Baby Choking On Anything Solid! Help!

[kaylamariee]

Hey ladies..
My 11 month old chokes on anything solid.. I literally have to give her minced fruit and if I give her a Cheerio it's literally a quarter of a Cheerio..
I need her to get other nutrients other than baby food.. And even that she doesn't seem very interested in..
It's quite frustrating and I feel like a bad mommy..
Need suggestions please

 

[Teri7489]

I don't want to sound patronising, but is she actually choking on the food, I.e not breathing, it jammed in her throat? Babies gag a lot when eating solid food, it's not choking but them getting used to different textures, different size food....

If it's that then encouragement and slow paced meal times are the best way to overcome it. If she is stopping breathing forcing you to intervene then I would suggest taking her to your GP, she may have an oesophageal stricture. It is rare but worth a check if you are really worried xxx

 

[kaylamariee]

Teri - sorry I didn't explain that very well.. It SEEMS like she's choking, but I think it's just her gag reflux ..
I just need advice on how to start her and then increase..

I feel like a bad mummy

 

[Teri7489]

Aw you're not a bad mummy! Some babies just take a little longer to get used to solids. At her age she should manage fork mashed food. Just try a few spoons at a time, and try to distract her at the same time by giving her a spoon. Try different foods some warm some cold. So bananas, carrots, thick soup. Once she's managed that then try just broken down food, avocado that's really ripe, slices of banana, cooked carrot sticks. It will take time but she will do it. Just lots of encouragement and try to ignore the gagging. Its normal for babies to do that. I'm sure you are doing great xxx

 

[noon_child]

Is she upset once she has gagged, and then refuses further food, or is it you who is freaked out? My LO would gag on something, spit it out then pick it straight back up and put it in her mouth for another go...it was me who had to stop having a heart attack about it!!!

 

[JenX]

One of the moms in our breastfeeding group was having this problem and our leader who is a Lactation Consultant and speech pathologist said it has to do with the gag reflex and how it naturally moves back farther in the mouth. With some babies it stays closer to the front and there are things you can do to help move it back, such as give the baby some larger sticks of food like carrots or celery to grab onto and hold and gum/chew on a bit. This gives them some control and it helps move the gag reflex back. You want to monitor them closely and of course if they manage to get a piece nearly chewed off, take it away and give them a new one. The mom in our group tried it and it worked great.

 

[MindUtopia]

You might try offering her bigger chunks of food - a cucumber stick or piece of toast or a home-baked chip or a whole strawberry or banana and let her do the feeding. When babies first start on finger foods, it takes them awhile to control how to move food around their mouths. If you've been spoonfeeding up to this point, she won't have had the opportunity to really work that out on her own for herself. If you can give her a big piece of food, she has time to learn to handle it, bite off a piece, experience moving it around her mouth, and then swallowing. If you are only giving her little pieces, they might be too small for her to handle as easily, particularly if you are spoonfeeding those small pieces rather than letting her do it. Also, to a degree, you also need to sit on your hands a bit and let her do it, even if she's gagging. Gagging looks dramatic, but it's a good thing. It means your baby is learning about how to move food around in her mouth and what's safe for her (babies gag to prevent choking, actually just like we adults do). Choking is actually usual silent and looks a whole lot less dramatic. We did finger foods only (BLW) from 6 months, so that's been a whole 10 months ago, and my daughter has never choked once. You just have to be patient. Sit back, stay calm, and let her get on with it. It might be frustrating at first, but if you give her a chance, she'll learn to eat everything just fine.

 

[misspriss]

Is she upset once she has gagged, and then refuses further food, or is it you who is freaked out? My LO would gag on something, spit it out then pick it straight back up and put it in her mouth for another go...it was me who had to stop having a heart attack about it!!!

^^ Pretty much what she said. Mine would gag, spit up the food, then pick it up and go again. I "expected" the gagging since we were doing BLW, so I tired not to (outwardly) freak out, but inwardly? heart attack the first few times!