs, it can be life-threatening. GER can progress to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a chronic condition that requires intervention to prevent damage to the esophagus (esophagus).<\/p>\n
According to the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, symptoms of GER or GERD in infants include:<\/p>\n
Gagging is not choking. Gagging is a reflex attempt to push something away from the airway, while choking is caused by a food or object partially or completely blocking the airway. When a baby vomits, this is not a foolproof anti-choking protection. A gag may warn that choking may occur, but this is not the case in all cases.<\/p>\n
There was almost no sound of suffocation. You’re unlikely to hear a choking sound, but you’ll see it. Your child may have a wide open mouth, wide eyes, drooling, and blue skin on the lips or around the eyes. Partial blockage may include audible panting or faint noises. Be sure to keep an eye on your child when they are eating. Babies may gagged first and then choked, or choked without gagging first.<\/p>\n
Here are some common signs that your baby or toddler is having trouble learning to Xi age-appropriate foods and is at risk of choking:<\/p>\n
If your baby is gagging, stay calm and observe quietly. Just like toddlers fall while learning to Xi walking, we don’t want to overreact. Babies occasionally vomit while Xi to eat a variety of foods, especially in the first 12 months of life.<\/p>\n
When your baby is gagging, the following measures should be taken:<\/p>\n
Babies who have not yet learned to drink through a straw can use an open-mouthed baby cup (held by an adult) with their jaws slightly tucked in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Baby-led weaning, or infant self-feeding, is more popular than ever when it comes to starting to add solid foods. But whether your new eater feeds himself soft avocados, sweet potatoes, or other crushable treats, or uses a spoon to suck the puree, you’re likely to see your baby gagging and trying to push food out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenteaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenteaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenteaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenteaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenteaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenteaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":317,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenteaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314\/revisions\/317"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenteaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenteaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenteaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenteaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}