Advice on BLW/finger foods

[mavrigata]

Hello everybody!
I wanted to try BLW when my baby was 6 months old, but it got somehow complicated...I experimented with pieces of potatoes and carrots at the beginning, it was quite messy but never thought it could be dangerous...Then another person in the family offered my baby a piece of carrot in my absence and apparently he chocked so badly, everybody in the house panicked. I was not there to see what exactly has happened, but I got reluctant and decided to start spoonfeeding him instead. I do give him pieces of fruits of vegetables, but I use a special type of dummy that comes with a net, the piece goes inside and baby can suck but cannot cut a piece out. Now he's 7 months old and would like to try finger foods again, but I'm still a little bit nervous. I tried banana yesterday, but I got the impression he's taking quite big pieces in his mouth and he even made some chocking noises once or twice so I dropped it again. Anybody with similar experience? Any mum can advice on how to go on from here?
Thanks!!!

[CornishYarg]

Sounds like he's gagging if he's making a noise. Choking is silent. Gagging is totally normal and part of them learning to chew. It can be scary initially but stay calm and let him deal with it.

[Littlef00t]

It sounds like some first aid training would be beneficial for you to regain confidence, or you could look online for some videos of choking vs gagging.

[blondebaby111]

I point blank refuse to do it for this reason and I tell the hv every time I get dd weighed. Everything goes in the mouth and right to the back, choking scares the hell out of me so for now I feed her. All this blw nonsense will all change again in a few years. There's plenty of time for a child to feed itself and in my opinion 6/7 months is still so young!!

[CultureSucksDownWords]

Even with spoon feeding the recommendation is to offer finger foods as soon as your baby can pick up food and shows interest. It's good for their development to handle food so it is worth trying to overcome any worries about gagging.

[ilovepowerhoop]

even if you are doing purees you are still supposed to offer finger foods alongside from around 6/7 months. It is not BLW nonsense as it is the way I weaned (puree plus finger foods) both my children before I ever heard of BLW.

They do gag to begin with as they get used to the food in their mouth. The more they have finger foods the more they learn to control the gag reflex and learn to chew it before swallowing.

[ZenNudist]

Don't take family word for it. Older people can be sceptical about finger foods for babies. I think there's always going to be points at which baby gags. Ds2 is 6mo and gagged badly on a tiny lump of avocado then vomited up everything he fed, but I kept going and now he's fine with lumps.

I do purées and feed soft whole foods like a ripe strawberry or slice of peach. They go down a treat. Broccoli also good. And soft green beans. I've done other odd bits but I still have to watch for lumps going down can be counterproductive if he voms up the rest of his meal. Ill step up finger foods at 7mo.

It's not good to give too smooth foods. You need to introduce more texture quite quickly. If you're scared of choking its best to help baby develop his ability to chew and swallow. All you're doing is putting it off if you don't do finger food as they have to learn some time. Also I think leaving it can make things difficult as they don't necessarily 'get' things as easily as they get older.

[gizmosmama]

It is scary when babies gag but try to stay calm and let your LO deal with it. It's actually really interesting to watch how babies move food in their mouths and spit out bits they can't handle. It's a natural instinct they're born with so you don't need to worry about your LO not being able to manage. A good way to tell if LO is in trouble is to look at him for signs of distress, if he's not worried, you don't need to be either. Also, as a PP said, choking is silent (hence why never leave a baby alone when eating because you won't hear if anything is wrong) whereas gagging noises are a good noise, they show that your LO is doing exactly what he should be doing, in effect he's stopping himself from choking before it happens. One of the great things about BLW is the low risk of choking because baby will only take to the back of his mouth what he knows he can swallow safely. As a PP said, a first aid course is always a good idea anyway but should also help you feel more confident that in the unlikely event anything happened, you'd know exactly what to do.

[RiverTam]

I wouldn't worry about it. I ditched BLW after a very stressful month of it and went to spoon-feeding and it was fine, she firmly removed the spoon from my hand at age 1 and started to feed herself. Can't remember when I re-introduced finger foods but the best thing I did with regard to weaning was throw the Gill Rapley book in the bin!