Scared of choking on solids

Krissy2911 · May 2012

Hey! My lo is almost 9 months and I have only been giving him baby food or puffs & food through his mesh feeder. He doesn't have any teeth yet though. Arent you supposed to wait til they get teeth to feed solids? And is anyone else scared they might choke on solids? I guess I'm just paranoid but it's a fear of mine.

Ms5586 · May 2012

They don't need teeth for solids, and no, you're not the only one else scared of choking. It's every mom's fear when starting "real" solids (not purees).

I would recommend you read the Baby Led Weaning book. It'll give you an idea how to start him on solids.

And just so you know, it's more rare that baby will actually, literally, choke. They will gag and their face will redden up and they'll cough. Their gag reflex is much closer to their mouth than to the back of their throat as a prevention to choking. A true "I'm not getting air, turning blue" choke where an infant heimlich is needed isn't an every-time occurrence.

You could also get certified in infant heimlich/cpr, which may ease your mind a little bit.

StefandTodd · May 2012

Ms5586:

They don't need teeth for solids, and no, you're not the only one else scared of choking. It's every mom's fear when starting "real" solids (not purees).

I would recommend you read the Baby Led Weaning book. It'll give you an idea how to start him on solids.

And just so you know, it's more rare that baby will actually, literally, choke. They will gag and their face will redden up and they'll cough. Their gag reflex is much closer to their mouth than to the back of their throat as a prevention to choking. A true "I'm not getting air, turning blue" choke where an infant heimlich is needed isn't an every-time occurrence.

You could also get certified in infant heimlich/cpr, which may ease your mind a little bit.

Yes, this...except I would add that it's not just not an every-time occurrence, but an extremely rare occurence. Like, extreeeemely rare.

My LO got his first tooth the day before yesterday, but had steak for dinner at 6 months. He's never had a puree. They most definitely don't need teeth to eat solid foods.

Fianschneid · May 2012

StefandTodd:
Ms5586:

They don't need teeth for solids, and no, you're not the only one else scared of choking. It's every mom's fear when starting "real" solids (not purees).

I would recommend you read the Baby Led Weaning book. It'll give you an idea how to start him on solids.

And just so you know, it's more rare that baby will actually, literally, choke. They will gag and their face will redden up and they'll cough. Their gag reflex is much closer to their mouth than to the back of their throat as a prevention to choking. A true "I'm not getting air, turning blue" choke where an infant heimlich is needed isn't an every-time occurrence.

You could also get certified in infant heimlich/cpr, which may ease your mind a little bit.

Yes, this...except I would add that it's not just not an every-time occurrence, but an extremely rare occurence. Like, extreeeemely rare.
My LO got his first tooth the day before yesterday, but had steak for dinner at 6 months. He's never had a puree. They most definitely don't need teeth to eat solid foods.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you prepared and served the steak (size of pieces, etc.)? I'm a nervous FTM and LO has only had soft fruits, cheese and Cheerios in addition to purees.

StefandTodd · May 2012

Fianschneid:
StefandTodd:
Ms5586:

They don't need teeth for solids, and no, you're not the only one else scared of choking. It's every mom's fear when starting "real" solids (not purees).

I would recommend you read the Baby Led Weaning book. It'll give you an idea how to start him on solids.

And just so you know, it's more rare that baby will actually, literally, choke. They will gag and their face will redden up and they'll cough. Their gag reflex is much closer to their mouth than to the back of their throat as a prevention to choking. A true "I'm not getting air, turning blue" choke where an infant heimlich is needed isn't an every-time occurrence.

You could also get certified in infant heimlich/cpr, which may ease your mind a little bit.

Yes, this...except I would add that it's not just not an every-time occurrence, but an extremely rare occurence. Like, extreeeemely rare.
My LO got his first tooth the day before yesterday, but had steak for dinner at 6 months. He's never had a puree. They most definitely don't need teeth to eat solid foods.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you prepared and served the steak (size of pieces, etc.)? I'm a nervous FTM and LO has only had soft fruits, cheese and Cheerios in addition to purees.

My H made a tri-tip steak on the grill, he pulled it off and sliced it so it was in strips maybe about 2" wide by 4" long, and thin...like 1/4" thin. He didn't have teeth (or much experience with solids), so he just gummed it and sucked the juices from it in the beginning.

Now, if I gave him the same piece of meat, he would tug and tear at it and gum it into mashable, swallowable pieces. Gums and saliva are super efficient at breaking down foods in the mouth.

I think a great meat to start out with is shredded chicken. We do chicken breasts in the crock pot and then shred it up, and the pieces of shredded meat are small and soft, like cheese really. Maybe you could start with something like that?

GL!

cottonlily84 · May 2012

I still give DD mainly purees and we're both fine with that. I have tested her with strips of solids and she does the same thing every time - crams her mouth full and can't figure out what to do with it. She might gum food properly, if she would put a manageable size bite in her mouth to begin with. Having said all that, during our tests she's has many episodes of gagging but has never actually choked where I had to do CPR. It really looks like choking but we get it out. It always jolts your adrenaline level but I can sit and watch her try to work it out herself better now. It just never ends well. Last night I offered a cracker and she gagged so bad she threw up the food she had already eaten. It's just not worth it to me.

lewis514 · May 2012

DD1 didn't get her first tooth until she was 9 months old. I was giving her table food before she had teeth and was on 100% table food by 11 months. I just gave her softer items but she would gnaw and gum on everything - she loved chicken, turkey, toast, grilled cheese, shredded cheese, bananas, etc.