Eatiing apple slices - bits coming off...

[pudding25]

DD is 6mths today and we started her on solids last week. We are doing purees for a bit but she is able to hold the spoon herself and get it in her mouth so yesterday, I gave her a slice of apple to hold and suck on. All was going great, very cute and she was loving it, until we noticed a chunk had broken off and was in her mouth.

I grabbed it out of her mouth and took the apple away. This is why I don't want to do blw at the moment. Surely if we had not noticed the chunk, she would have started choking?

Am I being neurotic?

You're being neurotic gagging/choking

although if you read that, Aitch has a personal rule of "no raw apple til she can hold the whole ting" so maybe try a different, softer fruit?

Maybe slightly neurotic but I do understand. She wouldn't automatically choke. She may have chewed it, gummed it, sucked it, held it in her mouth for ages and surprised you hours later by spitting it out etc. I don't know many BLWers who would give apple as a first finger food as like you have found, it breaks easily and is hard. Things like cooked carrot and broccoli are better as they're so soft.

I didn't heed my own advice though. DD just ate what we ate, including apples from the very beginning. She never choked but I would never presume to advise others.

Oh dear... I do completely understand though. I gave DD a very soft piece of pear (zapped it in the microwave then left it to cool) last week and she loved it... Rather slippery, but she managed to hold it and suck it... a bit did come off and she held it in a her mouth looking dazed before swallowing it... But I was bricking it, so when she drop the rest I didn't offer it back... Baby steps!!

i'd wait til she can hold a whole apple. then i'd take a big bite out of it to giver a start. then all she can do i sort of grate bits off it with her gums and or teeth.

Oh thanks for the advice! Will try not to panic and give her a bit of cooked carrot next time I decide to do that.
The whole gagging thing fills me with dread though...think I need to stock up on some valium. She may possibly be on purees until she is at least 20

And going to ask the hv if there are any first aid classes to go on.

I gave my ds a whole apple from about 6.5 months. I would start it off for him by scraping a bit of the skin off and then he would hold it in both hands and just sort of gnaw at it with his gums (if effect, making his own apple puree, if you like!!).

The positive side of this is that he was easily polishing off a whole apple with no problems at all from the moment he got enough teeth to do it with.
The "negative" side has been that he thinks slices of apples are not The Real Thing and will usually turn his nose up at them

Oh, and he only gagged about twice altogether whilst weaning, and it was quite clear that he was actually bringing the bit back from the back of his throat into his mouth, iyswIm, and not choking.
Dh was a bit but I'd forewarned him it might happen, so we both tried not to panic and just congratulated ds when he got the said bit back into the front part of his mouth again
He (ds) was completely not bothered about it in any way at all, and I think he would have been a bit shocked and maybe scared if we're reacted differently.

Thanks rebelmum -trying to be calm -in front of dd at least.