BLW

[pinkyprincess]

So I've brought my book, read it and now really excited about it. Only 3 months to go!

Question -

The gagging, how do you know if it's a gag or a choke? What would you do if it was a choke?

How can I convince the gagging is ok to family/OH etc? (I've really insisted that OH reads the book too so that he can be totally on board as I thunk his family will be pretty skeptic)

 

[Bunnykins]

Hi Hon, if you follow the guidelines keep them upright as possible and never put food in their mouths then they shouldn't ever choke, N has been doing it 3 weeks now and gagged a fair bit at first but he's soon got the hang of how much to put in his mouth and how far and now he just coughs to dislodge any big lumps!! Gagging is hard to watch at first but trust your baby and don't intervene and they will surprise you! I remember N gagging for about 5 mins and I left him as I could see he was breathing, making noises etc, eventually after much tongue rolling he spat out the biggest chunk of broccoli!
To me gagging is easy to spot they make noises you can see their tongue moving, they are breathing, whereas choking they go silent and can't breath. Choking is very very rare whereas gagging could happen 2 or 3 times in a meal especially at the start. Just tell the doubters that ALL babies need to learn how to chew & swallow solid food so all babies will gag at some point but blw babies gag more because their gag reflex is still so far forward which actually puts them at less risk as they will gag before a lump gets anywhere near the back of their throat, whereas as babies get older it moves further back so they aren't as equipped to get lumps out. Also my friend is doing tw and she had a gagging incident on a puree the other day so it's not always a blw thing.
It's just a perfectly designed safety mechanism which the body uses to prevent food that hasn't been chewed and is too big to swallow from getting anywhere near the back of the throat, not something to be frightened of!

 

[katie_lou]

So I've brought my book, read it and now really excited about it. Only 3 months to go!

Question -

The gagging, how do you know if it's a gag or a choke? What would you do if it was a choke?

How can I convince the gagging is ok to family/OH etc? (I've really insisted that OH reads the book too so that he can be totally on board as I thunk his family will be pretty skeptic)

What book is it xxx

 

[pinkyprincess]

I got this one

I was worried I wouldn't have time to read the other one as its a lot longer and I figured anything not covered I can google or ask on here

 

[pinkyprincess]

Hi Hon, if you follow the guidelines keep them upright as possible and never put food in their mouths then they shouldn't ever choke, N has been doing it 3 weeks now and gagged a fair bit at first but he's soon got the hang of how much to put in his mouth and how far and now he just coughs to dislodge any big lumps!! Gagging is hard to watch at first but trust your baby and don't intervene and they will surprise you! I remember N gagging for about 5 mins and I left him as I could see he was breathing, making noises etc, eventually after much tongue rolling he spat out the biggest chunk of broccoli!
To me gagging is easy to spot they make noises you can see their tongue moving, they are breathing, whereas choking they go silent and can't breath. Choking is very very rare whereas gagging could happen 2 or 3 times in a meal especially at the start. Just tell the doubters that ALL babies need to learn how to chew & swallow solid food so all babies will gag at some point but blw babies gag more because their gag reflex is still so far forward which actually puts them at less risk as they will gag before a lump gets anywhere near the back of their throat, whereas as babies get older it moves further back so they aren't as equipped to get lumps out. Also my friend is doing tw and she had a gagging incident on a puree the other day so it's not always a blw thing.
It's just a perfectly designed safety mechanism which the body uses to prevent food that hasn't been chewed and is too big to swallow from getting anywhere near the back of the throat, not something to be frightened of!

Thanks! I guess everyone worries at first about these things. I trust my judgement but it's hard to be cool with it until you see it iykwim?

 

[Bunnykins]

Your gonna love it when you start, it's so amazing watching them try new things, I give n food and expect him to just mess about then he surprises me by knowing what to do with it and eating it!!!! This morning I sat watching him stuff his mouth with cinnamon french toast (eggy bread)then he looked up at me and smiled this huge bready smile as if to say look at what I'm doing its awesome lol!
I'm making us a paprika chicken and new potato salad for tea it will be his first time with corn on the cob I'm gonna chop it into cubes see if he can manage it that way

 

[Hunnie]

I'd so love to try blw but it scares me a little lol I think I'd like to try a mix if that's possible or even a compromise of inbetween both of them?

 

[Bunnykins]

It's probably ok to do a bit of both, I'd struggle giving n puree cos he is such a willfull child he has to do it himself lol!! I just give n whatever I'm eating so there are bits of it such as yoghurt or mash that is very puree like and I just prefill his spoon and he picks it up and puts it in his own mouth, so tbh if your doing a balanced diet of meals some of it will be quite soft anyway.


Ps pinky that cookbook is great it gives some good ideas when you feel like you need some inspiration, n loves the pesto pitta pockets and French toast

 

[pinkyprincess]

Part of the reason I want to BLW is because I cook all my food fresh no jars or anything so it makes sense. It's nice to get done ideas for food for us let alone baby! Lol! Even now when cooking I'm thinking how I could adapt it for BLW or what I could give him.

 

[Hunnie]

Do you think it would work by starting off with tw and trying purées and letting her explore them, even though they're sloppy and then move on to harder stuff and follow a blw approach. I make all our food fresh too and I really want her to get the chance to explore and make as much mess as she wants rather than me spoon feed her and her miss out.

 

[littlemiss83]

This is putting me off BLW a bit, the gagging/choking thing freaks me right out, maybe it feels worse coz of kayden's choking/blue episodes. Sometimes LO's can shove it in & it gets stuck. I think as long as you prepare yourself & get clued up on how to help LO if he chokes then you should be fine.

xxxxxx

 

[Sarah13]

I've just spent a week at my mums and wasn't able to convince my mum or sister about BLW! They both freaked out all the time but didn't interfere too much as they know it's my choice. My mum got on board preparing him the same meals as us but couldn't look when he ate! I also got the 'he's not getting enough, that's why he don't sleep' stuff. I don't think they would ever come round tbh but my 80 odd year old nan was quite amazed by it! So don't be surprised if you can't convince family and friends pinky! Was funny that my 19 month old niece had smaller pieces of food than Kynon had!

Something that was highlighted to me this week though was how important it is for them to be sitting up fully supported. We used a highchair my mum has that wasn't very supportive so Kynon kept slipping and this was when the gagging became more apparent as the food can't fall out so easily, luckily I took the bumbo with me which helped but he does hate it in the bumbo for too long, his legs are too fat lol! So they def need to be sitting pretty well when you start or be very well supported upright.

 

[Sarah13]

This is putting me off BLW a bit, the gagging/choking thing freaks me right out, maybe it feels worse coz of kayden's choking/blue episodes. Sometimes LO's can shove it in & it gets stuck. I think as long as you prepare yourself & get clued up on how to help LO if he chokes then you should be fine.

xxxxxx

I think I would be put off in your position too LM, it's def not for everyone, I find myself glued to watching him and hard to eat my dinner at the same time! It's freaky when they get a bit lump off and gag, hard to not intervene!

 

[Sarah13]

View attachment 17346I got this one

I was worried I wouldn't have time to read the other one as its a lot longer and I figured anything not covered I can google or ask on here

I've read the other book twice! Once a few months back and again recently. Very informative and a quick read x

 

[Mrs CW]

I'm really looking forward to it! The book you've got has been recommended to me by loads of ppl including health professionals and I'm borrowing it next week.
I think getting people to understand and support you really depends on how they think weaning should be/how they did it. My mum is really supportive as she did a mixture of both TW and BLW apparently, whereas my MIL is the complete opposite! X

 

[pinkyprincess]

I've put the book in the loo so OH will read it lol!!

 

[Bunnykins]

I think getting people to understand and support you really depends on how they think weaning should be/how they did it. My mum is really supportive as she did a mixture of both TW and BLW apparently, whereas my MIL is the complete opposite! X

I agree, my parents just will not get onboard with it at all, I had same problems as Sarah13 with them leaving the room (and he didn't even gag once!!!) I had major issues with them before we started as they did tw and just cannot comprehend there is another way to do it!!! Infact I'd go as far as to say I found coping with peoples opinions on it far harder than coping with the gagging!!! The gagging has pretty much completely stopped now and he's chewing and swallowing no probs, but the negative attitudes from friends and family are still going even when they see how happy he is!!! People don't get that its none of their business how I feed my child, he's safe I'm not feeding him crushed glass ffs!!!!!!!