BLW and 'choking'?

[justlookatthatbooty]

Tried BLW a few times and she usually 'chokes' meaning a worrying tendency to get the food caught in her throat. I try not to panic, realising it's just a reflex but it does alarm me sometimes. Anyone else? Love to continue handing her chunks of veggies etc.

Is she choking or gagging.
Gagging is a normal reflex until they get used to having solid food in their mouth / throat and happens with mush fed babies too.
Scary but normal and harmless

If she is making a noise it's probably gagging, if she is silent then possibly choking and requires a firm back slap to clear the food from her airway.

We did BLW with DS and initially the gagging was a bit nerve jangling but we sat on our hands and smiled encouragingly and it soon passed.

Found this site really helpful and we did a baby first aid course run at our local leisure centre so we knew what to do on case of choking but thankfully never needed it.

I'd avoid chunks of raw apple / carrot or hard veggies in the early days and all should be well.

Enjoy

justlook this was my biggest fear when i had my ds. i have a really bad choking phobia and couldnt stop crying the weeks leading up to me having to give him solid food. everyday i fed him and each day he gagged a bit less. it is scarey but very normal. would do a montifer says and avoid raw fruit and veg for now. good luck everything will be fine he will tucking into steak and chips soon

Anyone got suggestions for best first finger foods to try? My TJ has just got a tiny bit of a tooth come through now - would that mean he could have harder foods - any advice??

Rachel No - wouldn't do hard foods as first finger foods as if he has a tooth it's possible he could bite a small bit off and that could then be a choking risk.

Best first foods here were soft pear cut into wedges, steamed carrot sticks, steamed broccoli & cauliflower florets and green beans. We quickly moved on to toast fingers, chunks of cheese etc but soft fruit and veg are pretty good bets to start with.

For first meals, we did roast chicken with our DS and roast lamb with our DD, with roast carrots and broccoli in both cases. They sucked the juices out of the meat while chomping on it. We wanted something a little bit special by way of food to mark the occasion.

I went on a baby and child first aid course - really helped teach me how to deal with choking v gagging> Your sure start centre might run them.

I found it helpful to watch a video on youtube of a baby gagging, because you can watch it without panicking, knowing that they are absolutely fine! Once I knew what to recognise with gagging I was much more relaxed about it. Remember to make sure they are sitting up straight and not reclined, etc.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UfRR3CXC-4

(Don't google "gagging" BTW if there are children around! )

Also it's worth remembering that it's actually a safety reflex, not just a pointless thing. A baby's gag reflex is much further forward than an adult's, ours is at the top of our throat and a baby's is about halfway back on their tongue - it's to force them to really chew anything before it gets anywhere near their throat. And as long as they are sitting up, when they gag it will come right out again.