going "backward" - 12 month old gagging on anything except pureed food?

[lmh2402]

DS will turn one very soon

he started solids right at 6 months and was always very eager to eat

we progressed pretty quickly to giving him smushed or bite-sized pieces of table food

but i always supplemented with purees (either earth's best jars or homemade frozen cubes) b/c he used to get frustrated when he couldn't feed himself as quickly as he wanted to eat

so some food would be "grown-up food" - either in bits on a tray for him to self feed, or if it it's a soup or stew, than we feed with spoon - but then we'd also spoon feed the puree to make sure he was getting enough

we've never "made him eat" or felt compelled to make sure he finished a certain amount. the additional puree was b/c he would cry in frustration and hunger without them

however, in the last month i've been noticing more and more than when we give him his non-pureed food...he either takes it and throws it around if it's on the tray. or if it's being given by spoon, he will stick his fingers in his mouth and make himself gag. and then he will blatantly stare at the jar on the table. or the little dish with the defrosted puree.

he'll look back and forth between DH/me and the puree and yell until we "figure it out."

he will very happily eat these purees in large quantities. but getting him to eat anything else at this point is becoming a major challenge (except for scrambled eggs and pancakes. he can't get enough of either of these)

so is this kind of regression normal?

i've wondered if it's his teeth/gums bothering him...but this has been going on for four weeks already and he hasn't cut a tooth and there aren't any that seem particularly ripe.

i wondered if his throat was hurting...but that seems illogical

i'm just confused and not sure what to do. he can't eat pureed food for forever

thanks

[Swimfreak78]

Have you tried frozen bagels? If it's a tooth that should help. Also you might want to talk with his pedi to see if there might be a medical reason (i.e. ear infection) or somethign causing it. Good luck.

[sansdieu]

Certainly, check with your Ped.

But I can easily see how it can be a power struggle at that age. Even my nearly 2 1/2 yr old DD will only eat pureed foods at certain times (usually, when I go out of my way to prepare an elaborate meal for her).

Another thing kids that age hate are surprises. God help us, if there was a lump anywhere in DD's pureed food when she was 1. She'd gag and make faces as if we were trying to poison in her. In fact, to this day, she expects her pureed foods to be perfectly smooth and not the least bit chunky. I have to pick all the berries out of her yogurt!