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I completely understand the nervousness. We just keep an eye on him...he's definitely gagged when he's taken too big of a bite of something and can't swallow it and spit things out, but he's never choked (knock on wood).

Once we really wanted to get serious about more table foods I gave him some yogurt melts or some puffs after his puree meal. Things he could pick up and put in his mouth, but that would dissolve. They helped him get the hang of "chewing" and we moved onto more foods within a few days.

Our LO has no teeth, but she has forced the transition to BLW. She is refusing most of her purees and wants to eat what we are eating. Before this, I had started to make her food more chunky. So instead of pureeing something fully, I'd still leave larger pieces in there. For a while she gagged on these, then she got used to them. If you haven't tried that yet, start there. If you don't make your own baby food, try baking a sweet potato until it is soft, and mash with a fork, leaving some larger pieces. Sounds like if she's eating some table food already though, then she is ready and good with the consistency.

I cut things up really small and make sure they are soft and squishy in my fingers. I've also given her ground beef and chicken, both of which were cut up small. She does a really good job of gumming her food. I still watch her like a hawk, but keep the pieces small and she is loving trying all the new foods. She gobbles up broccoli, had her first meatball (mashed up), and is so proud when she feeds herself (even though only about one of every four attempts are successful.)

We have done peas, zucchini, green beans, broccoli, butternut sqush, chicken, ground beef, and various fruits all cut up into small pieces. Tonight we are going to give her some pork tenderloin to try.