how do you know BLW is right for your baby?

[anna_t]

What title say.
Its just that we started giving a bit of vegetables at new years and it went ok in the beginning but now it starting to scare me a little bit
Last few days he been gagging really really bad on his food and it got to a point him starting to cry.
Im not sure though if he started crying because me and OH jumped up to try to help him, which i know you shouldnt do as babies can do it themselves but we couldnt help it as he was coughing and going all red in his face and his eyes were all watery.
So how do i know if this is the right way to go. Tonight he gagged on boiled potatoes and the other day he gagged on chicken.
Or could it be that he is not ready for solid food at all.
Im just really clueless.
It seemed such a brilliant idea the whole BLW business after reading the book by gill whats her name but now im not so sure. Im thinking maybe i should try purees but then i think what if he will be exactly the same with that.
Ohh i dont know. Advice pleeeease, girls

 

[Tacey]

Gagging really is completely normal, and not confined to BLW. It is perfectly possible to gag on purees and later on lumps. Some babies just have a more sensitive reflex than others. I feel that if you do have a baby that gags a lot, or struggles with solid food BLW is probably even more helpful as they are learning to manage lumps while the gag reflex is still quite far forward. If you wait until later, the reflex moves back and they are more likely to actually choke (although that's still rare.)

It takes time for both of you to learn. Stick with it, it'll be worth it!

 

[anna_t]

Is there any food thats easier to start with until he learns or is it best to let him a variety of different kinds of food?

 

[Tacey]

To be honest, I'd just let him keep going with a range of food. Alice gagged at most meals for a couple of weeks, and then just stopped. If it makes you feel more comfortable though, maybe just offer softer foods. Keeping mealtimes relaxed is really important, although hard to do if you're worrying about how he's managing.

 

[special_kala]

Soft ish foods are good to start with like steamed veg but not so soft it falls apart in hi hands.

Gagging is normal and its very much a learning curve. Once he has the chewing and moving food around in his mouth down he wont gag very often at all.

I do think that sometimes the parents can make it worse if they rush in to quickly. I did it with River a few time and it startled her a bit.

It can be hard to begin with but honestly it is so worth it. I love BLW and some of my best memorys of River are sitting down with her and watching her enjoy her food so much.

 

[anna_t]

We just need to stay calm, me and OH that is. We will probably stick to boiled carrot, courgette, broccoli and the soft vegetable as you said until he learns how to move the food around and chew.
I got a feeling he gagged on the potato because it went really mushy withou Alex doing much with it in his mouth. And as he hasn't learned how to handle the food in his mouth yet it might be too much for him.

 

[andbabymakes3]

One of our first blw foods was sticks of roasted carrot. She would suck on them for hours!

The gag reflex, as the others have said, is totally normal hun. As they get older and develop, their gag reflex moves further and further back intheir mouths so it will lessen.

Holly used to gag on some stuff (still does now cos she insists on shoving loads of food into her mouth) but I have never had to 'help' her dislodge anything, she can do it herself.

The whole point is for it to be the most relaxed way of weaning your LO, so if it really is stressing you out that much then don't drive yourself mad. As long as LO gets fed, it doesn't matter! x

 

[hivechild]

It really is hard not to jump up and want to help them when they gag isn't it?

I know in the beginning I had to literally sit on my hands and count to 10. I think I only ever actually made it to 10 a couple of times before he spat out whatever he was gagging on!

 

[anna_t]

One of our first blw foods was sticks of roasted carrot. She would suck on them for hours!

The gag reflex, as the others have said, is totally normal hun. As they get older and develop, their gag reflex moves further and further back intheir mouths so it will lessen.

Holly used to gag on some stuff (still does now cos she insists on shoving loads of food into her mouth) but I have never had to 'help' her dislodge anything, she can do it herself.

The whole point is for it to be the most relaxed way of weaning your LO, so if it really is stressing you out that much then don't drive yourself mad. As long as LO gets fed, it doesn't matter! x

Ill see how it goes. Its only been these few times when its been this bad and i think we just need to see it a couple of times that he can manage it until we can start to relax.

 

[anna_t]

It really is hard not to jump up and want to help them when they gag isn't it?

I know in the beginning I had to literally sit on my hands and count to 10. I think I only ever actually made it to 10 a couple of times before he spat out whatever he was gagging on!

We will probably have to do this as well. It will probably get better the more times we see him manage it by himself.

 

[littlepne]

Gagging incidents now only happen rarely, maybe once a week. It's hard work though - smiling on the outside and freaking out inside! I try and offer a drink of water after she's gagged, especially if she's been sick a bit as well, but sometimes it's hard because she's too busy shovelling more food in! I found some foods made her gag more than others.

 

[anna_t]

I gave him boiled carrots tonight. He has made a bit of an improvement as he has started to chew it a tiny bit before spitting it out.
He gagged twice and both times i left him even though i was on my way to help him when it happened the first time (bad mummy).
Is it normal that they start crying afterwards? Because he did cry both of the times, not loads but a little bit. He was happy to continue after the first time but on the second time he raised his arms up for me to pick him up.

 

[louandivy]

I posted a similar thread about this a few weeks ago, Ivy was gagging and throwing up everything she ate. Now she is munching on food like a little pro! Stick with it hun, all of a sudden he will just stop gagging I promise!

 

[special_kala]

Is he actually crying like hes upset or more tears in his eyes?

 

[anna_t]

Is he actually crying like hes upset or more tears in his eyes?

He is crying because he is a bit upset after the gagging incident.

 

[ouchwithNo.2]

my LO gags daily, she copes with it though and works it out of her mouth or moves it somewhere more comfortable to be broken down more.
I am quite relaxed and just carry on, no fuss, let her do her thing.
only once have I hooked food out of her mouth and thats when she shoved a whole round crisp in her mouth, one of those tomato ring wotsit things. daft child!
once she has sorted it out she sighs loudly, smiles and continues shoving too much in.
I usually get her to have a sip of drink after to wet her mouth.
I admit I dont like feeding her around some people as they get really worried and you can see them think 'FFS THE BABY IS CHOKING...!!!' but she isn't, hasn't even made it half way down her tongue xx

 

[littlepne]

I admit I dont like feeding her around some people as they get really worried and you can see them think 'FFS THE BABY IS CHOKING...!!!' but she isn't, hasn't even made it half way down her tongue xx

Yes, I get this! No, she's not choking because I can see the food on the back of her tongue - she just doesn't know how to move it yet!

My mum was convinced she was going to choke at first, kept telling me a story of a friend of hers who gave her baby raw carrot which they started choking on - despite me telling her numerous times I don't give her anything hard, just stuff that's nice and soft. She's changing her mind though now, especially since she watched LO munch a whole plum yesterday

 

[anna_t]

would you say its ok to keep going even if he is crying a little bit because it scared him when he gags? Or is that a sign he is not ready or that we should just give him purees?

 

[littlepne]

Does he sit in a high chair or on your knee? If he's in a chair, you could sit him on your knee - it might make him feel calmer about eating if he's upset?

 

[anna_t]

Does he sit in a high chair or on your knee? If he's in a chair, you could sit him on your knee - it might make him feel calmer about eating if he's upset?

He is sitting in a highchair.
He had some parsnips and carrots (again) tonight and he gagged on a bit of parsnip but i was ALOT calmer and he was absolutley fine. He seems to figure out how to mush up his food in his mouth now and i think thats why he has been gagging alot more the last few days compared to before.
So ill keep offering him soft vegetables for now and when he learns how to manage his food when its in his mouth i'll start offering meats and other bits and pieces.
Thanks for the reply