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Subject:
From:
Anne Hinze <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 8 Sep 2009 22:03:36 -0400
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I have permission to post this letter from one of my LLL moms. She's really at her wits 
end and unfortunately has not found anything helpful with the doctors in our area.

I want to stress that he is 15 months old and exclusively breastfed with NO solids, no 
sippy, cup or bottle. Mom is content with her nursing relationship but concerned about her 
son's overactive gag reflex and his development as a toddler. His weight is fine - he's a 
chubby little toddler and has always been high on the growth charts.

If you respond can you please also send me a copy to my email? We're getting ready to 
travel to the FL LLL conference and disneyworld after that - so I'll have email access more 
often than internet (on my phone).

Thanks so much!

Anne, CLEC, LLLL
Central Florida Panhandle

******************

Here's her letter:

My healthy son is 15+ months and is not eating solids. We believe he has the desire to 
eat, but that he doesn’t have the physical ability to do so. Please we are asking for your 
help and guidance regarding this matter. To follow, we hope is enough information to help 
you, help us! Again THANK YOU! We are concerned parents and at the end of our rope 
and know how in what steps to take next.

We are first time parents of a 15 month old boy named Dacen. He was born only 4 days 
prior to his due date completely naturally. Meaning we had no medications or 
interventions. We labored at home for 5 hours then birthed 4 ½ hrs later at a family birth 
center. The only complication was that Dacen was born with a broken shoulder on his left 
side which we found out about a week after his birth. This caused some breast feeding 
problems. We did have some latch issues in the beginning and some nipple confusion at 
five weeks, when a paci was introduced (he needed the comfort of sucking without the 
milk). By 11 weeks we were very proficient in Breastfeeding. We are SAHM, BF, AP, Co-
sleeping, cloth diapering, baby wearing, non-vaccinating, parents. We felt it important for 
you to know all of these things. With all of that said on to our challenges.

Hindsight is 20/20. We struggled with latch and BF issues, so we delayed bottle use. 
When we tried a bottle he would not take it. He very rarely would take a paci and by 4 
months not at all (not a big deal) at 7 months we thought he might be ready to start 
solids. We tried avocado and momma milk (very runny). We probably did what most 1x 
parents do, set the baby up in a highchair get out his “bamboo” spoon put a pinky size or 
less on the spoon and put it in his mouth. He did fine the 1st, 2nd time but on the 3rd 
time he gagged. We tried a 4th time and he gagged and threw up. Now what followed this 
moment over the next week was not our best moments as parents. We went against our 
own style of parenting. We pushed food at him everyday for week then we realized that 
he was becoming frantic. We took a major step back. We started having “picnics” on the 
floor of our Living Room not pushing food at him but making sure he was included at 
every meal. We haven’t pushed food since, but always making it available to him. In all 
of this we never thought it odd that he didn’t put things in his mouth, it just never 
occurred to us.

At his 9 month well visit we voiced out concerns to his pediatrician but he said he wasn’t 
too concerned (he was healthy, charting etc.) but if by his 12 month he still wasn’t eating 
then we might need to look into speech therapy.

I attend LLL meetings regularly and have a lot of like minded mommy friends. All have 
been very supportive but have never seen or heard of these challenges before. We were 
off/on concerned. Some would say “its norm for Breast Feeding babies to eat solids later” 
…”he’ll eat when he is ready”….”doesn’t look like he is starving”…etc. We have heard it all 
….but none of it is actually helpful.

What we have been told or have seen so far is that Dacen has a very active gag reflex 
(or over active gag reflex) and a facial aversion/food aversion. Since his 12 month well 
visit his Peds. Suggested an O.T. We saw an OT twice but she said she didn’t have 
experience working with a) a child his age and b) with his challenge. So we sought out 
the “Early Steps” program via her suggestion. We are currently working with a Speech 
Therapist and a Developmental Specialist. But what we are finding is that they are much 
more concerned with his speaking and communicating than his non-eating!

We are continuing with Speech Therapy and Home Therapy, changing our Pediatrician (we 
are not well matched) and doing all we know how to do. Always making food available 
but we feel it is beyond him desiring to eat but actually a physical problem. We are at the 
end of the road we don’t know what the next step are much less are we even heading in 
the right direction. 

Dacen is very healthy and he is charting well height/weight and his motor skills seem on 
track aside from his not eating solids. Thank God, that He made my milk good enough for 
our growing toddler.

To date he is 15 months exclusively Breast Feed. Meaning no paci’s, bottles, Sippy cups, 
cups, solids (processed, mashed, chunky) etc, He has been eating only Momma Milk 
straight from the tap!

We are in need of guidance beyond what we are (or if you see it through our eyes “not”) 
getting. Please also understand I love our Breast Feeding relationship that I have with my 
son. We are just concerned about his development, health, and if there is a physical 
reason he is not eating solids we want to know and fix it.

             ***********************************************

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