BLW question

Brit's Luna154

I was reading the post below that mentioned "real" foods rather than purees. How do you do this so that you are not scared of choking? I am interested in trying it, but scared.

Huahine

A long narrow piece of food gives them enough to pick up and hold onto and leaves enough sticking out of their fists so they can get some in their mouths to gnaw on. 

One of the first foods we tried with LO was 2 inch long cucumber spears, with the skin on.  All he could do was scrap away at the fleshy part with his gums.  There was no chance of him breaking off a piece to swallow or get stuck in his throat. 

We also started with long pieces of red meat (beef and lamb).  He could suck the juice out and get the extra iron that he needs (I'm still EBF) and he loved it. 

Banana sticks (slice a banana in half, leave the skin on, then quarter the half) give him something to hold onto and let him gum off the soft bits. 

Then we started introducing more things that he could break stuff off of.  We have had a few gagging incidents, and MIL is convinced that he was choking once on a piece of lettuce, but I wasn't in the room so I have to take her word for it. DH was there and wasn't certain if it was just gagging or choking. 

Most food will not get lodged in their throats.  Just be careful to slice round objects like cherry tomatoes and grapes into pieces that will slide down easily. 

If you get nervous about gagging, you could always do a finger sweep to clear the tricky bit.  But know that gagging is a natural part of learning to manage food. 

 

 

kaybe24

I just got the Baby-Led Weaning book but I wanted pictures of how foods should be cut up. That would have been more helpful than all the photos of babies eating food.

michaelaskedlauren

Gagging is part of the process and how they learn to feed themselves. Im not going to lie, it was definitely nerve-wracking at first but it is amazing how quickly they learn.

We have had a few messy spit-up situations, but I would never say that DS has been chocking. Like PP said, just make sure the pieces you give your LO are big enough so they can grab and gum away. 

Rsoc23

fyi: DO NOT do a blind finger sweep. if you don't see anything then don't do it. you could end up lodging the food deeper in the airway

talitha712

The BLW book was so helpful in understanding how babies learn to manage food.  I would highly suggest reading it if you're thinking about doing BLW.  DD gags some but very rarely chokes and is finally swallowing the chunks she's able to break off of the food we give her (steamed veggies and soft fruits).

Brit's Luna154

Thank you all for your responses!

I should get the BLW book.

Izabella22

Definitely if you're nervous, read the book. Then practice deep breathing... I still get nervous sometimes when he gets off big chunks but they really inherently know to spit it out if its too much... its kind of amazing to watch! Plus its hilarious when DS shoves a whole chunk of banana in his mouth!