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Putting baby on solids

Hi,

I am looking for advice. My LO is 7 months, today in fact!!, I have been weaning her since she was 6 months. She is on puree'd everything, what she doesn't spit out anyway, but I am having problems with solids. I have given her rusks and rice pudding but whenever she manages to bite a bit of rusk she hates the texture in her mouth and then gags on the pieces this was the same with the rice pudding to the point she threw her whole dinner up. Is there any easier way to start this solid process????? i do get worried when she gags as i am scared it is going to go into choking.

Help as I am scared of giving her anything which may cause her to choke if she isn't used to swallowing....

Many thanks

Replies

  • Maybe try some rusk in milk, it will give a bit of texture which is what stage 2 foods are supposed to be like. Also have you tried the Organix crisps, they melt in the mouth, so can be easy to eat.

    Try not to worry about the gag reflex, lo is still getting used to getting the food to the back of their mouth. The reflex is further forward than ours is, making choking very unlikely.

    My lo is stubborn, he might get a bit off of a piece of fruit, gags but doesn't spit it out, just tries to move it about more...then finally swallows or spits!

    Just move a little slower with adding texture. I find just the tip of the spoon with food on gives James an idea what he's eating. He never knows what texture/thickness/taste he's going to get. Also a lot of it is perseverance with tastes. HTH. xx
  • Hi Mithical,

    you speak alot of sense!! I will try the organix crisps. What do you do when your LO begins to gag??? I can't help but get her upside down and pummeling her back to break the piece loose!! Bad I know but it just looks scary and I would hate to leave it so long for her to sort out. Maybe I should feed her pieces in front of my HV??? But will definitely try the textured food first to get her used to the different sensation and not to worry....

    Thank you for the advice.

    Kate x
  • Hi
    I know it's scary but unfortunately a lot of babies have to get over the gag reflex by gagging! I really recommened the Organix crisps as I don't think it's possible to choke on them, so even if she is gagging it will soften eventually. I would avoid reacting too much to the gagging as it must be really scary being put upside down each time! I do understand how stressful it is though - my LO had a couple of weeks where he was gagging on everything and bringing up entire dinners, but it passes - you just have to keep on trying.
    Good luck x
  • I agree with what the others have said, the gag reflex is a good thing, its there to stop them choking. I know its difficult but really try and leave her to it. We are doing blw so my lo had solids from 24 weeks, she is now 7 months in a couple of days, the first few things she had she did gag on quite strongly but she brought them back on her own and within a day or two she was managing them fne. She still does gag occaissionaly but she just brings it back up and then chews it a bit more until she can swallow it. Some of things still just go straight down though, we have had a few whole blueberries in her poo and even half a baby sweetcorn. :lol:

    It is best to start giving her solids as soon as you can as as they get older the gag reflex moves further back so she needs to learn how to move food around her mouth before then.

    Does your local surestart offer a first aid course? We went on one just before we started weaning, if focused a lot on choking so we both feel confident that we could cope in the very rare situation that she did coke. It might be worth looking into. If you ever look over on BIJ we all had stories of out lo's gagging when we first started weaning so it is totally normal.
  • If you stay calm if lo gags, lo is more likely to stay calm. She does need to move anything herself, without your intervention. With eating, practice makes perfect. :\) Just calmly tell her she's ok, and give her time.

    Just choose your finger foods carefully, until you can see lo is chewing things. But as sarah-jb says the gag reflex does start to move further back. But they wouldn't suggest introducing finger foods from 7 months, if lo's couldn't cope with them.

    Here's a link to baby first aid, the St.John's amubulance also have good info, with videos. xx

    http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/safety/chokingguide/
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