Sort of S/O DS wont chew his food

[themrshunt]

Most of the time while eating after a few bites DS starts shoving some of his food into his right cheek. He just packs it in more and more. We have tried spitting it out and keep going, spitting it out and having to be done, trying to force him to chew it up. I just don't know what to do. I can't let him keep in there because I worry about his teeth but I also worry he is not getting enough to eat because he is CONSTANTLY asking for more to eat, even right after we get done with a meal. And it is not stuff he can't chew up, most of the time what he spits out is already chewed really well, he just won't swallow it!

I finally decided today that it might be a power struggle thing (he will be 2 in December) and just kept feeding him until he was done eating, let him spit it out and he didn't get food until the next meal/ snack (maybe an hour later). Any advice?

[luvsviola]

Call Early Intervention and ask for an OT/Feeding evaluation. It is free, and must be done within 60 days.

Or, you can call your pediatrician for a referral to a feeding therapist/feeding clinic for an evaluation. No telling how quickly you can get in.

[themrshunt]

Originally Posted by luvsviola Call Early Intervention and ask for an OT/Feeding evaluation. It is free, and must be done within 60 days. Or, you can call your pediatrician for a referral to a feeding therapist/feeding clinic for an evaluation. No telling how quickly you can get in.

Thanks! Do you mean 60 from when I notice a problem or they have to do the eval within 60 days?

[luvsviola]

Most states say that from the time you call to the time the evaluation has to legally be completed is 60 days.

[mibarra]

Originally Posted by luvsviola Call Early Intervention and ask for an OT/Feeding evaluation. It is free, and must be done within 60 days. Or, you can call your pediatrician for a referral to a feeding therapist/feeding clinic for an evaluation. No telling how quickly you can get in.

Agree. In our state it's 60 days from signing consent to testing, but the sooner you call the sooner you get in.

[nursenmom]

My dd who will be 2 in February does the same thing. We had her evaluated by early intervention and she qualified for therapy for overstuffing and pocketing her food. We only went for a couple months and now she understands more what she is supposed to do. Sometimes she does better when it isn't cut up and she can hold it and take bites, other things (especially bananas) she needs chopped up or it all gets shoved in her mouth. Her weight gain has slowed drastically since starting solids which is why I was concerned about it. She does great for the therapist now but not so great still at home unless she is constantly reminded. Hoping the stage passes quickly.

[EmilytheStrange]

My DD did the same thing for awhile (a few months before she turned 2) and since we were already in the system, they came right out and evaluated her. Turns out, she was fine and just being weird. I say that because I want you to know that while it CAN be an issue, it can also be normal.

Some children get a lot of good sensation from a packed mouth - my daughter puts EVERYTHING in her mouth - it drives me insane. I actually think it's almost getting worse, but it's probably still in the realm of normal.

I wouldn't worry about his teeth in this, what we did was we did not encourage her to spit it out. The therapist said that we needed to limit the food that was available at a time, and when she finally swallows, then she can be given more.

She has mostly grown out of it now at 2, but sometimes she still does it - like 1-2x a week.

So, yes, I agree - call and get him evaluated, but don't freak out just yet. It's quite possible that he's just being a turd like my daughter was.

[AniMommy]

I also second that it may be "normal" behavior. My Lo started doing it around the 2 year mark but I never paid that much attention to it. When I noticed that she was doing this, I started giving her smaller portions (a bite or two at time) and asking her to open her mouth so I could see if she had finished everything. (ah the joys of motherhood!). I wouldn't give her more until I saw that she had finished what was in her mouth. When she would ask for more I'd tell her not until you're finished.

She stopped doing it when she realized she wasn't getting more until she swallowed. It was a pretty short lived phase.

[canadianbakers]

I agree, while it can be a problem, it can also be a totally normal thing. It wouldn't hurt to call and get the ball rolling to have him checked out.
In the meantime, I would only give him one or 2 bites/pieces of food at a time. Once he's eaten (chewed AND swallowed) those, he can have one or two more. Time consuming, yes, but worth it to not worry about him choking.

[themrshunt]

Originally Posted by EmilytheStrange My DD did the same thing for awhile (a few months before she turned 2) and since we were already in the system, they came right out and evaluated her. Turns out, she was fine and just being weird. I say that because I want you to know that while it CAN be an issue, it can also be normal. Some children get a lot of good sensation from a packed mouth - my daughter puts EVERYTHING in her mouth - it drives me insane. I actually think it's almost getting worse, but it's probably still in the realm of normal. I wouldn't worry about his teeth in this, what we did was we did not encourage her to spit it out. The therapist said that we needed to limit the food that was available at a time, and when she finally swallows, then she can be given more. She has mostly grown out of it now at 2, but sometimes she still does it - like 1-2x a week. So, yes, I agree - call and get him evaluated, but don't freak out just yet. It's quite possible that he's just being a turd like my daughter was.

Love that you call your DD a turd with love. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Originally Posted by AniMommy I also second that it may be "normal" behavior. My Lo started doing it around the 2 year mark but I never paid that much attention to it. When I noticed that she was doing this, I started giving her smaller portions (a bite or two at time) and asking her to open her mouth so I could see if she had finished everything. (ah the joys of motherhood!). I wouldn't give her more until I saw that she had finished what was in her mouth. When she would ask for more I'd tell her not until you're finished. She stopped doing it when she realized she wasn't getting more until she swallowed. It was a pretty short lived phase.

Originally Posted by canadianbakers I agree, while it can be a problem, it can also be a totally normal thing. It wouldn't hurt to call and get the ball rolling to have him checked out. In the meantime, I would only give him one or 2 bites/pieces of food at a time. Once he's eaten (chewed AND swallowed) those, he can have one or two more. Time consuming, yes, but worth it to not worry about him choking.

Thanks for the reassurance! It is good to see both sides but know it is not something to freak out about yet. He will have his 2 year check up before we could get anything else done so I will just talk to his ped then and go from there. Between now and then we will do the bite or two at a time, he just really hates that.