7 month old not chewing food yet

[pommie]

Just wondered if this is normal or not as cant remember what our first daughter was like with solid food.

Our youngest turned 7 months on tuesday and we have been giving her finger foods etc but it seems like she hasnt mastered the art of chewing food yet as she seems to struggle/choke. she has her two bottom teeth and her top two have just cut through her gums.

Is this normal or should we get her checked out?

[Fuschia]

Way have you been giving her? I don't think they chew as such at 7m. It's more a case of jamming food into their mouths and chomping, sucking or tearing a chunk off then learning how to swallow it, hence much gagging and drooling and bits of food falling back out of their mouths.

Chunky chip sized pieces of peeled cucumber or low salt breadsticks are good at that age, iirc

[Saffron]

No, I would not really expect a 7 month old to being chewing much. Learning to coordinate tongue and jaw movements while eating is complicated and takes time and practice for babies. It's common for babies to gag at this age. What seems like choking is almost certainly not choking, it's gagging. They're not the same thing. The gagging reflex is very sensitive in babies and children, and this actually provides some protection from true choking. The BLW book has lots of interesting information on this. xx

[mich]

Me son has only just started to chew his food at 9 1/2 months, before then he used to cram it in and suck.