Choking in 9/10 month old? With finger foods...how do I help her eat properly?

[queenballerina]

My little one is almost 10 months and eats amazingly well. I mean she packs in a lot of food..

Recently though she has had some issues chewing/choking because she takes too much into her mouth at a time and doesnt finish chewing/swallowing one bit before shoving another big piece in.

It has scared me a lot. Do I have to give tiny pieces one by one? I thought BLW meant I could leave some food on her plate and let her choose/ do it herself...

Has anyone else had this issue with finger foods? how do I teach her? Am I doing something wrong?

I don't think you are doing anything wrong, but maybe being a bit over cautious?

Just to check - has she had finger food all along or have you just started it? Because if you have just started then it would be normal for her to gag a bit before she gets used to dealing with it.

Gagging can be a bit scary but it is different from choking, choking is when food actually blocks the airway, gagging is when a lump of food goes near the back of the mouth and the babies natural response is to gag it out (sometimes quite dramatically, but safely).

Sorry if this sounds a bit patronising.

As for how to teach her - just eat with her so she can see what you do and she'll get the hang of it.