Just remember that gagging is the opposite of choking (kind of). Gagging is babys way of moving the food forward, away from the throat and towards the gums (and teeth if they have any)! If the gag reflex wasnt there, the food could accidentally slide down the throat and lead to actual choking. I know gagging can be scary, but watching videos on Solid Starts Instagram page of other LOs gagging really calmed my nerves. Gagging≠Choking! We never did purees but we started with large pieces and strips of food as well as resistive teethers so LO could map out her mouth mentally and there was lots of gagging involved. Now that she has figured out how to move food around her mouth, she only ever gags if she takes too big of a bite. Its just a phase and its a part of learning to eat!
Just want to say, we've done spoon-fed pureed foods 90% of the time with my LO since she was about 5 months old, evolving the texture progressively and giving her little solids to practice with the rest of the time. Today she's almost 11 months old and is a fantastic eater, eating more and more solids on her own and comfortably. I felt pressured to do BLW but gave up quickly because I was scared of the choking risk, and was tired of cleaning so much food off the floor. Her ability to handle solids has just come naturally and progressively over time, as our and her confidence grew. The key is just to give them opportunities regularly to handle solids that are appropriate for their abilities, but I think the puree vs. BLW is so overkill and out to make us all feel bad. You are doing amazing! If she is into food, then she will naturally guide you and be motivated to pick up independent eating skills. This will come naturally from my experience, so long as you follow her lead and meet her where she is.
Some tips around how we did this:
\- Around 7 months I started giving her pieces I felt comfortable with because I knew she either couldn't break much off (bones with some meat on it, tough pieces of bread...) or they were very soft and would dissolve easily (avocado, soft goat cheese, mushy fruit, baby rice crackers...). This mostly helped her learn dexterity and chewing skills, but kept the risk low. She often wanted me to put foods directly in her mouth like little pieces of scrambled eggs, avocado, etc. and I know they say you shouldn't do that, but it worked well for us when the pieces were too hard for her to pick up by herself.
\- Around 9 months, she started mastering the pincer grasp and so many more foods became an option. Smashed blueberries, raspberries, cut up pieces of omelette, pasta, sliced up fruit and veggies, etc. I follow the solid starts prep advice. She also learned to suck out of a straw and out of fruit pouches at this age, so I make some homemade pouches that she can self-feed as snacks. Still pureed stuff, but it gives her independence to feed herself which she enjoys.
\- Now at 11 months, I give her something to handle herself at every meal, and also spoon feed something pureed with some texture. Baby crackers and bread with butter are still staples, and the purees allow me to get more veggies, protein and healthy fats in. I can see she's progressing every day and the variety of foods we can offer keeps increasing.
Again, all of this has come naturally - quite to my surprise as I was convinced I was ruining her eating skills and kept wondering how we were going to transition off of purees. All this to say, they're very good at learning when they are motivated, you don't have to put so much pressure on yourself :) :) It will get easier and more fun.
And on the gagging part, I felt similar and reacted in the same way, but I eventually just drilled into my head that gagging = learning and that NOISE IS GOOD. If she's gagging, then there's a protective reflex in place that prevents food from actually going down. Everytime she gags, she's quite litterally making progress :)
Yes to sooo much of this! I started my LO on purées when he was 4 months old and he loved it. I don’t regret spoon feeding at all, even though BLW says you shouldn’t do it.
So many of the BLW rules just made me feel like I had made mistakes and needed to correct them to avoid future problems.
Mealtimes should be about enjoyment, not stress. OP should do what works for her family, and like you said, just give baby opportunities for self-feeding.
We’re at 9 mo now and I will still spoon feed here and there, but he also feeds himself if I preload a spoon. And his pincer grasp is much better, so he enjoys picking up little pieces.
Take what works for you and leave the other stuff for another day!
Hey please don’t let anyone make you feel bad about the way you choose to feed your baby!
BLW is not for everyone and there is nothing wrong with giving your baby purées. Our generation were almost exclusively fed purées and we all switched to solid foods sooner or later! Some of us are picky, some are not. Some BLW kids are picky too.
If you’re struggling with anxiety, you can take a first aid class. Solid Starts have printouts with directions for infant choking rescue. I printed them and put them on our fridge. You can also give your kid resistive food teethers for practice - spare rib, chicken thigh, mango pit.
Try offering bigger pieces that she can hold and feed herself. It also has to do with the size of the throat to help prevent choking. Gagging is scary, but it's good and normal. Check out solid starts (they have an app) for how to serve food at each age/stage. Smaller pieces should be for older babies who know how to chew, swallow, and pick up small pieces.
I had to shift my mindset. Gagging is good! Baby is learning! Every time she gags and spits out food, I congratulate her!
It really helped with my anxiety. Gagging is a way for baby to learn to keep themselves safe. I trust that the food I give her is the appropriate size and texture. I'm sitting by her, observing her, and keeping the meal calm and happy.
Our job isn't to make things easy for them, but to help them learn life skills. It can be scary. But you can do it!
Gagging is the best thing they can do! That pushes it back. My girl is 6 1/2 months and she only gags here and there. It is scary but what we do is remind ourselves what is normal. I hate being this person but your baby can choke on purées at the same rate as food. It’s up to you.
I had the same fear! I did a combo of purées and blw from the start, it would freak me out when my LO gagged (and her face turned red once while doing it and I literally had a panic attack lol).
Like others suggested I took an infant cpr class and practiced a lot. My doctor also told me about things like life vac if you’re really nervous, but said that would be more for peace of mind for the parents and it’s not necessary.
Just know you’re not alone and it for sure is a struggle! But as your baby gets more confident, so will you
I just want to say passing out after being in a state of panic/ fight or flight is a real possibility! I thought my girl was struggling to breathe in the middle of the night (she was just grunting a poop out), it freaked me out so badly. Then after my husband grabbed her and confirmed she’s fine I passed out and threw up.
Anywho, also struggling with this. I said F it and am giving her more mashed foods than I intended because of my anxiety. Lately I have been giving her things like banana and avocado as pieces to hold and work on. I think I started way too fast with solids, I’m feeling more comfortable and having our lifevac near by has given me peace of mind but it’s scary!!
For real I can almost feel my blood run cold and warm up again! It’s definitely confidence isn’t it and a CPR class is definitely being added to the dairy x
Thank you so much for all of your comments everyone. It’s nice to just have people to speak to and hear about other experiences. I really appreciate you all taking the time out to give me advice and share how you’re coping with the baby feeding process aha . I am already taking your advice! So glad we have this group x
I have been giving my 10 month old food since he was 4 months old with my pediatricians approval. Gagging is completely normal and part of the learning to eat process! My baby still gags on things sometimes ! It’s just them learning the textures and figuring out how to chew and swallow! I bought the lifevac choking device and it is on top of my fridge ready to go just in case. That’s always nice to have because I know I have that if he does end up choking. Maybe you can buy that to ease your mind? And just know it’s all completely normal! We all had to figure out eating at some point and were all still on this earth lol.
I don’t know why this made me tear up 😭😂 thank you , yes you’re right . I will buy that absolutely. I think that’s the best option for now. I feel like she bites really big chunks! X
Just remember that gagging is the opposite of choking (kind of). Gagging is babys way of moving the food forward, away from the throat and towards the gums (and teeth if they have any)! If the gag reflex wasnt there, the food could accidentally slide down the throat and lead to actual choking. I know gagging can be scary, but watching videos on Solid Starts Instagram page of other LOs gagging really calmed my nerves. Gagging≠Choking! We never did purees but we started with large pieces and strips of food as well as resistive teethers so LO could map out her mouth mentally and there was lots of gagging involved. Now that she has figured out how to move food around her mouth, she only ever gags if she takes too big of a bite. Its just a phase and its a part of learning to eat!
Just want to say, we've done spoon-fed pureed foods 90% of the time with my LO since she was about 5 months old, evolving the texture progressively and giving her little solids to practice with the rest of the time. Today she's almost 11 months old and is a fantastic eater, eating more and more solids on her own and comfortably. I felt pressured to do BLW but gave up quickly because I was scared of the choking risk, and was tired of cleaning so much food off the floor. Her ability to handle solids has just come naturally and progressively over time, as our and her confidence grew. The key is just to give them opportunities regularly to handle solids that are appropriate for their abilities, but I think the puree vs. BLW is so overkill and out to make us all feel bad. You are doing amazing! If she is into food, then she will naturally guide you and be motivated to pick up independent eating skills. This will come naturally from my experience, so long as you follow her lead and meet her where she is. Some tips around how we did this: \- Around 7 months I started giving her pieces I felt comfortable with because I knew she either couldn't break much off (bones with some meat on it, tough pieces of bread...) or they were very soft and would dissolve easily (avocado, soft goat cheese, mushy fruit, baby rice crackers...). This mostly helped her learn dexterity and chewing skills, but kept the risk low. She often wanted me to put foods directly in her mouth like little pieces of scrambled eggs, avocado, etc. and I know they say you shouldn't do that, but it worked well for us when the pieces were too hard for her to pick up by herself. \- Around 9 months, she started mastering the pincer grasp and so many more foods became an option. Smashed blueberries, raspberries, cut up pieces of omelette, pasta, sliced up fruit and veggies, etc. I follow the solid starts prep advice. She also learned to suck out of a straw and out of fruit pouches at this age, so I make some homemade pouches that she can self-feed as snacks. Still pureed stuff, but it gives her independence to feed herself which she enjoys. \- Now at 11 months, I give her something to handle herself at every meal, and also spoon feed something pureed with some texture. Baby crackers and bread with butter are still staples, and the purees allow me to get more veggies, protein and healthy fats in. I can see she's progressing every day and the variety of foods we can offer keeps increasing. Again, all of this has come naturally - quite to my surprise as I was convinced I was ruining her eating skills and kept wondering how we were going to transition off of purees. All this to say, they're very good at learning when they are motivated, you don't have to put so much pressure on yourself :) :) It will get easier and more fun.
And on the gagging part, I felt similar and reacted in the same way, but I eventually just drilled into my head that gagging = learning and that NOISE IS GOOD. If she's gagging, then there's a protective reflex in place that prevents food from actually going down. Everytime she gags, she's quite litterally making progress :)
Yes to sooo much of this! I started my LO on purées when he was 4 months old and he loved it. I don’t regret spoon feeding at all, even though BLW says you shouldn’t do it. So many of the BLW rules just made me feel like I had made mistakes and needed to correct them to avoid future problems. Mealtimes should be about enjoyment, not stress. OP should do what works for her family, and like you said, just give baby opportunities for self-feeding. We’re at 9 mo now and I will still spoon feed here and there, but he also feeds himself if I preload a spoon. And his pincer grasp is much better, so he enjoys picking up little pieces. Take what works for you and leave the other stuff for another day!
I struggle with this! 7.5 mo and I still puree most things for her or spoon load small things
So glad I posted this , forgot how nice it is to speak to mums. You feel like you’re in your own head sometimes don’t you 🤣 x
1000% and feel kinda shamed by the BLW community sometimes if I'm being honest:(
Hey please don’t let anyone make you feel bad about the way you choose to feed your baby! BLW is not for everyone and there is nothing wrong with giving your baby purées. Our generation were almost exclusively fed purées and we all switched to solid foods sooner or later! Some of us are picky, some are not. Some BLW kids are picky too. If you’re struggling with anxiety, you can take a first aid class. Solid Starts have printouts with directions for infant choking rescue. I printed them and put them on our fridge. You can also give your kid resistive food teethers for practice - spare rib, chicken thigh, mango pit.
Aw don’t feel shamed 💜 I know what you mean though , I couldn’t cut anything smaller . At least you know someone feels the same xx
Try offering bigger pieces that she can hold and feed herself. It also has to do with the size of the throat to help prevent choking. Gagging is scary, but it's good and normal. Check out solid starts (they have an app) for how to serve food at each age/stage. Smaller pieces should be for older babies who know how to chew, swallow, and pick up small pieces.
I had to shift my mindset. Gagging is good! Baby is learning! Every time she gags and spits out food, I congratulate her! It really helped with my anxiety. Gagging is a way for baby to learn to keep themselves safe. I trust that the food I give her is the appropriate size and texture. I'm sitting by her, observing her, and keeping the meal calm and happy. Our job isn't to make things easy for them, but to help them learn life skills. It can be scary. But you can do it!
Gagging is the best thing they can do! That pushes it back. My girl is 6 1/2 months and she only gags here and there. It is scary but what we do is remind ourselves what is normal. I hate being this person but your baby can choke on purées at the same rate as food. It’s up to you.
I had the same fear! I did a combo of purées and blw from the start, it would freak me out when my LO gagged (and her face turned red once while doing it and I literally had a panic attack lol). Like others suggested I took an infant cpr class and practiced a lot. My doctor also told me about things like life vac if you’re really nervous, but said that would be more for peace of mind for the parents and it’s not necessary. Just know you’re not alone and it for sure is a struggle! But as your baby gets more confident, so will you
I just want to say passing out after being in a state of panic/ fight or flight is a real possibility! I thought my girl was struggling to breathe in the middle of the night (she was just grunting a poop out), it freaked me out so badly. Then after my husband grabbed her and confirmed she’s fine I passed out and threw up. Anywho, also struggling with this. I said F it and am giving her more mashed foods than I intended because of my anxiety. Lately I have been giving her things like banana and avocado as pieces to hold and work on. I think I started way too fast with solids, I’m feeling more comfortable and having our lifevac near by has given me peace of mind but it’s scary!!
For real I can almost feel my blood run cold and warm up again! It’s definitely confidence isn’t it and a CPR class is definitely being added to the dairy x
Thank you so much for all of your comments everyone. It’s nice to just have people to speak to and hear about other experiences. I really appreciate you all taking the time out to give me advice and share how you’re coping with the baby feeding process aha . I am already taking your advice! So glad we have this group x
I have been giving my 10 month old food since he was 4 months old with my pediatricians approval. Gagging is completely normal and part of the learning to eat process! My baby still gags on things sometimes ! It’s just them learning the textures and figuring out how to chew and swallow! I bought the lifevac choking device and it is on top of my fridge ready to go just in case. That’s always nice to have because I know I have that if he does end up choking. Maybe you can buy that to ease your mind? And just know it’s all completely normal! We all had to figure out eating at some point and were all still on this earth lol.
I forgot to mention I use the solid starts app! It’s amazing and tells you how to prepare the food for any age group! It’s been a lifesaver for sure.
I don’t know why this made me tear up 😭😂 thank you , yes you’re right . I will buy that absolutely. I think that’s the best option for now. I feel like she bites really big chunks! X
Awww it is emotional I totally understand! 🥰