scared shes gunna choke!

[spacecadet]

hiya everyone
my baby's 6 months now and has has purees for a few weeks now and has breakfast and lunch, i really want to start giving her some finger foods too..
thing is im quite paranoid about her choking, we have tried her with some pitta bread but she ended up sucking it to death and swallowing a large chunk, my fella slapped her on the back and she coughed it up!
do you think i should wait a month or two to let her chewing reflex develop more or am i just being a paranoid wimp (im suprised by my reaction when she choked - i froze and i dread it happening again )
thanks

 

[Mervs Mum]

The earlier you give her them, the stronger her gag reflex is. She's very unlikely to choke. She'll suck things rather than chew to start with anyway.

 

[Vickie]

^^Agreed. Plus babies have a very strong gag reflex, much stronger than ours and the chances of her actually choking are very slim. You will notice her gagging as she gets used to new tastes and textures but that is completely normal

 

[ryder]

I was told by the HV's not to give finger foods until 7-8 months because they dont have the fine motor skills and can choke.

Its totally up to you what you wish to do though. Some people believe earlier is better, although I have read some threads on this site about younger babies actually choking. So... it is definately possible.

I gave mainly purees and some toast etc when she was 6 months. We are starting to do more finger foods now, but im in no rush.

 

[Blah11]

If you want to introduce finger foods then you should do. Just keep an eye on her when she's eating. She'll probably just play with a lot of it at first and have little nibbles here and there. If she takes too big a bit, she'll gag and bring it up into her mouth and spit it out herself 99.9% of the time. I usually just leave Amelie to it if she gags instead of patting her back, its all a learning experience for them and she hardly ever does it anymore Try and not worry, she's only really choking if she can't breathe so try and not get gagging and choking mixed up X

 

[spacecadet]

thanks for the replies, i tried her this morning with some pieces of wholemeal toast with banana mashed on them, what a soggy mess! she loved sucking it!! i watched her carefully and ate some toast too (she was sat in her bumbo on the table) and tried to show her how to chew and praising her when she seemed to! she sort of had her puree interspersed with gumming her fistful of mush i saw her swallow a couple of little chunks and she just looked sort of suprised, she had a little cough but thats it
i think im gunna really enjoy this weaning malarky! what fun