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Babies: 6 - 9 Months
So, BLW...
I've been watching a bunch of videos on BLW, and in most of these videos the babies are chowing down on some seriously big chunks of things like chicken, veggies, fruits etc... Aren't they worried about them choking??
We have been giving DD some table foods. Not BLW style but just offering it on our fingers and she opens her mouth and goes for it. But these pieces of food are tiiiiiny. Like smaller then my fingernail tiny. I am SO paranoid she is going to choke, since she does not have any teeth yet. Would it be okay to giver her some bigger pieces of food? As it is now, I feel like because I am making it so small, she really isn't getting much from it.
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Re: So, BLW...
If you're interested in BLW I'd highly suggest you get a copy of the book, it gives you some great information.
The large pieces of food are so your LO can pick it up and eat by itself, at 6 months old they hold everything in their fist so if you give them small pieces they won't be able to get them out of their hand (and that is if they can even pick them up). The reason BLW is safe is that the gag reflex is much closer to the front of the mouth in babies than in adults, so they use this to teach them where it's appropriate to push their food in and where is too far, this means that the likelihood of your baby choking is much lower if you start at 6 months than if you start table foods later.
We've been BLW DD since she was 6 months and now she's eating like a champ, yes she's gagged a few times but NEVER have I felt that I need to pull her out of the high chair to help her out. Before I even had DD I took a baby CPR class so I knew what to do if anything like this happened.
My Mum was watching DD a few weeks ago and she had a pillow behind her while she sat, my mum tuned her back and DD turned around and started playing with the pillow, there was a button sewn onto it for decoration. DD managed to pull it off and put it in her mouth. My Mum reacted perfectly but she didn't have anything to be concerned about because DD knew how to move things around in her mouth and what food felt like, she didn't try to swallow it or anything and had it in the safe part of her mouth. My Mum contributes the safe and happy ending to this story with BLW.
Sorry this ended up so long!
Ditto the PP.
I don't really do baby led weaning, but she's had chunks of food for quite some time now. (it's good practice and she got bored with purees fast).
At first I was scared but my advice is just do it. The more you do it, the more they practice. Now I'm not really worried about choking at all. I actually think bigger pieces are easier. She can chew off what she wants instead of me giving it to her. It's like she knows what she has, so she's less likely choke, kwim? If the chunk is too big she'll just spit it back out or I can grab it easier. Some of those little pieces were worse IMO. She gagged a lot more on those.
Or start with things like peas. She has yet to even gag on those.
With BLW the baby is in control. They pick up the food. Small food can be a choking hazard, but if the food is too small, they will not be able to pick it up at six months. They should also be able to sit up unassisted and should not be leaned back in a chair. This way things fall out of their mouth and not to the back of their throat.
I also think the book is a good idea, but the website has some helpful information as well.
Also, at six months food is just for practice, learning and fun. Most of her nutrients should still be coming from milk.