# Chewing food and then spits it out!!!



## mamarabil

Any one else's little one doing this??? He doesn't do it all the time just MOST of the time. He enjoys eating; just fills up his mouth like a little chipmunk and then spits it out. Then will keep on eating what is on his plate and then ask for more!!!

I'm just at my wits end and don't know whether to ignore this or what. I just don't see how he can ever gain weight if he doesn't eat more!!

He still nurses a couple of times a day and before bed. I don't let him nurse at least an hour or two prior to feeding him. He's active and busy like most 18 month olds - just don't know if I should be concerned or if this falls into that "most kids don't eat much" catagory.

Thanks!!

Mamarabil


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## sarahrose

Maybe he's just not hungry and is playing with his food. I find if I give my 18 month old a lot of food he eats less than when I give him very small amounts at a time. If it's just too much he just plays and throws it on the floor or spits it out.

It's possibly a phase. I'd ignore it and pretend like it doesn't bug you. 18 months is a hard time for food (at least that's been the pattern for both my boys). Sometimes I wonder how mine survives.


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## hnybee

My oldest daughter did this when she was a toddler. It was mostly meat that she chewed up and spit out. She has since explained to me (she's eight now) that it was a texture issue. Maybe baby doesn't like a certain texture or it doesn't feel good in his/her mouth (ie when they are teething). I wouldn't worry too much about it as long as they are getting enough nutrition and they are still nursing some.









-Melissa


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## carolsly

Perfectly normal. If you make a big deal out of it..so will dc. We don't throw food on the floor in this house, but taste testing and coming back for it..or not..that's fine. They eat when they want to...I have only met one 18mos old who ate everything on his plate. It took him 3 hours...

Take a deep breath, wait 6 mos..food becomes attractive again.


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## lazra

For our dd, definitely a texture issue. And it's not consistent, either - one day she was spitting out everything with a "rind", like a slightly-overdone hot dog and the pickle that it was with, but the next week when we tried the same combo, she was completely fine. I guess sometimes it just doesn't feel "right." I have to agree, though, that it really pushed my buttons when she started doing it. It was really frustrating for some undefinable reason - probably mostly that it was so unpredictable and messy (yeah, welcome to motherhood







).

Now it only bugs me (and I hide it better) when she just spits it out and lets it fall without trying to catch it. I think the change for me came when I realized my dh was picking up on my irritation and mirroring it. When I saw him reacting exactly the same way as I was, I realized how unreasonable I was being and just tried to concentrate on not reacting when she did it, other than to describe what she was doing and what needed to be done next (clean it up). Good luck in getting through this stage quickly!


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## mamarabil

Sometimes you just need to hear you don't have the only kid doing something. I'll try some of the suggestions and hopefully something will work or we'll quickly outgrow this!!!

Thanks again for all the responses!

"I have only met one 18mos old who ate everything on his plate. It took him 3 hours..." I THOUGHT THIS WAS SO FUNNY - thanks for a good laugh!


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## CrunchyPeach

My dd does this with just about every other bite of food. She will swallow one, spit one, swallow one, spit one, etc. It's frustrating but if she sees that it bothers me she laughs and does it more. I try to ignore it and just clean the mess later...and what a mess it is! I hope she outgrows this phase soon.


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## magster

My DD (25 months old) often does this with beef. I think it's because of the texture.


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## zoebugsmom

My dd does this too. As long as she spits it out onto her plate or into my hand (yuck!) as opposed to the floor it doesn't bother me. She does it more now that she has her canines coming in. I think it's a texture thing too. That or she decides she's not that hungry after taking the bite of food.







She'll grow out of it eventually, I'm sure.


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## matts_mamamama

My son just started doing this yesterday! He puts food in his mouth, then spits it out - generally toward the dog! How frustrating! I see many more snacks and less food at mealtimes in my near future!

So, I understand about not reacting - does that mean just letting him take food and spit it out or do you guys remove the food and/or child from the table?


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## kathywiehl

Mine does this and has for a few months now (she's 22 mos) I was able to figure out that the reasons are because of the texture or sometimes she puts too much food in her mouth and it becomes too hard to chew. If I notice this, I only put 1-2 bites of food on her plate at a time and wait for her to chew and swallow before giving her more. If she's really hungry, she'll just stuff her face, chew for a bit, then spit it out into my hand or her plate.


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## newmainer

yup. been going on around here for awhile. Often times its because she spits it out on the floor and the dog comes to eat it, and she adores the dog. Mostly i'm ignoring it now and just giving her less food to start with. If she's hungry, she eats it. If she's not, she'll play.


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## heket

Ooo, I thought I was one of the few! My nearly 18 m.o. has been doing this increasingly in the last 2 months. I notice it happends because she shoves a bunch of food into her mouth -- as if to see how much she can put in all at once. Then it generally comes out in one big lump







. Sometimes it's because she's full and wants to play, other's it not. All I know is it drives me nuts!

So I try to give her really small portions to prevent this. But sometimes it doesn't work.

The other things she likes to do when she's done (especially with bread) is to shread items into little pieces and scatter it on the floor. Generally these are items that crumble easily, making it difficult to clean up. We've been trying to teach her to put it on her plate or give it to us, but doesn't always work. Anyone else's toddler do this?


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## memory maker

my dd does this with hard foods like raw carrots and apples


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## Willowrose

LOL, my little one is just passing this stage, thankfully! I agree, if you make a fuss about it, the baby will be more likely to continue the habit!
Like all things though, this too shall pass!


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## Bum deedly

Early warning signs of an eating disorder. Stay on top of that, it could manifest itself into anorexia or bulimia.


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## Bradcar

Bum deedly said:


> Early warning signs of an eating disorder. Stay on top of that, it could manifest itself into anorexia or bulimia.


 You cannot be serious!!!!


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