My daughter didn’t eat solids until she was almost two… and I know what you’re thinking – ‘did she seriously breastfeed for that long?’
She did! but not exclusively.. let me explain. You see she started ‘solids’ at 6 months, but she only ate pureé until she was 21 months old.
Why?? Well that is something we will likely never get an answer to. I wish she could have spoken to me and said – mum I can’t chew this, or mum I have reflux, or mum I can’t swallow properly. But we can’t be sure if any of these were the answer, or if it was something completely different. There are many reasons that children have difficulty eating/chewing/swallowing, and some of them are simple, some are not. Some are associated with genetic and metabolic conditions, some are due to sensory processing disorders, and others due to physiology – large tonsils/adenoids that interfere with swallowing.
Another cause is tongue tie. Something that we hadn’t even considered, and wasn’t mentioned to us until she was 11 months old. She had difficulty feeding for the first 6 days of her life, but after that she latched like a champion and as I had good supply, we didn’t have anymore issues. However after months of eating issues, a friend mentioned that a few mums in her mothers group had found out that their bub had a tongue tie due to similar textural issues.
Did she have a tongue tie? Yes – did her eating correct when it was finally revised? No, not for another 5 months.
One blessing was that she would accept almost anything off a spoon so I felt confident that she was eating a large array of nutrients through the different raw and cooked purees I made her daily. They were always a mix of root vegetables, leafy greens, protein – chicken, mince, egg, fish, and some carbohydrate – rice, millet, quinoa, or pasta. This would be blended once cooked, and frozen for lunches or dinners. For breakfast a favourite was oats blended with mango and avocado – it would make the creamiest fluffiest whip!
We also had to rely on packaged purees if we were out longer than expected as many of her pureés needed to be heated, or would spoil. This led me to the baby food aisle of the supermarkets and pharmacies more than I wish to admit – and one thing that drove me crazy was the extremely high sugar content of most of the pouches for sale! Woolworths is the biggest offender, they don’t stock Bellamy’s or Bubs Organic at most of their locations, who do a better range of lower sugar/vegetable versions. Coles thankfully does stock these, as do some chemist options. But are these even nutritious? Well no. They are basically tasty calories. They are ultra heat treated which allows them to be kept on the shelf. This kills all bacteria to prevent overgrowth, but it also kills the nutrients as well, as they don’t survive high temperatures. So whilst they make a handy, convenient snack, they should certainly not be used as a sole source of nutrition (as they contain none). I am going to put together a document with a comparison table of each brand, and variety, and their individual sugar content – if you’re interested in a copy leave a comment below!
So how did she start eating? What changed? You tell me… one day I noticed she was moving food around her mouth differently, and was decided it was time to test her again. This is something I avoided as it normally meant a big gag response, and vomit all over her tray table. So I drove to my sisters place, and told her I needed help. She has 2 boys older than Quinn, so I knew she would be up for the job. I went to get changed before we went out for lunch, and came back to find Quinn eating some chicken and vegetable soup with angel hair pasta. The tears rolled down my face, as I hid in the kitchen watching my amazing daughter finally chew, and enjoy food. It was the beginning of a whole new chapter – and with it – new recipes to explore. I am not one who follows a recipe well. I read them – then make my own creation – so I hope to share many of those creations with you, now we have a happy little eater.
Has your child had eating difficulties? Did you find the reason?? I’d love to know – leave a comment below.