Is gagging when starting solids “normal?”
Watching your child gag can be scary. It can leave you with questions like: “Is he choking? Why is he gagging? Should I not be giving him this food?” So let’s break down the gag, shall we?
Gagging is reflexive.
Babies are born with a gag reflex in the first third of their mouth. That means when something enters their mouth and goes too far back, it will elicit a gag to push it forward. If you are bottle feeding your infant you may occasionally see them gag on the bottle nipple when it enters their mouth, especially if they weren’t 100% ready for the bottle, or they bobbed when you weaved while putting it in their mouth. Usually, the gag is over quickly, they recover, and drink the bottle without continued gagging.
Gagging should decrease overtime.
Around 3-6 months of a life, the gag reflex starts to move towards the middle of the mouth. How? From mouthing toys, chomping on teethers, and eventually starting solids! Around this time, you also likely first see an INCREASE in gagging because foods, toys, and teethers are making their way further back into baby’s mouth. Then, after several weeks, you see a decrease with new textures and teethers, because the gag reflex has moved back.
Letting baby put toys in their mouth helps integrate the gag reflex.
These are some of our favorite toys that have teether or mouthing parts! Let baby grasp and bring these to their mouth.
Using teethers from about 10-12 weeks and onward can help decrease gagging.
These are our favorites, and some of them even double as baby’s first spoons. Letting baby “self-feed” these helps prepare them for solids!
Gagging and Starting Solids
As baby starts solids, the gag reflex continues to move back, and by around a year of age it will settle where the adult gag reflex is: in the back third of the mouth. So, gagging is a journey!
What parents should know about gagging and solids:
*The only way to get over gagging is to go through it. So, each time your little one gags and recovers, they are moving forward!
*INITIALLY gagging on a new texture (e.g., moving to lumpy purees from purees, to soft solids from dissolvable solids) is normal.
*Persistent gagging after 3-5 bites of a food indicates that your little one may not yet ready for that food. Decrease the texture and try again later.
*If your little one gags to the point of throwing up, or gagging is resulting in food refusal, it’s time to talk to a specialist.
*Gagging is the body’s way of protecting the airway, and preventing food from going too far back. The gag can be a good thing!
Spoons making your little one gag?
Make sure that the handle on the spoon that your little one is using to self-feed isn’t too long. Spoons with a lip-block (1 and 7) can help your baby not push the spoon too far back! Switch up spoons if you’re seeing consistent gagging when self-feeding. All our favorites are here!
Little ones can experience gagging when moving UP in texture from purees. That can be normal, but sometimes parents are hesitant to offer higher textures liked mashed or soft solids because of gagging. It is important to be offering higher textured foods by the time a little one is about 9 months of age, as research tells us that if babies are consistently exposed to texture before they turn 10 months of age, they are less likely to experience picky eating in toddlerhood!
Gagging is NOT CHOKING
Gagging happens in the mouth, choking happens in the airway (down the windpipe). A gag is actually PREVENTING your little one from choking, so it’s a very good thing that it exists!
Overall, try not to be scared of the gag. I know it’s hard to watch your little one make a face and look uncomfortable! But, they are working on pushing their gag reflex back, and it is usually over quickly!
Let’s get baby chewing!
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