can't feed finger foods, LO gags. Help!

lyndsey774

I've been reading all these posts about BLW and fingerfoods.  We have to give LO the teeny tiniest pieces of food (size of a piece of rice) or else he gags and sometimes throws up.  I can't even imagine giving him a steamed carrot stick or broccoli floret.  Anyone else in the same boat?? Should I just trust his instincts and start giving him these things? Thoughts welcome.

tjkdlhb

I started giving DD finger foods when she was 5.5 months old.  We never did purees at all, although I did mash some things at first for her to pick up.  I started with mash and things that were either very small like the size of rice that she'dc grab with her fist, or pieces so big that she wouldn't be able to fit it in her mouth... just lick and knaw at.  She did gag like that for the first couple of weeks and she did occasionally throw up, but she quickly learned how much food to put in her mouth at a time and how to move it around in her mouth appropriately.  She now chews things carefully with her gums (no teeth).

I took a first aid course and watched a bunch of videos on youtube to show the difference between gagging and choking.  It helped me be more comfortable with it.  No matter how you choose to introduce solids, it is a scary process!

Have you tried mum-mums? or other things that dissolve easily?  grated cheese was popular as a starter food... as well as just letting her dip her fingers into oatmeal to get used to feeding herself.  She loves grated apple.  (apple can be a choking hazard, so I always grate it)

Jess & Drew

We have the same issue, and I've been wondering the same things myself. I gave DD one of those dissolving puffs, and it was the most dramatic display you have ever seen and the thing had already completely dissolved. She is doing a little better (and I really mean a little as in hardly any), so I can't imagine giving her a real piece of food. At this rate, she's going to be eating purees when she's 12. 

jlsweets

Jess & Drew:

We have the same issue, and I've been wondering the same things myself. I gave DD one of those dissolving puffs, and it was the most dramatic display you have ever seen and the thing had already completely dissolved. She is doing a little better (and I really mean a little as in hardly any), so I can't imagine giving her a real piece of food. At this rate, she's going to be eating purees when she's 12. 

haha yep same thing! I tried giving him a puff last night and he was like terrified! he shows no interest in picking things up himself and feeding himself..I said to my husband that he's going to be puree only boy too! I guess all babies are different..my friends baby at 5 months was loving puffs and anything she could pick up herself...my son just seems no where ready for it yet

jennyelf

My LO definitely gagged / spit up a number of times for the first month we did BLW. But reading the book we were reassured that this was actually a good thing. One, it meant that LO was capable of clearing his system out if he ate too large a bite of food and wasn't choking, Two, LO was learning how to manage food before swallowing.

LO still sometimes attempts to swallow something too big and gags it back up, but it's happening far less frequently than it used to. 

I guess what I'm saying is, it's a stage of learning to eat, just like face-planting is a stage of crawling and falling is a stage of learning to walk.  It teaches them and it's okay.

Lynnette171

jennyelf:

My LO definitely gagged / spit up a number of times for the first month we did BLW. But reading the book we were reassured that this was actually a good thing. One, it meant that LO was capable of clearing his system out if he ate too large a bite of food and wasn't choking, Two, LO was learning how to manage food before swallowing. LO still sometimes attempts to swallow something too big and gags it back up, but it's happening far less frequently than it used to.nbsp;I guess what I'm saying is, it's a stage of learning to eat, just like faceplanting is a stage of crawling and falling is a stage of learning to walk.nbsp; It teaches them and it's okay.

This. My LO has a feeding disorder, and I was very reluctant to try BLW. However, he really wasn't into pures. He handles most real food better than he did pures, and enjoys it more. Last week, we had dinner at our house for New Years, and I gave him a large piece of pork to gnaw on. He loved it! He gagged a lot at 1st, and occasionally spit up, but that is rare now. We haven't even been real consistent where he gets meals every day and he still does exceptionally well.