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BLW and choking

Hi ladies

We're going to start BLW next week when Olyvia turn 6 months but everytime I talk to my mum about it she freaks out about choking! Of course it worries me too but from what I understand from reading Gill Rapleys book it is LESS likely with BLW than purees - is that right?

So, what happens if a young baby DOES break off a small bit of food? I know it says in the book that they usually just drop it again because at that age (when you start) they aren't capable of getting the food to the back of their mouths but surely sometimes things do find their way to the back of their mouths by accident?

I'm trying to just focus on what the book and my HV has said as I don't want my mum's fears to become mine!!

For those of you who are already doing BLW - how have you found it? Have you had any incidents with small bits of food breaking off and causing a problem?

Thanks.

Love NN xxx

Replies

  • Hi

    We are doing a mixture of purees and BLW, I have found that Tyler will struggle with lumps at the moment but we are working our way through it. When he gags which he does alot, I give him the opportunity to sort it out himself, this sometimes means he gets it to the front of his mouth and pushes it out. Or, occasionally he starts choking, in which case I tap him on the back. This usually ends up in him being sick aswell. I'm persevering because he has to get used to it. I try not to give him things which break off easily to start with, and the things that have made him gag in the past, i'll give him a few days before trying again. With the purees I know that he is still getting his 3 meals a day and a wide variety of food, for example today he's having leek, pea and sweet potatoe puree and banana and blueberry for afters. made abit lumpier for him. Then he will have a stick of cucumber (nice for his gums), strawberry and banana to hold and make a mess of.

    Hope this helps abit.

    Sarah
  • hey hun.

    i'm planning on doing a combination of purees and BLW as emmy had to be weaned early due to total lack of interest in milk and docs worrying she wouldn't be having enough image (though it did help her milk intake so i guess i can't complain too much!)

    anyways...i'm just starting to give emmy things like soft bread etc to hold and i find that most of the bits do get spat out, but if you have some of the same food as livvy and show her how to eat, chew it etc that might help. emmy does really well if you do this (and it looks adorable watching her practice chewing with her gums to copy mummy! lol). so that might be a way to help?

    if i think of any other ways to help i'll come back later...right now i'm off in the bath with emmy as she decided she wanted the lid off her sippy cup to drink her milk like mammy! it waas very messy as you may gues! haha
  • We're BLWing and have had a few instances of gagging - and it is very very scary. I started crying one dinner time and DH had to sort her out :cry: Having said that we haven't even had to pat her back to help her to get the pieces out. She gags, coughs, splutters a bit, then a piece of food just drops out of her mouth and lands on the tray. Then she just carries on eating as though nothing has happened!! With my crying episode DH just went and stood next to her and waited in case he needed to pull her out of her chair, but she was OK. The only other problem we have had was a piece of chicken getting stuck on the roof of her mouth. She couldn't move it to swallow it so I had to hook my finger around it and pull it down.

    What we have found though is that the amount of gagging depends on the highchair she's in. We have a wooden East Coast one and a cheapo Ikea one and all of her horrible gagging episodes have been in the wooden one. We think she sits a bit more upright and forward in the Ikea one, so the food drops out of her mouth more easily. So I would recommend getting one of those if you're a bit nervous.

    HTH mrs_ed
  • I was speaking to a lady that is doing BLW the other day about it as i am interested in doing it and she said babies that are breast fed are more liking to take BLW much better as they do the natural breaking down to latch on to the nipple where as bottle fed babies suck if that makes sense. Also she did say a babies reflux is alot closer than an adult so it would be really hard for them to actually choke but im sure it happens sometimes but as mrs_ed has pointed out her little one just gags and then splutters and it natually comes back up.

    I would start with very soft food and not alot goes in to start off with so im told xx
  • watching toby deal with the food has been facsinating - it is as the book says - he will splutter bring out round to the front of his mouth and wither spit it out or re chew and swallow - the first few months it is all about exploring - trusting your lo to eat the right amount is difficult but toby has always done this - his weight has really stabalised as well - he has been 21lbs for 6 weeks which is what he needed as he was way off the charts - chunky monkey x
  • It tends to be gagging rather then choking in fact *touch wood* my DD has never choked and we have been BLW 2.5 months.

    I have found once she is used to something she is fine it sometimes takes a little while to figure out the consistency and texture of the food and by consistency I mean some things break just where she bites but some will snap off randomly leaving a larger piece then she expects.

    Also can second the Ikea highchair especially for ease of cleaning etc as BLW is messy and this is a dream to wipe down.

    Good luck hun, it's really quite fascinating watching them do it and messy and fun too.
    xxxxx
  • We have been doing blw for 3 months, and although we have had a fair amount of gagging, no actual choking!

    Have you considered a baby first aid course? I did one at my local sure start centre, and it covered choking. I am a lot more confident should something actually happen now.

  • My LO gags at practically every meal, as he crams loads in! At first I was really worried, but I'm much more relaxed now. I've found he sorts himself out really easily, but the best thing is not too panic as they will too. Choking is quiet but gagging is noisy.

    K xx
  • We've been doing BLW for 2mths now and like the others have said we have had gagging but no choking. For the first few weeks a gave soft veg like broccoli, corgette and roasted sweet potato. Also toast has always been a favourite. A first aid course is a good way to help you feel better, as at least you have the knowledge should anything happen.
    LO didn't really actually eat much for the first few weeks but now he eats practically anything thats put in front of him! Still not as much as babies who have purees maybe but he's happy and content so it's all good.
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