New Blog Post re Choking Guidelines

[Aitch]

http://www.babyledweaning.com/?p=4799

please do comment and share and that sort of thing. some good clips on there AND A PIC OF MY DD!

[CherryPop]

Done. And lovely pic

[Aitch]

I KNOW. <weeps>

[fit]

I have just started BLW but don't have the heart yet to put finger foods in front of my 6.5 month old baby because he already has 4 teeth. I feel that he will just bite off a big piece and then choke. Any tips/warnings/suggestions on which finger foods I can present to him that will keep him (relatively) safe?? It would be so good to be told them I am fretting for nothing...

[StJuniper]

The gag reflex in babies that age is situated very far forward in their mouth. What this means is that if your son bites off a piece too big to be safely swallowed, it will hit his gag reflex and be gagged out of his mouth before it can get anywhere near his airway. Almost like his body was designed for real food

Good starter foods included roasted vegetables and softer fruits, toast, scrambled eggs... The New to BLW section is full of questions and tips.

[SarahG]

.

[jkopin]

Yea my 6.5 month old has 3 teeth. On day 6 of BLW we tried apples and pears and asparagus. He bit off small chunks of the apple. When he started to gag and opened his mouth I saw two tiny pea sized chunks in the back of his throat. Wasn't too sure what to do as they weren't blocking his airway but they didn't get spit out of his mouth either. I ended up offering him water in a sippy cup and so I'm sure we will see apple chunks in his poop
Is this okay?

[ChristmasGift]

Water can be a good way to clear residue food as can a little bit of time on their tummy to let gravity do its thing. The main advice I'd give would be don't get tempted to try to fish things out of LOs mouth with your finger as you can end up pushing them back further.
Apple can be a bit tricky as it can break off into quite large firm chunks so softening them by frying slices in a little butter (plus cinnamon if you fancy) is a good way to make them easier for small ones to manage in the early days. Good luck. x

[jkopin]

Thanks! Great idea!

[Kmac225]

I am new to this forum, I'm not sure if I can post this here.
My 7 month old seems to bite off large pieces as well. And then chokes and sometimes vomits it up. If I try anything other than soft soft foods, he can't keep it down. We had broccoli tonight and he is good at eating the tops, but once he gets a big piece he gags and it all comes up.
Same with watermelon...he bit off a big piece and spit it back out. I'm finding this to be hard...where I'm preparing foods to be soft. I can never just give him food off my plate.

[gallicgirl]

That's just part of learning to bite and chew. The gag reflex is working just fine and he will lear to take smaller bites.

[Swissmiss13]

Thanks!

[TheresaWalls]

My Granddaughter is 19 months old and barely eats any food. It's as if she doesn't know how to swallow. She does fine with mashed potatoes, cheese, softer foods. Stuff like chicken, she puts it in her cheek, sucks on it, then when she tried to swallow it she will choke and then won't eat anymore. She got teeth late, and only has 5 now, so wondering if that is why she won't eat. We have been giving her Pediasure cause she just isn't getting enough food. She also plays in the food if in her high chair, pushing it off on the floor, so we have been feeding her in order to monitor the amount she is shoving in her mouth and making sure she swallows it before adding more. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[StJuniper]

At this age, it might be worthwhile getting her checked out for sensory issues. BLW is meant for new weaners, but at 19 months it may help, but you would do well to speak with your doctor about help with this. BLW principles applied in a case like this would look like lots of messy playtime with food of all different tastes and textures, keeping mealtimes pressure free and relaxed, and eating with her to set an example, but it sounds to me like her issues may go beyond just a texture issue given that she's happy to put food in her mouth but struggles to swallow.

[Lily]

WSS^ but also just to add that lack of teeth alone wouldn't cause that kind of problem. Gums are very hard, and really the only foods that are too difficult to manage without molars are raw salad leaves and very crunchy things like carrot sticks. My eldest didn't get any teeth till he was a year old, and had only 6 teeth at 19 months, but he was eating just fine. (For that matter, my 8 month old eats anything she can get her hands on, with no teeth at all.)