To think you need nerves of steel to do BLW?

[IckleJess]

DS is almost 7 months and although I started him on purees around 4 weeks ago (he had a break of around 10 days from eating just before Christmas due to having this awful virus that's doing the rounds) it's become apparent that he just isn't all that interested in eating mush from a spoon.

So, have decided to try letting him feed himself. All went well the first mealtime as all he did was squish some broccoli in his hands. Tonight I gave him a banana and he went mad for it and couldn't ram it in his mouth fast enough! He managed to gum off huge lumps of it and although he gagged and they fell forward out of his mouth there was lots of coughing noises and eyes watering. I was left a nervous wreck and, to my shame, took the banana off him (much to his dismay :( )

How do you cope with the choking potential? I, in theory, know what to do if he chokes but I still can't relax. I need to sit on my hands to stop me jumping up and taking whatever he is eating away from him.

Have ordered Gill Rapley's book and I'm hoping by reading it I'll have the confidence to carry on but any tips would be gratefully received please!

they can choke on puree too you know!

and that's exactly what the gag reflux is there for, as demonstrated beautifully by your son today! too much goes too far back, he gags and coughs it out... no choking

i've BLW 2 babies and we've only ever had one real, proper choking incident and that was when ds2 was well over a year IIRC so irrelevant that he was BLW probably! was just unfortunate with a round piece of carrot that went down whole.

so, keep to larger objects that they can bite small pieces off and you should be fine

I know the feeling dd was the same.constant supervision is a must. I just gave her small pieces( not a whole banana) and peel the skin off of oranges, grapes, apples etc to minimize choking.
You will be a nervous wreck for a while but as yours grows in confidence so will you

the gag reflex actually prevents them from choking :-)

Its still scary to watch though!

Personally i spoon in lumpy food first and do baby lead eating once they are fully weaned about 12 months.
I've had an choking incident recently with an 8 year old and it frightened us both so i'm afraid I err on the side of caution with the baby.

Its very very unlikely he will choke. There will be lots of gagging though, as eating is a learning process. We are built to deal with this though (well babies are [grim] not so much us mothers watching!).

Just make sure he is sitting upright and that you are close at hand and Im sure it will all be fine :)

not [grim] sorry!

I'd never even heard of BLW until today on this forum and I'm an almost 42yr old mother of three!

I think we probably called them 'finger foods' back in the day (lol) and yes, it is a bit of a worry but I think with things like bananas I cut them into slices for that very reason (cos they'd take big piggy sized chunks!) and then sat with them and let them get on with it.

DD did BLW and Dh and I never had a problem with her occasionally gagging. And it was very occasionally--she soon learned just how big her mouth is! My mum and assorted relatives on the other hand, found it very difficult at first.
DD has never (touch wood) choked and she was BLW'ed at 6 months and is now 18months.

Only nerves required here were to cope with DM panicking every time he ate.

Just remember, the gag reflex is there to teach him what is too much, and it's far further forward in babies for just that reason.

He'll soon get the hang of it. DS is only 7 months now and hasn't gagged on anything in ages. He still throws broccoli across the room but we're working on that.

I didn't peel the skin off of anything though...mind you I did used to cut grapes in two because around the time I had my first child, there was a poor unfortunate baby in my area that choked to death on a grape (blocked the windpipe)

I know she could have choked on anything, but for some reason I always cut grapes in two until they were toddlers.

As long as he's making a noise, he's fine. Coughing and spluttering are signs that he is breathing, not choking. A person choking makes no noise as they cannot breathe.

Two of my dc choked and went blue in the face from lack of air. Both choked on purees. I had to take quick action to clear their airways. Once they could breathe again I sat down and shook. They OTOH didn't need or want any comforting - they wanted to continue with their dinners!

BLW is so much easier than purée-led. I've done both. Of course you supervise, but standing back and letting the child learn to cope is part if what parenting is all about. The first time we let our ds1 walk to school alone - crossing the main road ! - I had to hold on to dh to stop him from following at a distance.

Yes, please do cut grapes in half, my friends DD (almost 2) choked on a grape and died. Next door neighbour was a paramedic and they couldn't get the grape out.

No BLW when mine were little either, just purees and 'finger foods'. Worked well with the first four, so I'll stick to that with this one too.

Persevere, and you'll see how quickly they learn to deal with the food. My dd is 7 months and she only gags very occasionally - usually on too hard carrot- and is learning how to chew, handle different textures, get food out of her fist etc. It's amazing to watch.

In Gill Rapley's book it explains how the gag reflex is really far forward in the mouth, so the food is only in the middle of their tongue when they are gagging and coughing.

I worry more now about whether she will actually swallow anything as she has got so good at chewing bits off and spitting them out. But I'm sure it will work out eventually.

Oh midori, what a sad tragic thing to happen

I also cut grapes in half for my nearly 2 year old - I went to a baby safety/first aid course run by a paramedic when DS1 was pre weaning and paramedic said that grapes are the worst as they are the perfect shape and size to get stuck and most difficult to remove...

Sorry OP - don't want to terrify you further though

dd was 6 months old when we started BLW.
The BLW thing wasnt really planned she just snatched a piece of broccoli one day and started chowing down. I didnt even know it was called BLW. It was just me being lazy.

At 7 months she was holding and chomping on whole apples and pears.

None of her food has been pureed but obviously I cut things which are hard to chew (like meat) up.

We haven't really had any issues with her struggling with it she just seemed to know what to do from day one. No choking incidents at all. If she had been coughing and spluttering I think I would have gone down the pureed route tbh

She has had teeth since about 3 months though so I wonder whether that is part of it?

Just to say, we did BLW, and it has worked really well for us. We had a couple of gagging/spluttering incidents in the first couple of months, and you really have to hold your nerve, but now DD (12months) will eat pretty much anything and sits quite happily feeding herself. Def read the Rapley book, as it sets out the basics/fundamentals and also gives you more confidence in what you are doing. And also echo those who say about cutting grapes etc. Always best to err on the side of caution.

Thanks for all the replies - has made me feel better about the whole thing.

Tbh, I'd happily go down the puree route as it's worked fine for my other 3 DCs but DS really doesn't want them, just clamps his little gums together. But, if he is given the opportunity to hold his food then it's straight up to his mouth so I feel I should follow his cues/instincts.

Will read the book and continue to persevere, you'd think that being on my 4th baby I'd have learnt to relax a little!

As for grapes, I still cut them up for my 3yr old, they are perfect choking-fodder shapes when whole.

Right, now I just need some ideas of what I can give DS to munch on :o

I did BLW with all 3 of mine, and have had 2 choking incidences - one was raw apple, in the car, when DS1 was about 18 months or so, and the other was DS2 with a fecking string of bloody beads which were not, in fact, on the menu, baby led or otherwise.

The bead incident was terrifying, blue light ambulance etc, but thankfully all well in the end.

I am probably lazy, but all my kids were sort of self weaned - I gave them mush for about a week then let them have whatever I was having (within reason and of course avoiding foods that are not recommended for babies etc) as they seemed genuinely more interested in whatever I was eating.

DC4 is 8 months and is happily munching away on most things.

DS2s health visitor had me down the clinic giving the other mums a talk on weaning in 2006 so BLW must be okay. :)

I remember her saying 'You are so relaxed about it all' I replied 'It's just BLW isn't it?' - she looked bemused.

Also, as others have said - I have only ever had 2 instances so far where a child has actually been choking and I have had to whip them upside down a bit quick and out of 4 kids, that's not bad. :)

Did BLW with my dd since she was 6 months. She's now almost 2. Would def do the same with next little one. She never once choked- relax and enjoy allowing your baby to enjoy thier first tastes- I get used to hearing lots of "you can't let them eat that they'll choke"! THEY WONT.

OP - sounds to me like your DS gagged, not choked. Part of the learning process.

With choking you don't see anything dramatic like with gagging - they just stop breathing and its much quieter.

I think BLW teaches them about what is safe to put in your mouth. the gagging is all learning

I did BLW but cut everything into long sticks. They do gag a bit at first which is alarming but they get used to eating very quickly and it happens much less.

I did BLW, but DD had all her teeth really early, and never gagged on anything...

I didn't know anyone else who was doing it and I wouldn't've of kept going if she was a gagger to be completally honest!