Pouches

May I ask why you struggle to give LO what you're eating?babies will gag on foods to start with, but aslong as pieces are bitesize, it's pretty hard for them to choke. My LO has big pieces the exact same as me and has learnt to chew. He hasn't choked yet, and any bits he tries to swallow too big, he gags and brings it back up to chew. I'm just curious as lots seem to go to the expense of pouches or the effort of blending/mashing foods or making something completely different. Is there a reason? Being a mum (I'm a solo FTM) is hard enough some days without creating anything extra. Sorry, I just really can't understand pouches 🤷‍♀️ but aldi does an imitation Ella's kitchen, so I'm guessing it's cheaper? I know the puffs are virtually the same

Aldi pouches are lovely for the money! Much cheaper then Ella’s kitchen xx

@Lucy if serving baby non puréed food, this should be finger length in shape so baby can pick this up easier & safely learn to take appropriate bites and chew the food rather than just swallow. They will struggle to chew really tiny food and this can be a choking risk. Foods that are round in shape such as blueberries etc should pass the coin test. So you make a circle with your thumb and forefinger, if the food can fit through this then you halve or quarter it so it isn’t a choking risk. I’m just jumping on to your comment to suggest a bit more in detail how to serve food that we eat, and give to baby rather than state smaller than their airway. Serving food really small isn’t actually how to safely wean (baby led weaning). I understand a lot of people will serve food in their own way, but when offering advice I sometimes think it’s good to be as factual as possible, especially when the poster is anxious about choking

@Jade sure. My sister is a paediatric nurse and health visitor. May I suggest the sure start website from the nhs which shows exactly how to safely wean. My LO chews his food because he learnt to chew, I'm just saying you can't learn to chew on purees. My sister said there's an increase of toddlers and older children they are seeing now that cannot chew and are still eating puree/mashed food. It terrifies me that the unregulated (yes, completely unreggulated) baby pouches of puree are so many people's go toos. I understand that they are quick and easy, I just worry that so many more babies will grow up not knowing how to 'eat'. I know it's silly of me but the horror stories I hear from my sister. I thought it was bad kids starting school still in nappies, but still on puree food? Sorry for jumping on the post, I just have a pure curiosity for why people choose pouches and puree over the nhs recommendation 🤷‍♀️

Babies are at a lower risk of choking from 6-8 months because their gag reflex is further forward in their mouth. So they will gag on foods and this is normal, but this is a protective measure against choking, whilst they learn about eating. The gag reflex moves further back in their mouth over time, and by 9 months it should be sitting around the back 1/3 of the mouth. BLW helps baby learn how to map their mouth, learn how to eat safely, whilst still having that additional protective measure of the gag reflex being further forward. Solid Starts is a great resource for working out how to prepare different foods, they have an app and you can search different foods. They also have a page here on gagging/choking https://solidstarts.com/gagging/ Sorry I know you asked about pouches and I can’t actually advise on that, but as you mentioned fear of choking I wanted to reply as I was so scared of it with my first! I understand how hard it is to get past that fear ❤️

@Liz sure start by the nhs is recommended. They do not endorse or recommend solid starts for various reasons. I know I shouldn't care so much.

@Lucy I think you’ve misunderstood me, I’m not advocating puréed food? I was giving more insight into how to serve actual food? I’m not sure why you’re stating your sister is a paediatric nurse? What has that got to do with anything? Funnily enough, so is mine 🤣 you said to cut it so it’s smaller than airway but this is incorrect. When starting food, until around 9+ months, food should not be tiny (technically should be bite sized, never tiny). A lot of people choose not to do proper food as they are scared of choking which I understand. If served correctly, it is extremely rare. I’m not against what you’re saying.

@Liz exactly this! X

@Lucy also, where have I ever said they’re quicker etc? I have not once advocated puréed food. But I’m also not against people who use it. I’m not here to judge. People do what people have to do to get by. We have no understanding of why the poster feels how they do. I was simply giving better advice on how to serve food rather than cutting tiny which is completely incorrect.

@Jade I was solely asking to see why people use pouches of puree. I do feel that alot of inaccurate and wrong advise is given at times on peanut and I do wish more people would interact with their HV or GP, or maybe they cant/don't have the means to? The poster was asking for cheaper pouches then Ella's, I suggested aldi but enquired as to the reason. They had a fear of choking I commented it's rare, but babies gag when having solid/lumpy food to start with, and perfectly normal. I do believe that there should be much better weaning advice, similar to safe sleep and breastfeeding, maybe? I know that my sisters company are bringing weaning visits in, but every HV company seem so different 🤷‍♀️

@Lucy I completely agree with you. Anyway I think we’ve overtaken this poor ladies post lol