baby stuffing his mouth with finger foods

[psychochick]

So my 8 mo quickly learned to eat finger foods and seems to like it which is great . But I noticed that he likes to stuff his mouth with it very quickly. And usually he'll stop at some point and work on swallowing it which honestly doesn't look like he's having the most comfortable time. Then when he's full what he does is continue stuffing his face but not chew. We'll clean him up and put him on the play mat and sometimes at that point he'll just spit stuff out of his mouth. He seems to think this is funny though and isn't bothered by it. Is this normal? Should I be like throttling him by not offering more finger food until he's done with what's in his mouth?

 

[AngelOb]

My 9 month old does this too. I don't put more than one or two pieces of food in front of her until she is done chewing and swallowing what's already in her mouth and that works best for us. Haven't had any issues doing this just more work for us paying attention when she's ready for more.

 

[MindUtopia]

It sounds like he's just still figuring things out. I never put more than one thing at a time on my daughter's tray at that age. When she ate that (or mushed it up enough to try something else), I'd give her more. I would try that. And also just be really conscientious about what food is in his mouth. Obviously, not giving him more until he's chewed and swallowed already, but also not finishing the meal while he still has food in his mouth. I think just taking things more slowly and not expecting too much too soon will give him time to figure it out.

 

[misspriss]

Totally normal. Unfortunately my 2 year old sometimes does this still. They don't get molars until much later on (I don't think my 2 year old has her 2 year molars yet) and it makes the grinding chewing much more difficult. They are still regulating what they can and cannot fit in their mouth and how much they can eat at once. Especially when they are just getting finger foods, the excitement of getting finger foods and all these new tastes and textures, it's just too much!

 

[jaspie]

We had the same problem so just gave him a couple of bits at a time. He's much better now and tends to swallow before eating more (most of the time!) He got better around 13 months I think.

 

[themisfit]

I honestly think this is just part of the process. My baby did that when we started feeding her finger foods. She grew out of it in time, and has learned to better pace herself. I do remember worrying sometimes because she'd make herself gag, but she never choked.

 

[minties]

Emma will jam everything in her mouth at once, she's actually worse at eating now than when she first started at 6 months. I did BLW with her and assumed she would be the 'best' and most competent eater of my kids, but she's fussier, gags a lot still, stuffs her face silly and refuses any liquids other than milk directly from the breast.