# Holding food in mouth



## Pumpkin_Pie (Oct 10, 2006)

My son has been holding food in his mouth lately for literally HOURS at a time. Last night I fried some eggplant up into little pieces, and gave some to him. I thought I saw him chew it up and swallow, and didn't notice anything when he was chattering away once he got down from his high chair. He even nursed a few times and I never noticed anything, but then at least 2 hours later, he opened his mouth and spit out a huge wad of eggplant.







It was totally chewed, soggy and kind of gross.

Why would he do this? Is it a developmental thing that all kids go through? Is he just weird?







Please tell me someone else has a toddler that does this. This is not the first time he has done it, it usually happens at least a few times a week. I am worried he is going to choke...


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## nova22 (Jun 26, 2004)

Ewwww, my little girl used to do that. Constantly. For a year.









I remember one time when I served pasta with freshly made garlic bread for dinner. She was about two and a half. Apparently she didn't care for the garlic bread, but she didn't want to spit it out. She has always been very dainty and would rather die than use bad manners, apparently.







I was giving her a bath later that night and when I leaned over her, I got a huge whiff full of garlic. I thought it was in her hair at first, but no, it was a giant blob of bread, complete with a chopped-up garlic clove, stuffed in her cheek. She looked very sheepish and I think she was afraid of getting in trouble. I had her spit it into the trash and no amount of teeth-brushing got that garlic smell off her breath!

I don't think your son is weird...maybe he's just experimenting with his food, or testing boundaries, or - like my daughter - didn't want to swallow it, but didn't want to spit it out because it's yucky.


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## Pumpkin_Pie (Oct 10, 2006)

It is definitely driving me bonkers. Tonight I stopped at a grocery store on our evening walk and bought some deli turkey and gave DS a piece. When I went to put his pajamas on this evening about 3 hours later, well after he had eaten dinner, he looks up at me smiling with his mouth half open as if to say "Look what I have in here!" He giggled, ran away and then came back with his mouth open. I finally caught him and he spit out the turkey from the walk! *gag* He had not only nursed with that in there, but he had eaten dinner with it in there too. I swear he has a pouch in there that he can close off when he is eating something else. I really hope it ends soon....


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## Logan's Mom (Mar 2, 2006)

My DS did that too. He was 2.5 and it was right around getting his 2 year molars. I have no idea if that had anything to do with it. We tried to get him to spit it out, nope. We tried to get it out with our fingers, ouch he bit us! We made a big deal out of it.

I then, just stopped making it an issue. He stopped shortly thereafter. It only lasted a month or so, but I was so nervous he would choke. He never did.

I don't know if ignoring it turned him around or he got his molars in and he was done. Whatever it was, we were happy!







:


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## KD's Momma (Oct 24, 2004)

my MIL talks about how DH use to do this. He would chew up bacon at breakfast and hold it between his gum and cheek for the whole day. She said he did it off and on for awhile and then just quit one day.


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## _betsy_ (Jun 29, 2004)

My 2 yo DD doesn't do this, but her BFF, who is two days younger, does and has been for a couple months. She'll be singing and dancing and running around like any 2 yo, with a wad of something (usually a vegetable, or chicken) tucked into her cheek. Her mom thinks its a texture issue.


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