Solid food paranoia!
My DS is 32 weeks old today. We started feeding cereal at 4 months and blended fruits and veggies at about 5 months. I was always really eager and excited to start the finger foods, until my sister recently told me a horror story about my niece choking on a piece of broccoli..Now I just feel so scared he's going to choke, I have just put the whole thing off. We have stll given strawberries,bananas, and avacado but only in one of the baby food nets that strains fresh foods directly into his mouth. (we looove them.)
My question is what solid/finger foods did you first feed your LO? When did you start giving cheerios? What does a meal plan look like for a baby this age? And what do I do if (god forbid) he starts to choke? ...Any other tips or advice to get over my fear is greatly appreciated! I feel like my fear of this is holding my little guy back. 
Help me mommas!
Re: Solid food paranoia!
One bit of advice: cut everything into super small pieces. I'll give her small chunks of whatever I'm eating. Today, for example, she had pieces of my cheese quesadilla. She does gag when I let her eat finger foods, but I just have to tell myself that it's going to be okay, the pieces are very small, and a baby's gag reflex is closer to the front of their mouth compared to an adult, so just because she gags doesn't mean she is choking.
We started cheerios when she was around 7 months old and she loves them! It's nice to be able to put her in her high chair for a few minutes with a hand full of cheerios so I can straighten the apartment.
Our pedi recommended taking a CPR class, so in case LO does choke, we know how to handle the situation. He also suggested watching videos on youtube.
- Ava - 11-29-11
- Violet - 10-9-13
We do BLW, so we started with finger/table foods at 6 months, no purees or cereal. His first foods were pancakes, green beans, broccoli, mango, melon slices, okra, bell peppers, sausage, pork chops, steak, grilled cheese, quesadilla - and that was all the first week! We've been doing it for 4 months now and he hasn't choked once.
We still don't give cheerios - I'd rather give him fresh foods so I don't really see the point in fillers.
Starting from 6 months he was doing 3 meals a day at home and 2 at daycare. At 7.5 months he started doing 3 meals a day at daycare too. For breakfast he has yogurt, eggs, fruit, pancakes, waffles - this morning he had a quarter of a waffle and an orange. For lunch I pack him whatever DH and I are having - today was ground beef with rice and peas and a quarter of an enchilada. Dinner he again eats what we eat - tonight was polenta and spanikopita.
As far as choking, as I've said we don't have any experience with it, but I can say that many people mistake gagging for choking and their first instinct is to grab the baby - which often forces the food back and actually causes an obstructed airway. Keep your fingers out of the mouth, which can also force the food back and obstruct the airway. If the baby is making noises he's not choking. If he is choking, lean him forward so the food falls out of the mouth and not back toward the airway.
Compromise and Balance are key. JH.