Scared of baby choking during BLW

Are you sure she was choking? Was she silent? Gagging can be terrifying when you're not used to it but it's normal.

Are you sure it was choking and not gagging? Gagging is quite common and quite healthy as it teaches babies to handle food safely and correctly :) it can be quite scary of course.. I would recommend doing a first aid course just to feel safe and confident.. just to put your mind at ease though there is no increased risk of choking with BLW if food is cut appropriately.. good luck! X

@Caroline @Isa no definitely not gagging, it was a gag at first as she was coughing and I thought oh shes just got a little bit stuck but then she went silent and her face went really red and she couldn’t get it up for a good 10/15 seconds. I maybe overreacted a little bit as its the first time ive ever seen it happen but it scared the living daylight out of me!! I definitely will do a first aid course though. Thank you xx

@Heather yeah I agree, the worst thing to do is to panic and I completely get that, i think with it been the first time its ever happened it just really scared me and my mum jumped straight in to help as my daughter went silent so it did seem like she was choking x

It sounds like gagging if she went red but it is quite difficult to understand sometimes.. the important thing is that she is ok now :) not sure how old your baby is (5 months?) but I would definitely suggest waiting for 6 months and for all the signs of readiness to be met before trying finger foods as this prevents unnecessary risks for choking.. assisting devices are not recommended by the Resus council and should not be used as they delay lifesaving primary aid (back blows and abdominal thrusts) so definitely first aid course :) it will get easier as time goes by x

The ‘solid starts’ app is really good, if you haven’t already I’d recommend getting that. Possibly see if there’s a baby/childrens first aid class you can attend too, having the training might help to relax you a little bit. It is definitely worrying though, carrots I find can be a bit funny to chew. If you can squish it between your index finger and thumb then baby can squish it with their gums. Sounds like a scary experience but hopefully it was just a one off!

‘Weaning the BLW way’ on fb has a file on this :)

I also highly recommend Solid Starts. They have great info (including videos) of choking vs gagging for future reference. It does sound like maybe the piece was the wrong shape and size in this instance. The solid starts app has a free food database that shows how to safely prepare any food based on baby’s age (they have other paid things but the database is free). Also great content on Instagram. It made me feel so much more confident when doing baby led weaning.

I would say, don’t put pressure on yourself to BLW, I know people who didn’t BLW untill 8-9months, my baby is 6 and a half months old and I’ve only gave him watermelon, rusk, toast and Ella’s kitchen melts sticks, he chocked on the toasts and it was cut finger size and soft 😮‍💨 so I’m in the same boat so put off! My HV advised that it’s not a rush and solids are just for practice x

@Leah yeah it definitely does put you off! I think for now i will just stick to what shes been having for the past couple of weeks, porridge/banana porridge and some of the purees as she is only just over 5 months old x

@Maddy mama definitely don’t push those more advanced things go at your comfort level we did like stripped waffles stripped pancakes really mushy stuff till my son was about 10.5 months then started doing like chicken nuggets that have a rougher texture we didn’t start cooked veggies like carrots and green beans till almost a year to make us more comfortable and he’s been eating 3 full meals a day sense 10 months it’s okay to step away from those more complex foods it’s very scary when they do choke we noticed doing those softer less complex foods and sticking to corn and peas for veggies they were way easier for our son to gag up if he swallowed the wrong way so choking wouldn’t occur

Also the cooked veggies aren’t really recommended till 6Months up anyways so definitely stay in your comfort level mama your doing great

I was absolutely terrified of my son choking (he’s my third) but I was fine with my other two. Kept putting so much pressure on myself when seeing other friends with their babies- but just took it slow and steady with foods I knew he couldn’t choke on. He’s 16 months now and near enough eating everything and my fear has gone.

There’s no benefit to introducing solids earlier than 6 months so maybe just wait until then and give it another try?

@Kayla thank you so much!

@Jade yeah i know it’s recommended to start from 6 months and the only reason we introduced things like baby porridge/rice was due to my daughter having a lot of reflux issues and bowel issues. She was doing 7/8 runny poos a day and since starting her on the baby porridge this has come down to 2 poos a day and alot more solid its helped her so much. But i completely agree with the more solid foods i will wait until she is 6 months x

So scary when this happens. We only gave my daughter purées until she was about 7/8 months and then introduced solids and it worked really well. She is now 13 months and eats really well x