BLW Choking

pooksmom

I was all for BLW until I gave DD piece of a pear and she choked and then threw up. It scared the living daylights out of me. I know some people will just say this is the gag reflex working but whatever it is, I don't think I can handle it. How do you ladies del with this? 

MrsSparklesMcGee

I tend to give my daughter foods that are very soft/very little risk of breaking off a piece that would not go down easily.  For pears, I make sure they are very (very) ripe, so that it's basically impossible to break off a chunk that would be capable of blocking her throat.

Gagging is scary, but to be expected.  Throwing up may indicate the food was a bit too tough.

Good luck!

CarlaAndJames

When we give foods like pears or apples, we steam them first so they're soft. (Didn't at first, but they are on the daycare's choking list, so we're trying to abide by that list). So we don't do raw pears, apples, carrots, or small round foods like grapes, blueberries, nuts, etc. 

I try to make sure most things are soft enough that she can mash them with her gums (meats have been the exception)

Someone mentioned once checking youtube for videos of gagging vs choking. Chances are your LO was just gagging. Choking doesn't involve coughing, it's a silent panic, no breathing look. Gagging is totally normal, and I've see friends' babies gag on purees too.  

mari_gold

Gagging is a normal part of learning to eat. As long as your LO is able to get air in, she isn't choking and is working to get the food far enough into her mouth that she can spit it out. Is that what happened?

Gagging is still scary. DH is trained in infant CPR and I was years ago, so if DD starts gagging while she's eating, we stop whatever we're doing and watch her closely to make sure she's able to handle it. There was one time that I really thought we'd have to step in, but she finally cleared her throat.