Baby weaning v baby led weaning?

[UmptyDumpty1]

I really want to do baby led weaning however I’m so scared of baby choking..tell me what you did & how?

Thanks x

Mix of both- started with purees (bought a steamer and a hand blender), left bits of food on my LOs highchair for her to try etc

YouTube videos of the difference between gagging and choking - gagging is perfectly normal as they learn to handle foods.

Maybe look for a child first aid course if it is your mind at ease.

Personally I didn't really buy into the whole "baby led weaning" thing. We just spoon fed sloppy food and put some chunks of food - usually from our plates - Infront of them and left them to it.

Do what suits you, it doesn't have to be one or the other :)

I did a few finger foods and then used jars and pouches. He wouldn’t eat the homemade stuff.

Baby led weaning is using no purée/baby food. Traditional weaning is giving purée and finger foods from 6 months. Either way you need to give finger foods when you start weaning at 6 months.

I just did blw with my first but will probably do mostly finger food this time with occasional bit of purée thrown in.

Bit of both. Mine only wanted puree initially and then only wanted finger foods. Switched back and forth a few times with teething etc. Just don't give added salt or sugar and you'll be fine either way.

I did baby led weaning, far less faff and you actually get a chance to eat while they're eating 😂

I'd recommend going on a baby first aid course (st johns ambulance do free ones) just so you feel a bit more confident that you could deal with the situation if they do choke. The Gill Rapley book is very good for putting your mind at ease - talks a lot about the difference between choking and gagging, and how their gag reflex is quite far forward at that age which protects them from choking while they're learning how to manipulate food in their mouths.

If you see a baby first aid class I would 100% do it. I did one as part of my nurses training and it gave me so much confidence when weaning my little boy. When they are first eating they sometimes make really weird noises and the solid food hits their gag reflex. This is not choking. The most important thing is making sure they are ready and sitting upright and 100%supervised.

I did a mix, I usually just chopped up or mashed whatever I was eating. I personally didnt mash batches and freeze. Which in hindsight I'm glad of because my son moved up the stages after about a week or so and it would have been a wasted effort.

We started with purées and DD did great but it became quickly obvious that she is a 'good eater' and not long after we just switched to her eating what we eat. As PP said, gagging is normal and nothing to worry about. If they're making noise, they're fine. Just remember not to add salt when you're cooking - either portion off baby's serving or just add salt to the adult portions when served.

I did BLW but went on a baby first aid course before hand (It was £20 at the local childrens centre)

Expecting DC2 and will mainly do BLW again but make more effort to give soup as DS1 doesn't like it and I think it might be because he never had purees (Mind you DH also doesn't like soup apart from tomato).

I did BLW with DD. It meant I just fed her whatever I was having and it was amazing to see her digging into everything. She would try everything even stuff now she hates. It also meant that when out and about if I went to a cafe or some such she just had a bit off my plate and I only had to take a bib or muzzie. Favourites were:
Roasted veg esp courgettes where she would suck off the flesh and spit out the skin.
Pasta Bolognaise
Toast (used Gill Rapley's bread recipe)
Grilled herring roe and spinach
Yorkshire puddings

For breakfast I used to whizz up some slices of tinned peach with oats and briefly cook to make peachy porridge. She loved that and could feed herself with her spoon. So you can give purée but the idea is for them to help themselves.

I had no say. Baby 1 only agreed to eat purees, and baby 2 only ate what she could feed herself. So the decision may be taken out of your hands anyway,.

Your baby will gag on food at some point, when you eventually do give them lumpy food. At least if you don't start with perfectly smooth purees they will set out eating foods with the right sort if expectation, that it will need 'chewing'.
My son was premature and I started with purees despite knowing about BLW, as by weaning age DS was still nowhere near able to even pick something up and put it in his mouth. However, once he started on lumpy baby foods he hit a wall, because he would gag and spit the lumps out. So at that point I gave BLW a try with some bits of cooked broccoli, strips of banana (best way is to naturally split the banana lengthways into 3 - easier to grip then!
DD wasn't premature and I started with baby porridge, but gave her a loaded spoon. She also ate a banana by gumming it. She was far better at self feeding but less keen on veg and used to lob cooked broccoli and carrot over the side of the high chair quite deliberately!

DC1 traditional weaning, at fourth months basically pouring runny purée into a baby who wasn't ready under threat from the HB, then moving onto roughly chopped and finger food at around 6/7 months.
It was a pretty shitty experience.

DC2 skipped the runny bit and didn't wean until he was showing all the signs of readiness at 7 months. He had a lot of finger food and other food was just chopped or mashed, he was using a spoon and fork to completely feed himself by 10 months.
Great experience.

DC3 was ready for food at 6 months basically only wanted to feed himself with whatever he could grab. So went down the BLW route with the exception of yoghurt as he would howl with rage as he couldn't get it to stay on the spoon so I used to hold his hand to help. It was fine but his manners were atrocious until about 3.5 years, he used to try and eat everything with his fingers.

DC4 wasn't ready for food until 8 months was given plenty of opportunity before then but just not bothered. Once ready I did as I had with DC2 roughly chopped or mashed food and plenty of things to hold. Was a great eater and mastered cutlery by 1. Although became horrendously fussy between 2 and 3!

I did mostly traditional purees with DS1 to begin with then gradually moved onto finger food. My son now hates chewing meat and spits it out. I do wonder if it's because of how he was weaned.

With DS2, I plan to do BLW as I feel that it's easier, more relaxed and is more fun for everyone involved. Yes, it's uncomfortable watching them
gag, but you're just putting off the inevitable - they have to eat lumps eventually and good to get them used to it.

I don’t understand when people are put off BLW because of gagging/choking. Even if you start on purées, they aren’t going to eat purées forever, or even until they’ve got enough teeth to chew, so sooner or later they are going to have to eat non puréed food and then there’s the same gagging/choking risk? So why not give them finger foods from the start? Does drinking smooth purées for a month prepare them for lumps of food and prevent gagging/choking?

Not meaning to be goady, genuinely don’t understand the difference between giving them finger foods straight away or waiting a month or two (assuming you start wearing at a point when baby is ready to feed themselves eg around 6m).

I have done blw. I preffered this as it's nice to eat with them and also I don't like the idea of teaching them to just swallow until the age of 1 and then being like "okay time to chew" because by this point their gag reflex is further back.

Don't wait until they have teeth because some don't get teeth till around 1..

I highly recommend joining the Baby Led Weaning UK Facebook group.

Get yourself on an infant first aid course. The information is invaluable to parents.

Gagging is loud, red and you should leave baby to sort it out themselves, or you risk causing them to choke.

Choking is silent and blue. You must help baby if this happens.

This is a good reminder.

You should try not to let your anxieties affect baby experiencing new things. It’s always scary when there is an element of perceived danger, but it’s your job to be calm and guide your child through developments.

Child first aid course and then just gave him same as us, cut appropriately. We only ever had one incident where he needed help

We did neither. Just normal food but some of it mushed up, some spoon fed, some loaded spoons, some they fed themselves. Just purees or purely blw seemed a bit limited, it as pp says your baby might decide for you. I did a first aid course through the sure start centre, it was very cheap.