First timer worries - BLW

[0310Star]

We started weaning our 5.5 month old a couple days ago and so far she's loving it. We decided to go for mostly baby led with a bit of purée Thrown in and she got the hang of grabbing her food and putting it in her mouth in the first session which was so amazing to see!
So far we've done banana and boiled carrot in finger sized pieces but I found with the carrot that I was really panicking about choking!
She seems to chomp off big chunks and it's now worrying me..
Should I be worrying?
Is this quite normal?
Should I boil the life out of things so it's extra squishy?

I guess I just need a bit of reassurance from more experienced parents, I want us to enjoy it!

Thank you in advance 😊

That's all fine and normal. Make sure you read up about the difference between gagging and choking, so you don't get worried about normal gagging.

There's no need to over boil things, just normal steaming/boiling is fine.

Thank you @AssassinatedBeauty I have read that gagging is normal and has happened a few times and she's spat out whatever is in her mouth.

I think it was more that I saw her chew off this big chunk of carrot and I had an awful vision that she was just going to swallow and it get stuck! The banana is fine as it's obviously quite squishy, but she loved the carrot and it was easier for her to hold (she squeezes the banana pretty hard and we just end up with lots of small chunks everywhere)
I just want to make sure I'm doing it right... although I think I may be stressing myself out more than what is needed 🤦‍♀️

They will put big bits in their mouths to begin with, and part of the process is learning how to move food around and then swallow it. The gag reflex is there to eject any bits that accidentally go too far back, and they do learn eventually to only take it what they can manage!

Thank you, that's really reassuring! Il be sure to keep up the BLW as she seems to be really enjoying it so far, but good to know that munching big bits is perfectly normal

It’s quite normal. The more firm, the better usually as it gives them more control over where they can move food in their mouths. When it mushes up really easily, it’s actually easier to choke on it. Mine was definitely eating raw carrots from 7-8 months so they can handle hard food perfectly well from quite young. You do need to just trust it and sit on your hands a bit, though I know it’s not easy!

@mindutopia thank you, I really want to keep it going as she is loving it so far! She's a very active baby and loves to do things for herself so it's definitely the right choice for her.

Any other advice on what to introduce? I was thinking I'd introduce one thing every few days but should I lighten up a little on that?