BLW and gagging reflex/spitting out (starting to chicken out)

[ag123]

I absolutely love the thinking of BLW and started with great gusto about a month or so ago. However I'm starting to chicken out already and was wondering if anyone has experienced a similar problem.

Basically, ds loves his food, is so interested in it and seemed to know exactly what to do with it, really chomping and sucking on the veg sticks etc straight away. He often manages to break off quite a large bit and I wait and wait for him to move it around his mouth so he can explore it and see if he can either chew it to be small enough to swallow or spit it out (either would of course be fine). However, it just never seems to happen. He just moves it around and around and tries to swallow, gags, I wait for the spit out but it just never happens. He just moves it around again and tries to swallow it again (and again and again). He then gets really cross, starts crying, and I start to panic that he's going to suck it back with his cries and start to choke. It's happening so often that this wonderful relaxed food experience is turning into a screaming nightmare with him just getting more and more cross and frustrated and I am starting to chicken out and offer him the dreaded purées so he has something to do while I eat (I have never been that strict about the no-spoons issue and feed him breakfast cereals/yoghurt this way anyway).

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has experienced similar/has any solutions?

Are you only offering veg sticks? A nice cube of cheese or finger of bread might go down easier.

Rice cakes disolve quite nicely in baby spit. Cubes of soft meats, like ham (naice, obvs) go down pretty well too as do slices of hard boiled egg.

Broccoli and cauliflower are good and soft when cooked and the tops break up well when munched so won't end up like a big lump in his mouth.

Try food he can scoop/grab that seperates into easily swallowable food - shepherds pie etc. it'll be messier than sticks, but it sounds like he'll enjoy it more.

As blw is all about not spoon feeding and you are also uncomfortable about it just go back to traditional weaning. It is possible that by spoon feeding you might have started to override his natural gag reflex. He will eventually move to lumps and finger foods.

Hmm, I was worried about that Purplevi . Damn it- I was just trying not to be too precious about it. Oh well, maybe we'll have to just carry on with our mish-mash-method, after all he will have to get used to it in the end anyway. I just really don't want food to be stressful for him.