Baby Food Paranoia

AMomWithABlog · December 2013

My son is 8 and a half months old. He has yet to get ANY teeth. Not even the cute up front toothers

I am having a hard time giving him age appropriate food. I seriously have so much anxiety about him choking. I can't tell the difference between him gagging and choking. He will stick his tongue out, not make a sound, and I can't tell if he is breathing or not. Freaks me out and I start to pull him from his high chair to assume the position, then everything is fine. My husband likes to give him pieces of food that, I think, are too big for him. I don't want my anxiety about him choking to hold him back, but I am struggling so much - I hold back tears when I give him food, I don't want him to see that I am upset. He does well with puffs, and mum mum crackers to where I don't worry, but those break down so fast I don't have a chance to worry.
What I have given him: Pieces of shredded cheese, tiny pieces of cut up banana (or mashed), pancake, muffin, scrambled egg. My husband has given him pieces of his bagel too (these were the pieces that I thought were too big).

I feel like I am being irrational. And the fact that I can't tell the difference between choking and gagging isn't helping (yes, I've tried to google how to tell the difference, no luck). I know I can't be the only anxiety ridden mother out there worried about this.

AMomWithABlog · December 2013

I actually haven't heard of baby led weaning. I will have to look into this!

tig594 · December 2013

Agree with PP. DD usually gets a little bit of whatever I'm eating and she has been fine. If I don't share she stares at me like she's starving. The only thing she's had a problem with is cheese. I think it was too sticky for her to get down easily.

=Lee=B · December 2013

My 9 month old just got her bottom 2 teeth maybe 2 weeks ago, has none up top. She has been BLW since 6months. She can manage large strips of steak without teeth. She just devoured a ham. She loves large chunks of melon with the rind still on. There is really is nothing this kid can't safely eat with no teeth.

Teeth are NOT needed.

Read up on BLW. It will be helpful. There are some online sights and check your library or bookstore for the BLW book.

BigPoppa22 · December 2013

My LO is 8 months and every time I try to give him mum mums, puffs, or Cheerios, he eats a few and then eventual gags and throws up, every time. Do I wait a few more weeks, or just keep trying in spite of the throwing up?

pinottoparenthood · December 2013

Just wanted to add that we really do our chewing with the back molars anyway, which babies don't get until 18 months +, so really having teeth has nothing to do with being able to eat solids.

Honestly, if your husband is giving the baby a big hunk of bagel, you're probably right that it's too big. Bagels are very chewy and would be hard for a baby to manage, so if I were giving the baby some, I would just do really small pieces.

Perhaps start with things that are softer and easier. Some things our baby has really enjoyed and been able to eat easily:

-Cooked asparagus (he loves and it's easy for him to hold onto)

-Cooked slivers of carrots

-Banana sticks (I cut food into french-fry sized pieces a la baby led weaning)

-Shredded cheese

-Small pieces of shredded chicken/turkey

Basically, anything soft is a good starting place! Your baby will be okay! You VERY rarely hear of a baby dying from choking on food, and people have been learning to eat since the beginning of time! So try not to worry too much :-)

sgoodsel · December 2013

My LO was gagging all the time when she started eating. I hated it, but she would just keep eating happily. Sometimes the gag was loud (phew, I knew immediately no choking), but then sometimes silent, eek! Their gag reflex is so far forward in their mouth that it happens a lot.

It helped me to count when she would silently gag, "One, two..." Usually that's as far as I got. It seemed like when I didn't count it was foreverrrrrrr that she was gagging and possibly choking, but counting out loud made it not so long. I wasn't really sure how long I was going to count to, but usually by 1 or 2 she was done or I could tell it was just a gag.

Now, she's figured out how to eat and there's a lot less gagging!

MrsG071809 · December 2013

I would definitely recommend reading the BLW book - a lot of good information and explains the difference between choking and gagging. Gagging is totally normal, and a part of how they learn! I know it's hard to not intervene, but they really can figure it out themselves. I've been amazed at how far DD has developed since starting solids at 6 months. She gets pretty much anything we are eating now, and devours it all! She also has no teeth, so there isn't any chewing going on for her, just a lot of nomming with the gums.

@BigPoppa22 I would keep trying solids, but maybe try something else? A different texture maybe? What about a fruit or something that is juicy to help encourage him to swallow?

It takes time for their gag reflex to move back and for them to get used to solids, but they only learn with more practice!

ASmallWonder · December 2013

It might help you to YouTube the difference between choking and gagging for peace of mind

Crequito · December 2013

DD got her first 2 teeth at 4 months and I still waited until 6 months to start purees. Now at a little over 8 months we are going on 8 teeth total and I'm just starting to introduce things she can feed herself with. She's tried these yogurt melt things and seems to like them but will only play with them in her hands until I hold one up like I'm feeding her. I've also tried really tiny pieces of grape, tiny pieces of turkey, cheese, etc. Really small so she doesn't even have to chew it but she's starting to figure out that's what her teeth are for. Go at your pace. If you think something is too big to give LO it probably is.

Baby Food Paranoia

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