BLW - what do you do about grapes...

[barbareebaa]

... and other small 'things'?

Surely if its bigger it's easier to hold on to and knaw away at but if its tiny it just swims around in the mouth and gets swallowed. Not much fun so have so far avoided.

I flattened a sprout but ds prefers the thing whole and round.

When he eats melon he always ends up with chokable bits anyway.

What about satsumas/ clemantines? I give segmants but I always wonder if it's a bit risky.

Please tell me if I'm doing it right or am I taking too much of a risk? How should I be presenting these foods to him?

Thank you!

B

[bumpybecky]

when tiny I used to cut grapes in half, but only becuase I read about babies choking on them, not becuase dc actaully needed them cutting them in half

ds is not 19 months and I still cut them occasionally, but mainlky to slow him down! he has a habit of grabbing all the grapes he can and stuffing them in at once (up to 4 big ones at once!). Then he's not got enough space to chew and it gets messy! if they're halved he can chew a bit before stuffing the next one in....

Satsumas / clementines I've always given segments. Never consiudered it risky as they're softer

[Meglet]

I cut grapes in half. I used to hold the clementine segments in dd's mouth while she sucked the juice out, sort of defeats the purpose of BLW but I'm pretty neurotic . I would squash brussels too.

[littleboyblue]

I just cut them in half.

[BertieBotts]

I cut/bite grapes in half (lengthways) and have never thought anything of it

Satsumas etc - I give a segment but I do check for pips and bite them out before handing it over. DS has teeth so he can rip it open himself. If he didn't, I'd bite/tear a hole in it first. He always spits out the skin of the segment. He seems to prefer proper big orange segments though - but they are messier and staining.

Haven't tried sprouts yet - would probably halve them to cool anyway.

I'm not sure I understand this: "If its tiny it just swims around in the mouth and gets swallowed." - don't you want him to swallow things? What about raisins, sweetcorn etc?

[littleboyblue]

I'd imagine the OP is thinkng along the lines of if it's small enough to just be swallowed, the baby wouldn't get the taste?????

I don't find there's a problem with small food though like blueberries or sweetcorn, it just takes a few hundred attempts to get in in his mouth

[barbareebaa]

Sorry I haven't been back 'til now - naps etc!

Yes I mean that if you cut it up small then it pops straight in the mouth (as there's not enough fruit left to hold on to) and there's no chance of sucking/ tasting perhaps?

How small is too small - when does it stop being a potential choking risk?
Is a raisin not a choking risk? (genuine question)
Is half a grape not really a risk any more?

Sorry for all the questions - I know I sound a bit dim I would like to give ds grapes but want to make sure I do it in the safest way possible.

I have also held on to satsuma segments while he sucks out the juices!

Really appreciate your responses!

[barbareebaa]

So is it ok if it pops straight into the mouth then - like sweetcorn etc? I think I mean that all the smashing he does in the mouth happens at the front - where the teeth are? Then if it goes straight in with no sucking/ nibbling it will stay whole as there are no back teeth.
Do I sound like a loon? Am I thinking about it all too much???

[BertieBotts]

I thought that if they had the ability to pick up small things like raisins (ie pincer grip) then they were ok, I may be wrong though.

[MrsBadger]

grapes are less of a risk once cut or squashed as they're no longer the perfect shape and texture to completely plug a 6mo's airway...

[littleboyblue]

How I understand it is, you shouldn't pop anything in their mouth, this is where the chocking hazard is likely to come in. It's less likely they will choke if they pop it in their own mouth.

And, you don't sound dim at all, this is worrying stuff. I've had to hold ds1 upside down whilst smaking him on the back before. Is scary.

[barbareebaa]

thanks so much. Feeling a bit more confident about it all!
I bought some grapes today so will try tomorrow - maybe squashed to start with!
I heard the same thing about pincer grip BertieBotts but haven't felt confident enough to try little things yet. Maybe give it ago in the next day or 2!
So (just out of interest) if a small thing like a raisin is inhaled would they just cough it out themselves?
littleboyblue sorry to hear of your choking experience - God that must have been so scary!

thanks again for sharing experiences! Have been wondering about this for a while so it's been really helpful

[littleboyblue]

barbareebaa This was on purees too!
IME, they are uite good at sorting themselves out, but you'll know after a few seconds if you need to do something

[cara2244]

My 8 month old can pick up and chomp on a raisin - I was careful with them until recently and didn't put them in things. He takes ages to chew them but seems to cope fine.

[AitchwonderswhoFruitCrumbleis]

i think you are over-thinking it a bit, tbh. littleboyblue is right, this happens with purees too, it's a learning curve for both of you.

i'll always tell people that the best thing any parent can do is read up on infant resus or take a class. not because they'll definitely need it, but because if one day they do need it, they'll be kicking themselves for not having taken the time.

don't worry about the tasting, that's kinda you projecting what you want them to do. let him do what he wants, swallowing bits of food in a oner is new to him too.

definitely cut up grapes, i'm not terribly anxious about these sorts of things but tbh i still cut up dd1's and she's nearly four. like mrsb says, they're the perfect design to lodge in an airway, it's too risky. and yes, i think squashing them a bit for a very wee one is a good idea too, i used to pop them inside-out a bit, helped mine to get a grip on them.

good luck, your confidence will grow, take it easy.

[LackaDAISYcal]

hey barbs, bumble can do the pincer grip quite well now and is regularly eating raisins that his sister leaves all over the floor saves for him

grapes, I cut in half or quarters if they are big ones.

satsumas, that's the one thing that my DD managed to choke on, so I break the segments in two before letting bumble near them.

he still struggles with peas, but it's amusing watching him, but other than that he will give things a fair go, and although he has got things caught, is very good at clearing it himself. The human gag reflex iis pretty good at sorting out potential choking hazards.

As someone said if he is feeding himself then there is less chance of him choking as he will get it into his mouth at the front where it needs to be where spoon feeding means things are further back.

It's also surprising just what they can manage. bumble was eating pasta shells the otehr night and they were just the right shape for him to get a good grip of and he was popping them in and swallowing them whole. DH and I were at how fast he was packing it away!!

[barbareebaa]

I am definitely going to look into doing a course I think, have been thinking about it for a while. I'm often on my own when ds eats so again just for my own confidence really!
Have to say he is doing really well - despite my worries
Daisy at Bumble with pasta shells!

[barbareebaa]

Oh - btw - tried ds on grapes halved and squashed - so far he is not keen makes a face like I've given him a lemon! Hum ho! Peas and raisins next!

[AitchwonderswhoFruitCrumbleis]

the lemon face is aaaaaall part of the process... i write a blog and christened it the 'you've poisoned me face'. don't make a special effort to keep giving new foods, just give him nice stuff that you like and see how he gets on.

and yes yes yes, the course is totally brilliant for confidence. i think every parent should do one, nothing to do with weaning, it's just a confidence we all need if we get into a hairy situation one day.

[lowrib]

My 8mo DS likes raisins - he can pick them up so I figured it's fine. Although he can't suck them, they go round and round for ages in his mouth, he seems to enjoy them. They're too small to be a choking risk IMO.

Grapes are a choking risk, I don't think I'll bother with them till he's older. Why the rush to try grapes? There are plenty of other yummy foods.

Incidentally barbareebaa I've given my DS a bit of lemon! He made a face but he liked it and went back for more! (It was in my drink and I caught hi looking at it. A water that was BTW, not a G&T in case you were wondering )

[barbareebaa]

Aitch - would i ask the hv re: courses do you think? Prob the place to start? He doesn't get much variety bless him as he has a few allergies (cows milk, egg, peanut, soya, wheat, cod and walnut - so far - i suspect pineapple and tomatoes too haven't even bothered to try berries yet ) so he gets a selection of roast veg, steamed veg and meat and fruit for tea and free from bread sarnies and toast and bmilk. So i do like to pop the odd different thing in from time to time - just to keep things interesting! but he is following his centile brilliantly despite his allergies (sailing along above the 91st) ver proud mummy (can you tell )
lowrib thanks for your comment! wow your ds is hardcore ! but is interesting - i find my ds doesn't seem at all perturbed by sour-ish fruit - you know a bit under ripe - totally game. obviously haven't developed a sweet tooth (yet!!) perhaps? think he may draw the line at lemon though but he hasn't had the oppertunity so maybe he would!
rambling now!

[logi]

Grapes left whole are one of the top foods for choking its not worth the risk.

[AitchwonderswhoFruitCrumbleis]

sure, ask teh hv. my course was at the local maternity hosp, meant to be attended by pregnant women.