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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

Scared of weaning

13 replies

Rtfairy · 19/03/2014 20:32

My DD is 16 weeks so not ready to wean yet and I will be following guidelines and starting at 6 months.

I've suffered with a lot if anxiety since having DD but have relaxed a bit recently, however I've started worrying about her choking when I start weaning, especially if I give her finger foods etc. Even though it's 2 months away it's on my mind a lot.

I know I'm being silly, am an anxious first time mum and am going to discuss my concerns with HV. But in the meantime anyone got any advice or words of reassurance

OP posts:

Pitapotamus · 19/03/2014 20:50

I was exactly the same. Massive fear of choking. I weaned ds1 at 5.5 months because he was too hungry to wait till he was 6 months. All my friends did baby led weaning but I was far to scared to do it. I'd watch their 6 month olds choke and manage to cough up chunks of meat and I'd be on the edge of my seat with worry. I weaned my son with homemade purées because of the choking fear and I think he got a more balanced diet as a result - I could make a beef casserole for example with a huge variety of veg and know how much he'd eaten whereas the baby led weaned babies were dropping half their food on the floor so it was hard to tell what they'd had and what had been sucked and spat out. Once he was about 7 or 8 months I started to introduce finger foods that were easy to chew with no teeth such as chunks of banana and well cooked carrot sticks. My health visitor told me that he wouldn't learn to talk properly without being baby led weaned because he wouldn't be using his facial muscles enough - he is now a very talkative 2 year old and eats anything and everything. Just go at the pace that suits your little one.

Original poster

Rtfairy · 19/03/2014 21:15

Thanks for your comment, that has been a great help. Think I will do the same and start with homemade purees until 7-8 months. It all just seems so daunting yet lots of mums I know can't wait to start weaning.

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Beamur · 19/03/2014 21:22

You can always give food you feel confident with feeding alongside very soft food for your baby to feel and touch and put in her mouth.
My DD didn't like meat (still doesn't) but was very happy to eat lentil purees, other veg purees, and then things like pitta/toast and so on. She massively choked on a piece of bacon that DP in his wisdom had given her though, which scared him, although she was fine.
I'm still quite wary of certain things though, I don't like her to eat alone, or to eat food when she's moving about, so to some extent I do understand your fears and several years on still feel some of them myself!

nirishma · 19/03/2014 21:28

They are much less likely to choke if you let them feed themselves rather than spoon feeding. At least, this is my experience.with my daughter. Plus it is good for their wee teeth coming through to be able to gnaw on something with their gums. Babies can chew pieces of food very well from six months onwards even without teeth. They are designed to do this just as they ar

mummyof2boys257 · 19/03/2014 21:32

Baby led weaning is not for everyone I tried it with ds2 but nothing was going in the obly thing he could hold and eat was biscuit or bread, fruit would just get slippery so he would drop it
He would finish but still be hungry just got fed up and had milk!

So I done purees, if ur concerned with choking I would suggest u start off with simple purees. This is what I done with ds1 he had mostly purees till about 8 months and he was fine, talks non stop and eats practically anything. I'm not sure if I believe this blw will make them less likely to be fussy eaters but thats just my own personal experience

mummyof2boys257 · 19/03/2014 21:34

Basically just do share right for u and ur baby u want to give finger foods then give finger foods u want to give purees then thats ok too

Beamur · 19/03/2014 21:35

I remember when DD was this age being totally confused and wondering if we were doing blw or not! She had food that seemed appropriate to her age and sometimes I fed her and sometimes she fed herself. I'm still not sure what all the fuss is about!
FWIW what your baby will eat may bear no relation to what your toddler/pre-schooler/schoolchild/teen will eat. Do not worry if you have a baby who eats everything and they suddenly turn into a child who is really fussy. Tis quite common.

Eletheomel · 19/03/2014 21:50

Aside from the above advice, have you done any first aid courses for babies?

Just thinking if you're anxious about your baby choking, you might feel better if you're armed with the knowledge of how to react if your baby does choke? And it might make you aware of the difference between gagging and choking?

However you wean, you will want to be relaxed when you start giving food as you don't want your baby picking up on your anxiousness.

Original poster

Rtfairy · 19/03/2014 21:55

No I haven't but it is something I would like to do to help with my confidence. I will look into it.

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vichill · 19/03/2014 22:04

I was adamant it would be purees only but when it came to I was much more adventurous.

theyre so effective at gagging the food out if its too big and instinctively know when something is beyond them. I gave my dd hm falafel with what I thought were mashed chickpeas. an hour later I noticed she was happily rolling a whole chick pea around her mouth.

Blueberrybaby · 19/03/2014 23:06

I was the same vichill. I started the traditional route with purees, and then started to up the texture. By 7 months she was eating lumpy/mashed food and I started to introduce finger foods - I think toast was the first and then egg- little clumps of scrambled egg and blueberries. She did gag to begin with (and still does now if she takes on something too big without chewing it properly) even with the purees, and it took me a long time to realize that gagging (almost like she was wretching/dry heaving) was not choking. I would just advise starting on soft finger foods but don't shy away from them. Gagging is all part of their learning process. They soon realize they need to chew. Don't worry about the lack of teeth they don't actually need teeth to chew. I'm not a blw purist, I do finger foods and spoon feeding. Works for us.

Toowittoowoo · 20/03/2014 09:21

I agree with PP you go at a pace that you are happy with and enjoy it. Both of you will progress faster if mealtimes are happy than if they are stressful. If you want to do purees for a month then do it. Maybe once you DC reaches 7 months start offering finger food on the weekend when you DH is about.

Also it is worth pointing out that sometimes we don't have much choice in how we feed them. Some babies can get to grips with BLW and prefer to be spoon feed while others are total spoon refusers and insist on eating everything themselves.

Just take it slow and do what suits you both best.

Original poster

Rtfairy · 20/03/2014 10:06

Thanks so much for all the help and advice I am feeling a lot more positive now. I like the idea if just giving purees for the first month then introducing finger foods when DH is around. I'm actually looking forward to it a bit more now so thank you

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