I am really struggling to move on from puree to solid foods, any assistance appreciated

[Annabellemary]

My dd is just coming up 9m. I feed her puree (she hates home made and loves Hipp). I tried her a month or so ago on a stage 2 jar and she started choking, (not gagging) couldn't breathe, vomitted and was eventually fine. Anyway, since this episode I am absolutely petrified to give her anything solid and when I do try anything like steamed carrots or mashed potato she wont eat it. I have given her rice cakes which she likes to such and chew but haven't dared to try her on toast or bread. I am getting quite upset and stressed about the whole thing now and spend my whole time worrying about it.

Yesterday I cooked her some nice tomato and onion sauce with some annabel karmel pasta but decided the pasta was too big and might choke her and threw it all away.

I really don't know what to do and am getting upset about it.

Erm, I think you may need one of our BLW guru's......

If she can manage rice cakes then surely she can manage toast etc. In the nicest possible way it sounds like your fears for her choking again may be preventing her from moving forward.

I do understand how upsetting it can be but its so easy (and I have done it) to transmit food stress to our babies. Their radar never fails.

Why don't you try some soft finger foods? My ds used to gag a little when he was learning that if you shove toast all the way in to your mouth it prob isn't a great idea and we had a few vomiting incidents (they are v efficient at clearing blockages!)but he was fine.

Best of luck

I don't really have any advice but it sounds almost exactly the same as my dd. I could spend hours pureeing and she didn't want to know - but would wolf down the Hipp Jars.

She's now 14 months and still isn't great. She'll now eat some "proper" food but can still only tolerate very small lumps or mashed food and would much prefer a Hipp Jar with a few bits of finger food after (although will now do stage 3).

Just take things slowly - maybe try some well mashed potato with half a Hipp stage 1 jar to flavour it and see how she does with that ? Or some small bits of toast softening with the jar styff. I have to confess that the first finger food dd ate without any problem was Wotsit crisps

She'll get there eventually and unless she's losing weight or seems unhappy, it sounds as though she's just taking her time

Oh - and when you do try stage 2 again - avoid the potato ones to start with. DD always found the chicken and noodles the easiest and then progressed to pasta ones and then finally the "dinner" ones with potato. Again, mix half and half with stage 1 and build up from there

Considering I didn't have any advice - I've manage to waffle horribly

my DD is 9 and a half months old and she also gags when I try the lumpy food. I think it must be terribly confusing for a baby when they;re used to just swallowing puree.

What I do with my DD is still give her puree, but she has loads of finger foods, she eats croissant, pasta, toast, bread, veg, rice cakes. I'm gradually building up the amount of 'real' food she has until I'll eventually cut out the puree all together.

My advise really would be try not to stress about food, let them play with it and experiment with it, and don't worry about the occasional gagging moments, they are normally very good at sorting it out themselves, although they occasionally will be sick, but as long as you don't look panicky, they won't get upset about it. 'tis normal. Good luck x

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Try very soft things like boiled potato. I'm just moving ds (11m) onto finger foods only. He has gagged a few times but can sort it out himself.
This suggestion is quite expensive, but MamanJoJoBeBe do a net type bag with a plastic handle that you can put food in and lo can get tastes and practice without danger of choking

Or what ever that shop is called, you know what I mean

Thanks for all of your advice, will try to take it slowly with a few finger foods and lumpier mashed food etc. she has just vomitted up a rice cake but I do think that she had shoved a bit too much in at once and made herself gag. Like you say they do have a good way of clearing their own blockages and I do think that my panicking is holding her back. On the bright side she is a big healthy baby with no fear of being underweight/malnourished etc. but will keep at it.

Thank you.

Update - just to let you know: yesterday and today she has had some toast, the crust free type and seemed to really enjoy it and also yesterday she had some heinz pasta stars in her puree so finally I think I am getting somewhere - Thank you.

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DD would never eat food with lumps in but was perfectly fine with finger foods. The Stage 2 jars are still purees but with lumps in, so the lumps are unexpected - but food that is obviously solid seems to be a different matter.