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I have no advice since LO is still in utero. But I know this will be me someday. I don't know where it came from but I have a TERRIBLE choking fear. I freak out every time I gag even a little. And I panic when my husband lets out the tiniest cough while eating. I think my kids will have to be on purees until they are in preschool : )

@Rainbow Sprinkles: Oh in that case... my doctor also recommended baked potato pieces. like fries

My son was chewing by 6 months old. It is entirely possible. There is a huge difference between choking (blocking the airway) and gagging. Newborns have a strong tongue thrust and shallow gag reflex. As they grow, it gets further back and the tongue thrust reflex lessens. He has gagged until he vomited but he has never choked.. He learned to use his tongue to not gag. Now, I have less of him choking because I have seen him use his muscles to move food from the back of his throat. Every time he gets new teeth, his mouth changes he has a few gagging incidents as he learns his new features but after that he is great.

We started with "sticks" of food he could hold in a fist. Then he went to small pieces. The only reason we give him small pieces now is because he eats them better that way.

Ha! You would have probably had a stroke watching Sawyer gnaw on broccoli and pork chop in the past few days. We are doing BLW, but you kind of have to have balls of steel, and faith in their ability to gag it out. Sawyer gags like a mad man when he is shoving stuff in his mouth, but that is a natural part of the process of learning to feed themselves.

Have you taken infant CPR? If not, you really should, it will help give you the confidence that if they were to choke you know what to do to help them.

As long as you aren't feeding them really smooth and round or sticky foods, choking (on food) is really not that common in babies.