Scared of my DD choking

[harverina]

Hi everyone,

My DD is almost 6 months old and we are starting to wean her this weekend. We have chosen this weekend as it is a holiday weekend and my DH and I have no plans so thought it was a good time to give it a go.

I would love to do BLW and have read the Gill Rapley book. However, I am so scared of my DD choking.

Today when we were out, we went to a market to buy fresh fruit and veg for our weekend of weaning . The guy on the stall handed us a bit of melon for my DD to try (he assumed she could eat!). I decided to give it to her and she loved it, she just sucked on the flesh until it was all gone. She also tried a wee bit of pear and banana.

When we got home I was feeling pretty excited so cut off a chip shaped bit of pear. My DD took it off me and started to munch on it, then started to gag. I know this is normal but I nearly passed out with fright. She only gagged a little, maybe 3 times and spat out 3 wee bits of pear.

My mum's ex husband died choking and she has always been obsessed by it so I know that this is probably why I'm being neurotic about it.

Not really sure what I am looking for by starting this thread...I suppose a bit of reassurance?

Has anyone combined BLW with the "traditional" route of mashed foods? Is this possible?

Sorry to waffle.

Thanks

"She only gagged a little, maybe 3 times and spat out 3 wee bits of pear."

which is exactly what is supposed to happen! the gag reflex is there to prevent them from choking. they gag, they spit it out.... no choke!

the beauty of baby led weaning is that the control lies with your baby. she is in charge of how much she puts in, or how much she bites off. if she can't cope with it she will spit it out.

i've done blw with 2 of my children, and the eldest had finger food alongside puree'd stuff.
only time any of them ever properly choked was when they were older and were shoving it in too fast and not chewing properly!

there is, of course, no reason why you shouldn't do a combination of mashed foods and BLW if that is what you want to do though :)

The gagging is totally normal and will stop the choking. My DD is a year old and we did a combination on BLW and spoon feeding such things as yoghurt, porridge and custard. She loves feeding herself and now when we have yoghurt or porrige I give her a spoon toon and we feed together, my spoons go in her mouth, her spoons go everywhere but.
I say go for it, combine the too, she will soon turn her head away from a spoon if she doen't want what is on it, just take that as a sign and remove the spoon.
Good Luck, you will have so much fun weaning.

Thanks so much for you quick replies. I don't want to get stressed out about it as I don't want her to pick up on this. I know she is ready, she is always trying to take food from my plate and she really enjoyed the melon today!

Would she gag either way - I mean whether she was sppon fed or BLW?

The gagging is a bit scary initially but as thisisyesterday says it's an instinctive mechanism to prevent choking.

We did BLW with DS which was great fun and he has always been a fantastic eater, not sure if it's linked to the BLW or just having greedy parents.

I think that they are as likely to gag on mashed stuff at first i.e. have a sensitive gag reflex to any solid food initially but it does improve with practice.

We avoided hard fruit and veg like apples and carrots initially, although grated apples went down a treat.

Lots of good ideas here

IMHO it's totally understandable why you are particularly worried about choking, given your family history.

Would you consider going on a baby / child resus course where they teach you how to deal with choking in babies and children?
I think most local leisure centres run them for free.

Gagging is always frightening the first few times it happens, I remember feeling all weak and shakey afterwards after my DS did it the first time but trust me, you get used to it as you realise that it's healthy and normal. There comes a point, whichever method you're using, when your child will have to try solid foods and whther that is at 6months or 1 year, they can always gag. Just trust in the method and follow what the book says. It will be fine and you'll have a child who knows what they like and don't like and isn't afriad of lumps, flavours, textures or new foods. Something I've found problematic with babies who have been weaned through the puree route.

Thanks for the link to BLW website montifer.

Just going to go for it tomorrow lunchtime. I know that my DD will go for it and enjoy herself and that I will have to relax a bit.

I have planned to offer my DD sweet potato, carrott and brocolli. JUst plan tp put it down on her high chair and see what she does.

Thanks for your reassurances re: gagging and that it is normal. I suppose I know this but it freightens me to hear her doing it.

Is gagging somthing that my DD will do for months?

that site is mine, montifer, and i think you would be absolutely NUTS not to be scared of your dd choking, of course you would. but... the question to ask yourself is what would you do if she did? how would you recognise it?

have you thought of doing an infant resus course? i did one, felt SO much better about everything after that, because while the answer is 'wait a bit to check if it's a gag, gags are noisy, chokes not, and then turn them upside down and pat them on the back', it's nice to be able to ask the person giving the course just how many tiems they get infant chokes in. (the answer is hardly ever, as i understand it, but it's nice to hear from the horse's mouth).

anyway, good luck, plenty of infant resus info online, and forewarned is forearmed.

btw i struggle to think of a time when either of mine choked. once, with a bit of apple, for dd1, and i just patted her back hard and she cleared it, so no panic. she'd probably have been fine if i'd left her, tbh, but i was right there so...

oh, and dd1 gagged a bit for a fortnight, dd2 i don't remember gagging at all, actually. (but i may not have been paying attention.)

Yeah I have thought about doing an infant resus/first aid course and I'm looking into it.

Thanks.

they did one at our local maternity hosp, just a morning with some scary looking big dollies. i'm sure you'll feel better with a plan. i always remember my pal didn't do blw in the end despite having wanted to, because she was scared her baby would choke. 'fair enough,' i said, 'whatever makes you happy. but what will you do if she picks something else up and chokes on that?' and of course, she had no answer.

imo infant resus is something all parents should be aware of, unless they plan to keep their children away from all food, toys, pebbles, purses and, ya know, real life, until they are sixteen.

Hi everyone...started BLW this afternoon and it went really well...

MENU:

Carrot sticks
Pear sticks
Broccoli florets
Mashed sweet potato (loaded onto sppon)

My DD had a great time. Gagged a couple of times but all ok.

Feeling so much better about it now.

Thanks all for your advice and support.

Brilliant! Am glad it's going well. DD only gagged once or twice and then seemed to have it figured out. It's a good thing, as others have said.

My SIL was so terrified of gagging/choking that she pureed everything until it was completely smooth for months and months. She didn't include lumps until dn was nearly 2. Said dn is 2.10 now and gags all the time. She hates lumps and is on a fairly liquid diet.

So try and look at it that you're helping your child learn at a time when they are able to do it and not likely to become frightened of food.

I know showofhands, you are completely right. Going to give breakfast and lunch a go tomorrow.

I have baby porridge in the cupboard. Should I just get rid of it and giver scrmbled egg and fruit?

heheh, you've got the bug. i think i ponced around separating egg whites for a while becasue i was scared of allergies, but go for it if you have no issues (and this doesn't conflict with current advice).

oh i know what i did for breakfast. porridge (real porridge) pancakes. porridge and milk in the micro in a shallow dish. recipe on the site.

Thanks will give them a go. Your site is really good..did't click that it was you till I got a welcome email!

(we have a welcome email?)