BLW, finger foods and chocking hazard

[FTMLuc]

I am back with food questions. DD (just turned 6 months) is interested in feeding herself and gnawing on real food vs puree. I have been doing frozen prunes to relieve sore gums for a while, but have always held it for her, afraid if she holds it she might put the whole thing in her mouth and choke. Last night we tried sliced mango and a bit of watermelon. She loved it and would start yelling/crying if I took it away. My problem is that she would gum off pretty big chunks of mango, which I would then fish out of her mouth. So the overly paranoid FTM question is: how do you do finger foods and deal with the baby gumming decent chunks and not choking?

[lizzywednesday]

If you're trying to start up with BLW, gagging is fine and it's how your baby learns NOT to put too much into her mouth. Choking happens for a lot of reasons, mostly with foods that don't dissolve or baby can't "gum" easily, like uncooked carrots or nuts.

Never leave baby unattended with food as the lack of supervision is where choking can come into play.

My DD is 15 months and we mostly did BLW with her ... and gagging happened a lot in the beginning, but, unlike my 19-month-old nephew, she doesn't put too much into her mouth when she's feeding herself.

I know it's hard not to worry, but with things like watermelon and ripe mango, they'll likely break up before they cause an issue.

Again, NEVER leave baby alone with food, but it's OK to let her explore the textures with her hands & mouth.

[BabbyO]

I agree with PP. DS did BLW (if your interested check out Gill Rapley's book, Baby Led Weaning). Gagging is normal (this is the coughing and sputtering reflex that happens as LO's learn how to chew, swallow, etc). Choking is when LO has gone silent and can't breathe, there is truly a blockage to their air.

Long strips of food are great for young kids. It allows them to hold the food, and have one end in their mouth. I think when we started BLW with DS we did lots of steamed/cooked veggies (aspargus was a favorite) and toast fingers with avocado, hummus, etc. Sounds like strips of watermelon and mango would be great too. DS loathed fruit at first, so he was closer to 1 yr before he started eating it.



The BLW book has a ton of suggestions for age appropriate foods starting at 6 mo.

[BabyBearsMom]

I also agree with PP. I didn't do the formal BLW, but DD wanted nothing to do with purees by 7.5 months, so she did finger food from there on out. I always gave her things that were relatively soft or disolved in her mouth. I cut all of her food into a match stick shape (easier to pick up, but won't get stuck in the throat). Now, DD is 14 months and is really starting to chew so I don't cut things up as small, especially if they are soft. I always watch her like a hawk when she is eating.

The great thing about finger foods is that DD eats a huge variety of foods now (we joke that she has a wider palate than my father) and is a completely independent eater.

[mikala]

Previous posters gave a lot of great advice.

I'd also recommend a child CPR class. It's useful info for anyone and the choking portion of the class seems especially pertinent as they are learning how to eat.

We also kept printed instructions on what to do if baby is choking on the fridge.

[FTMLuc]

We also kept printed instructions on what to do if baby is choking on the fridge.

Great idea! Thank you!!!

So gagging is normal? I watch her like a hawk when she is eating, and I think I mistook a little gagging for possible choking. Everytime she took a bite of watermelon or mango, I fished it right out of her mouth, without really letting her explore and learn how to gum or regulate bite sizes.

[lizzywednesday]

Great idea! Thank you!!!

So gagging is normal? I watch her like a hawk when she is eating, and I think I mistook a little gagging for possible choking. Everytime she took a bite of watermelon or mango, I fished it right out of her mouth, without really letting her explore and learn how to gum or regulate bite sizes.

Yes, gagging is perfectly normal.

It takes some getting used to, but it's perfectly normal. I had the darndest time re-conditioning my ILs when we started solids with DD, but now my MIL is AMAZED at how DD eats. (One of DD's favorite foods is broccoli - steamed or fresh - because it's got a built-in handle.)

Seriously, now that DD is used to self-feeding, if a piece of food is too big for her to manage in her mouth, she spits it back out and tries again. It's a WONDERFUL thing! I rarely need to worry about DD's bites, where my sister needs to remind my nephew to slow down, chew and so on.

FWIW, if I'm extrapolating correctly from my CPR course (mandatory condition of DD's hospital discharge) by fishing the food out, YOU are creating a choking hazard because you could accidentally push the food further back in your baby's mouth, possibly into her airway. This is also why the "finger sweep" airway-clearing technique is no longer taught to CPR classes - you could force the blockage further back into the airway & do more damage.

A general rule is if you hear sound (gagging, coughing, spluttering), the airway is not blocked and baby is not choking. Just continue to watch her closely.

Take it easy and you'll both be fine. =)

[Beth24]

Yes it is normal. Next time let her gag a bit, the food will move toward the front of her mouth and she will gum it until she can swallow without gagging...I know it's a little scary but once you see that she is working the food around in her mouth it will be easier to stop yourself from fishing the food out of her mouth.

[BabbyO]

Yes it is normal. Next time let her gag a bit, the food will move toward the front of her mouth and she will gum it until she can swallow without gagging...I know it's a little scary but once you see that she is working the food around in her mouth it will be easier to stop yourself from fishing the food out of her mouth.

:yeahthat:

Yes, Yes, Yes...totally normal! This is why I was really glad I read the BLW book...it put me at ease a bit because I expected these things...and I could forewarn people like IL's and DH.

I loved the BLW approach.

I'll also second the infant/child CPR class. I paid close attention during the choking portion of the class. Though I like PP's suggestion to put the printed materials on the fridge...I may have to do that!

[Katigre]

Do not stress if she gets a bigger piece of food in her mouth - the gag reflex will prevent it from going down her throat to block the airway, and her tongue will push it back out again. It will be hard at first if your first instinct is to 'fish it out' but sit on your hands and watch her mouth do the work of keeping her safe.

(And give foods that are easily gummed - I would NOT recommend 'just wait and see what she does' with large chunks of apple that are firm and more difficult to maneuver. But I would recommend waiting and seeing what she does with something like bread or freeze-dried-fruit that gets mushy and soft quickly).

I'd also recommend Gil Rappley's book - it's an easy read and quite helpful.

[Uno-Mom]

I never looked into the BLW materials - kind of wish I had. I believe like PP have said, it involves slicing food into very skinny strips. We did something similar - starting in on grated pieces of certain foods pretty early on. The large grated texture.

DH and I have a lot of experience helping adults with dysphagia (swallowing problems - high choking risks). So we applied that knowledge to feeding a baby. One thing to attend to - what does that particular food do once mooshed in the mouth a bit? Certain foods might seem very soft but if several peices go in the mouth at once, they easily form a "bolus" aka bigger solid ball of food, which is a choking risk! For those foods, we still only give Sprog a few bits at a time, making sure she swallows instead of wadding it all up in her mouth.

If we have another child, we'll certainly check out BLW.