To worry my baby will choke?

[Macdaddylonglegs]

Ds2 is 24weeks, I've been trying him with purees for a couple of weeks but he seems pretty disinterested despite trying to grab at anything I'm eating. He's breastfeeding every 1-2 hours even overnight and is a big baby, so I definitely think could do with starting on the weaning journey. Decided to try BLW and he seemed to love it. Started with toast fingers, he was so excited but kept gagging. It was way too much for my nerves as I just kept picturing him choking! I took the toast away and he cried, bless him. Too soon to try BLW? Toast the wrong choice? Or do I need to man up?!

The gagging is perfectly natural. He is learning to move food around in his mouth - a complex process! As long as you watch him, he'll be fine.

You need to man up wee bit. He's going to make odd gagging faces and maybe choke a bit but that's completely normal. He sounds like he's really keen to try. Just be brave and sensible and he'll be fine.

It helps if you remember that his gag reflex is much further forward than an adults, he will gag well before anything is anywhere bear his throat. So the gagging looks scary but is actually good!

I struggled with this too, I found it hard to get the measure of what was normal and what was a choking hazard. I worried all the way through two kids and neither of them choked.

If you don't feel comfortable with it then try something else. You can let them spoon up their own purée for example. Mine didn't have toast until they were older.

Gagging is his way of making sure food doesn't get far enough for him to choke. Have a read of Baby Led Weaningby Gill Rapley, it's very reassuring. I got a copy out from the library. There are also blw groups on facebook you can join for further reassurance.

I reassured myself by doing a paediatric first aid course so that I was confident I knew exactly what to do in the event of choking. Always worth doing anyway! I did a refresher course with all three babies

Thanks everyone. I do want to try again as it's the most animated over food I've seen him. Humphrey, I've done some first aid and even watched refresher videos today on choking but the thought of it is just so terrifying. Nutbrown i'll have a look at that book, thanks.
Maybe i'll give it another go when DH is around and he can hold my hand /help with choking if necessary 😉

Maybe give him softer things?
But harder than puree?

Fresh ripe pear
Banana
Mashed potato

Apologies if these are "old advice".
My baby weaned 3 years ago.

It is something I worry about. My dc NEVER get grapes in their lunchbox and they are seven and nine

Gagging is fine, he's learning to swallow: a key skill! You'll know if he is actually choking, they go blue real quick

Oh yeah, never grapes....unless you peel and quarter them...

As long as you keep away from grapes/tomato/nuts and other genuine choking hazards then I think BLW is the best way to minimise choking danger. It is sometimes scary....the same way I now get scared when DD is diving to the bottom of the swimming pool...but really it is better to let them explore the limits while the gag reflex is nice and far forward!

Have you done a first aid course specifically for babies and children? I did, and when my DD choked on a piece of fish finger about one year later I instinctively turned her upside-down and slapped her between the shoulder-blades, without a second thought, dislodging it. DH, who is usually a hundred times better than me at keeping cool and rational in emergencies, had no idea what to do.

Just a side note... There is a happy medium between mush and BLW. I looked at some online sources about BLW when I started DD on solids and some are almost religious about letting babies eat anything they like, including pork chops and the likes. DD still gets quite small pieces to pick on, and she's 20 months. I don't give her anything really chewy, either. Toast is not necessarily that great, as bread turns into a lump of dough in the mouth.

Toast? Really? Try avocado and banana.

It's a minefield isn't it? I've been through weaning once before with dd1 but she just seemed to take to it. We did a bit of purees, a bit of BLW and it all just seemed to evolve naturally. I'm sure I only remember her gagging occasionally though. robotic I guess maybe I need to think of something other than toast.
why fresh pear is a good idea
alice grapes terrify me too. My MIL seemed to have no fear or idea about choking and would give dd1 whole grapes, cherry tomatoes etc even when she was really small 😨

They need to almost choke (gag, cough) in order to learn how not to! :)

Steer clear of toast for now as it can be chewy and sticky. Try banana, peeled and thinly sliced Apple, or basically anything that can easily be chewed up and swallowed.

Grapes and baby tomatoes are perfect for weaning provided that they are cut up. Yoghurt is OK from 7 months I think? What about rice cakes?

Bread is a bit stodgy too imo for the start of weaning. I would reintroduce toast a bit further down the line.

You'll get so used to gagging, you won't even believe.

The biggest thing to get your head around is that gagging is not choking - and the difference is startling.

Some foods are much more chokeable than others. I seem to remember googling a list of the worst offenders and being particularly vigilant with those.

Toast? Really? Try avocado and banana

Could you sound any more sanctimonious? Really? Try suggesting things without sounding so sniffy.

Nothing wrong with some puree OP if your nerves can't take it and work up to toast later on

Gosh, so much angst over something so simple!

DD just ate off our plates from about 5.5 months. Including big chunky pub chips, pheasant (off DH's plate), steak, sticky toffee pudding, toast with all manner of toppings. If she could hold it she tried eating it. We never cut anything into small bits. She gagged occasionally but never came close to choking.

She had marmite toast fingers on her 6 month birthday. And jelly and blancmange fingers

I didn't think rice cakes were advised for babies and children now.

Sounds like your dd took to BLW really well Soupersal, which is great. I tried again for dinner and in the space of 2 mins he gagged about 10 times! I definitely feel more relaxed about it though, as he seems pretty good at this gagging malarkey!!! I guess it will just take him a bit of time to get used to this eating business!

It is kind of heart-stopping, but every time one of mine (I have twins) gags on a bit of food I think of it as them learning their limitations. They are eight months today and they are so much more confident with eating. It's amazing how quickly they've progressed in just a couple of months. They now strip the flesh off a slice of tomato and spit the skin out like pros.

Just keep a close eye on him and keep offering different foods. Ripe strawberries and fingers of watermelon are a particular favourite here at the moment. I also recommend the Baby Led Weaning Cookbook, also by Gill Rapley, which has some of the basic information about BLW and lots of great ideas for food.