can my baby have oranges, kinda BLW question

[BabyMamma93]

due to weaning Malakai early i couldnt BLW then he choked a few times and i panicked and carried on spoon feeding. i give him finger foods here and there but i really want to get more into it. ive gave him scrambled eggs and of corse he didn't eat none just squeezed it. he has some carrot sticks that are crisps but i want to be more adventurous, i want to give him things like broccoli and carrot but im just so scared after seeing him choke once, its scared me.
How big a piece of broccoli? i know chip sized stick of carrots, but how soft for both carrot and broccoli? like melt in the mouth soft?
also i bought some oranges for LO then when i peeled them i was like 'he cant have this with all the white stuff still stuck to it and the skin on (skin not peel lol) or am i wrong? can i just peel the sultana and give him segments? or just not bother at all yet? i also got some pears, just cut them into chip sized sticks?
also spag bol. if i make some do i just plonk the whole lot on his tray, spaghetti included? will the spaghetti not like go down his throat? am i best using pasta twists? or will they do the same? ive choked on pasta and spaghetti before so i know its easily done lol
im really panicky after seeing him go blue in the face so i just need a slap and reassurance i guess.

 

[BabyMamma93]

i will also add, i do have the gill rapley book, i have read half of it and i disagree with things said in there.
fr example something like 'when a baby eats from a spoon, the foot is sucked to the back of their mouth' well actually Malakai uses his lip to get the food off the spoon, he then 'chews' and messes with it around his mouth before swallowing. he has lumpy food and he can manage this he just chews.

 

[the why bird]

I started with veggie sticks that were pretty soft - soft enough that I could squish it with my tongue against the roof of my mouth. I'm not sure about oranges because we didn't try them when she was a baby, but I'd be inclined to cut them into wedges and let him sucks/chew the flesh out of the skin rather than give peeled segments.

As for the book - you know your baby best and it's ok if you don't agree with the book. You don't have to do BLW if it's not right for you (and I say that as someone who loved BLW). If he's eating lumpy food from a spoon you could just gradually increase the lumpiness over the next few months.

You do sound really anxious though. Could you maybe request a visit from the health visitor or the infant feeding team and ask them to sit with you while baby has a meal so they can give pointers on what's normal and what to look out for?

 

[Wannabe Mommy]

We have done orange wedges and she just sucked on them. We've given tender stem broccoli steamed for about 5 mins so it's softened but still a little bite and just give her the stem as it comes.

She does gag occasionally but that's normal, babies have a really sensitive gag reflex to prevent then from choking and force then to remove the food before a problem occurs. It's never bothered her she just takes the food out and then puts it straight back in.

 

[liz1985]

If you really anxious and feel more at ease with TW why not carry on with that? We've done both and I don't think either are better than the other it's just what works for you. After all people were weaned the traditional way for 100s of years and we all eat fine. Maybe stick to spoon feeding his main meals and add finger foods as well. Even with TW finger foods are advised alongside the puree/mash. With ds I used to spoon feed breakfast and tea with a little finger food as well e.g. toast after breakfast, banana for pudding. From about 7m his whole lunch was finger food e.g. Sandwich, fruit and some organic snacks. I always made his food lumpy and by 9m ish he only had it chopped up, not mashed in anyway.

If you do want to switch to blw, then maybe start with one meal a day and work you way up to 3. Toast is good to start, you put things on top like mashed banana, cheese spread, avocado. I just give veg the same softness we would have it, broccoli I give it in florets so quite big, so she can just chew on it. Sweet potato wedges were always a favourite. If I do spag bol I normally do it with pasta just because it's easier for her to pick up, but cut up spaghetti is fine.

 

[BabyMamma93]

i always wanted to do BLW, but i couldn't so i guess that's why it bothers me so much now.
im really anxious because he has already choked a few times. he can eat baby crisps, like them organic carrot sticks, he manages well with them, aswel as milky bar chocolate buttons.
he does gag and that doesn't bother me that much, i do panic and i can feel my heart going just incase he chokes, but he sorts it out and carries on.
i dont even know if i have a HV atm, i know i got signed off when Malakai was about 2 month old, but then i go see one for his 8-10m review, maybe i will talk to her then.
i got him a cow and gate steamed meal the other day, it was spag bol, the spagetti was cut into small bits i just made it a little smaller and he managed fine, he manages really well with lumps thats why im thinking about going to BLW,
i know spoon fed babies arent all that bad, they say they are more fussy, but i was spoon fed and im far from fussy lol. i think i will just gradually introduce finger foods and see how he goes.
my biggest worry is toast though, im assuming its not buttered? or bread? i just think bread/toast would be one of the easiest things to get suck as he hasnt got enough teeth to chew yet..

 

[Wannabe Mommy]

i always wanted to do BLW, but i couldn't so i guess that's why it bothers me so much now.
im really anxious because he has already choked a few times. he can eat baby crisps, like them organic carrot sticks, he manages well with them, aswel as milky bar chocolate buttons.
he does gag and that doesn't bother me that much, i do panic and i can feel my heart going just incase he chokes, but he sorts it out and carries on.
i dont even know if i have a HV atm, i know i got signed off when Malakai was about 2 month old, but then i go see one for his 8-10m review, maybe i will talk to her then.
i got him a cow and gate steamed meal the other day, it was spag bol, the spagetti was cut into small bits i just made it a little smaller and he managed fine, he manages really well with lumps thats why im thinking about going to BLW,
i know spoon fed babies arent all that bad, they say they are more fussy, but i was spoon fed and im far from fussy lol. i think i will just gradually introduce finger foods and see how he goes.
my biggest worry is toast though, im assuming its not buttered? or bread? i just think bread/toast would be one of the easiest things to get suck as he hasnt got enough teeth to chew yet..

You should have constant access to your localHV scheme through your nearest sure start centre and your doctors as they link up. If you call either you should be able to make an appointment or learn the drop in times.

I do butter toast, she loves it I just cut it into fingers. She's had it with butter, peanut butter, mushed avacado, mushed banana and cheese spread.

 

[noon_child]

i dont even know if i have a HV atm, i know i got signed off when Malakai was about 2 month old, but then i go see one for his 8-10m review, maybe i will talk to her then….

my biggest worry is toast though, im assuming its not buttered? or bread? i just think bread/toast would be one of the easiest things to get suck as he hasnt got enough teeth to chew yet..

You should have constant access to your localHV scheme through your nearest sure start centre and your doctors as they link up. If you call either you should be able to make an appointment or learn the drop in times.

I agree, there is always an HV between birth and school age. If you don't know who it is, your GP can find out for you.

Regarding chewing, baby's teeth are already developed and are just below the gum line. This makes gums very effective at chewing. The only thing that can be difficult is red meat. My LO didn't get her first tooth till 11 months and her second till 14 months. She was eating entire meals at 10months - so a month prior to getting any teeth!

 

[liz1985]

Agree with pps re: teeth. Dd only got her first tooth at 8 months and at that point shed already had chicken, pork, fish, corn on cob, etc. Everything really. Gums are just as effective as teeth at chewing. I also butter toast. I used to cut into fingers now she just has it in half's.

 

[BabyMamma93]

i panic with meat to. OH want to give him some steak to gnaw on, but i worry far too much although i would love to be able to eat together without my dinner getting cold because im busy feeding him lol

 

[bubblz82]

Get the mama gadget. It's like a large dummy that opens and put food into it. Stops big bits going into mouth. Orange I cut inti 4 and peel half. The skin half on ti help to hold

 

[JoycesMum]

With veges/food like broccoli and carrot I always boil/cook them longer to make them softer. I used to make them three ways, puree, bite size pieces, or a silicone food feeder.