We started BLW with my 6 month daughter today. I read the book baby led weaning and followed exactly. We have her an apple wedge and a steamed carrot stick. She gummed off a small piece of the apple wedge (blueberry size) and that freaked me out. I was afraid she would choke because I wasn't sure if she would gag it out. So I scooped it out myself. She did the same thing with the carrot stick. Should I make food more squish? But that would make it really hard to hold. Should I have more faith in baby's gag reflex? Many thanks!
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Did she start to gag when she gummed off the apple piece? Or were you just worried that she would?
We started with squisher foods - cooked apple, avocado chunks, cooked sweet potatoes and cooked squash. Things are not too hold to pick up when they are in chunks vs. slices.
We also did super chunky "mash" with veggies at that age - think the texture of a chunky guacamole. LO could explore it with her fingers, scoop it up and eat it that way.
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I also started with softer foods -- avocado, banana etc. I would cook the apple. When I cooked food I cooked the hell out of it, honestly, probably not necessary but I did.
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My advice would be to watch baby first aid/CPR videos or take a course, and then just let it happen. Oh also there are videos of babies gagging that you can watch so that you know what it sounds like. It's scary when they gag, so it makes you more able to take it if you know what to expect! The more they gag and you see them getting the food back out, the more confidence you build that they're not going to choke. it's normal that they gum off pieces - it's part of the process! But all this said, if you don't like it and it freaks you out, there's no reason why you have to do it! We only did it because she wouldn't eat purees. I don't think it actually makes any difference in the grand scheme of things.
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@yoursilverlining: she didn't get a chance to gag...i already got the apple piece out of her mouth :). How big was ur avocado chunk? I also steamed sweet potato sticks and they weren't even that soft but my LO already broke it as she tried to pick it up. So I guess the texture is soft enough, I just have to make them into bigger pieces?
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We've been giving LO big pieces of food since six months. I give her all kinda of foods. She'll gag out pieces that are too big. I second the suggestion of watching gagging videos so you know what it sounds like. If you're not prepared it can be disconcerting. LO turns red and really gags but the food comes right out. Now at 7.5 months she chews and swallows a lot more and barely gags.
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If you want to do BLW you really have to give them a chance to figure it out on their own and learn before scooping things out of their mouth. My MIL and dad are forever trying to do this every time they see my son because the big pieces he gums off freaks them out, and if he gags they REALLY freak out...but like I said, it's how he learns! If he tries to swallow a piece that is too big he will gag, push it out of his throat back into his mouth, and chew it up some more so that he can try again. The face/sound of the gagging is terrifying to those that aren't familiar with it, but I bet as you see your LO figure it out you'll become less likely to step in and scoop food out. Give her a chance to work it out!
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You can't have fear. When we started my son had one tooth. He never chocked on anything until he was 18 months old with a full set of teeth! A good place to start could be a pancake or bread like substance. You can even do toast with avocado on it. Therefore if they choke their saliva would break it down fast.
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@Kyang: try a quarter of an avocado! Halve it, then slice it through the belly.
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Agree about trying smaller pieces.
I believe it discusses this in the book, but it's. to a good idea to fish food out of your baby's mouth, as doing so can have the unintended effect of a. Scaring them a turning them off solids altogether, or b. Accidentally pushing a piece of food down their throat and causing them to choke.
Have faith in your baby's gag reflex which is very close to the front of her mouth at that age. This has the effect of causing a lot of gagging, but it limits choking,as they gag before the food can get too far back in their mouth.
Learn the differences between choking and gagging and make sure you're well-versed in choking first aid.
Good luck, BLW is one of the best things we've ever done for our DD!
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Thank you all so much! Will try again with all your suggestions in mind
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Definitely resist the urge to scoop food out of LO's mouth... if you read about BLW, it will tell you how you could accidentally push the food past their gag reflex, which could cause them to choke. My LO gagged quite a bit of first but learned quickly where his gag reflex was, how to move food around his mouth etc. and now he eats tons (9.5 months now) and almost never gags.
I started with roasted veggies and soft fruits. I leave the skin on most things so it's easier for him to hold onto since lots of things are squishy and/or slippery.
Good luck! It's lots of fun once you get the hang of it!
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