Stressed Again - Finger Food or Small Pieces?

[Nela]

Wanting to move my lil guy on proper solid food. Been on the fence for a long time but I understand the logic of the gag reflex and would rather he master eating properly before the reflex moves further back.

Thing is, my kid is a VERY eager eater. He constantly bites off more than he can chew and this freaks me out. He is currently on puree and isn't used to chewing so I wonder how safe it is if he tries to swallow down such large chunks. I gave him a slice of watermelon on Saturday and he kept getting big chunks off it and seemed to have a hard time and then gagged them all up. He's not actually chewing anything yet. This all makes me one very nervous mama. People always say you can reach into their mouths and yank out the piece but he always pulls away from me and I have a very difficult time taking it out of his mouth. Is it safer to cut things up into smaller pieces so if he DOES decide to swallow, he won't choke on it? Or does that defeat the purpose by not teaching him to chew?

Aaaaaack, I seriously can't get the hang of the weaning bit!

 

[chezababy]

My lo is very also very eager. She'll eat a whole cocktail sausage in one. She's older than your lo now but has always done it and has only choked properly once (she ended up throwing it up but was fine after). She now has a mix of big and little pieces. I see no problem with giving small pieces but I think you also need to give bigger pieces so that he will learn how much he can handle.

 

[chezababy]

Oh and even with little pieces she'll shovel it in and is just as likely to choke.

 

[Nela]

Thanks!

It's all so freaky. I can handle everything but I have always had a massive fear of my baby choking, whether it be on food or something found around. I am looking into doing a First Aid course, just for my own satisfaction.

I just gave him some toast fingers smeared with fruit puree and that went well. I really want to work on that and gain more confidence... I think I will give him a little scrambled egg with toast as a breakfast and just introduce really slowly with foods I am most comfy with during the day and keep puree for convenience for dinner as he is quite hungry for food. I guess I can just do a combi and take it slowly... I just wish I weren't so scared! Lol. I admire the babies eating all sorts of foods in the BLW thread and their parents. I really want to get there with Nathan!

 

[Rachel_C]

I'd go for a mix of sizes too - big pieces can get stuck but are less likely to get far back in the mouth, whereas small pieces can sneak past but are easier to swallow - swings and roundabouts really!

We just went ahead with BLW and it was never particularly worrying for me, but if you are really worried why don't you let LO practise with things that are different sizes but that pretty much dissolve? Things like those baby Wotsit/Quaver-type crisps - they stay solid enough for LO to practise biting and he'll know about it if he shoves a whole handful in at once but they just dissolve after a minute so it's not scary Then once you see that he's fine (and gagging still counts as being fine), you can just give him normal food.

 

[familygirl30]

Hi Hun my son is 9 months and he's the same,he will shove a finger size piece of toast in his mouth and it scares me as only one tooth so ends up struggling so now I break it up so uses pincer grip to pick it up,I keep tryin with the finger sizes too though.He does the same with the baby biscuits he breaks big piece of and jus holds it in mouth and not chew so I don't give him them for now.He has the big carrot sticks( like wositts but bigger)shoves these in but they dissolve.Also he loves grated cheese and scrambled egg

 

[Smiler82]

I am finding weaning a bit stressful too. I started with BLW but the gagging was so scary, even though I know it's normal I couldn't stop myself from yanking him out of the high chair and hitting him on his back. Meal times were getting stressful and I didn't want him to pick up on my stress and get upset himself. So I switched to purees, but I make them up myself so I was able to start introducing lumps. He has porridge for breakfast that is quite lumpy, then lumpy mashed veg in the afternoon. Today I gave him fingers of toast and I was surprised at how well he ate it. No gagging! Can you start by giving him thicker, lumpier purees? As others suggest we've also given him things designed for babies that will dissolve, so he gets the chance to practice chewing but I don't stress because I know it'll dissolve. I do feel like I'm a bit "behind" with weaning, I feel bad that my nervousness has meant he's not had quite the range of food other babies I know have

 

[Nela]

Thank you, guys It's a difficult stage isn't it? Aack!

Yep, that's exactly what I've decided to do. I've decided to do the 'blw' with softer dissolving foods as he is not even trying to chew yet and since he bites off large pieces and tries to swallow them it stresses me too much. So for now, I will stick to the softer things like the toast, scambled eggs, etc. that he can practice with but that should be really easy to swallow if he does swallow it without chewing. Because I am finding it stressful and time-consuming (though he does eat rather quickly when he is given food, he doesn't just play with it that's for sure!) I will stick to purees for dinner during the week (since i am alone) and then start him on more 'solids' on the weekends. I plan on making him some mashed potato with some flaked fish this weekend. Until things really progress towards big chunky foods, he'll have lumpier dinners. He's already on those, but they aren't lumpy enough for him to choke if he swallows. Right now, he's not trying to chew at all so that's what I want to work on and will give him more once I see that he actually tries to chew but, until then, I will play it safe. I think I can be a bit more easy-going than I was, but I also am fine with it being a gradual process. The midwife nearly scoffed at me when she heard he was still mainly on formula and should only be getting 3 bottles a day. First of all, we only STARTED weaning at 6 months and he has a sensitive tummy so we are taking it in steps to make sure we don't upset his tummy more than necessary. I think he is doing well enough. he's still perfectly well on the average growth curve so he is by no means a big baby. I will just keep doing it my way but introduce a little more of the finger foods as I find what we are comfy with and all.

 

[cocosianelle]

Don't listen to the midwife, not many babies I know are on 3 bottles?! Our LO is 10 months old and has 4 bottles near enough every day. You are doing it right by going at it your own pace, no need to rush as they say food is for fun eh?

It sounds like you are doing a fantastic job but I just wanted to say please if your baby is gagging do not put your fingers down their throat as this can cause you to push the food further down. Babies are very smart and if they are having a bit of trouble they will sort it out themselves. We are BLW so I've had many gagging episodes and have had to sit of my hands but I trust my girl to sort it out herself and she does.

Our LO loves salmon so good luck with the fish and let us know how he gets on.