scared of choking

[scaredbuthappy]

My baby is just over 5 months old and am thinking about solids (way too much but still...). One of my horrible fears is of her choking. Im absolutely terrified.
She chokes sometimes on her milk, to the point where she cant breathe and is sick
I hate it its horrible i dont know why she does it but im thinking this is only milk, what about when she has food!!!! omg
I feel like i will be scared to ever give her anything thats not mushed up. The thought of giving her a piece of apple or something really scares me. Im probably being a drama queen but i hate the thought of her choking its one of my worst fears.
How did you cope when your baby first had solids, were you scared of choking and how did you cope without being a complete nervous wreck the whole time?

 

[hennaly]

It may be the teat you are using is too fast for her, if you just put the tiniest bit of food on her spoon at a time so she can play with it in her mouth to get used to it she should be fine

 

[Sherlock]

We decided to follow the baby led weaning path with our son and its been so much more relaxed and enjoyable. I've nannied for years and at parents wishes have done pureed foods from 4 plus months and have not liked it in the least when doing this and then moving on to lumpy food and then finger food. I've always figured there had to be a better way that was good for parents and baby. BLW is it IMHO.

Have a read of the BLW stuff in the Nutrition and feeding section down the board. Also worth reading Gill Rapley's book as its a real eye opener and explains why BLW might be a good idea rather than spoon feeding and starting on mush.

FWIW I also worry about my son choking, its a natural thing for us Mums to worry about. He has been eating finger foods for over 6 weeks now. We have had one episode in the past week where a ball of mushed up toast got stuck but we followed the steps needed and out it popped. He was fine afterwards. Apparently there is less risk of choking following BLW as baby is developmentally ready to chew when you start and you just let them guide you. Its not a case of having to make them eat meals or anything like that. Sure lots ends up on the floor in the early weeks of this but its far less stressful to let them get the hang of finger foods than faffing with purees and spoon feeding.

 

[caz2008]

hi my daughter was really good she didnt choke on her food only thing we had to watch her with was banana, i panik if i think she is choking tho lol i tip her upside down even tho i know she is still breathing n that she only choked a little lol

 

[trixipaws]

i still wont give my 18-month-old apple, unless its a teeny tiny sliver- or cooked- because i still fear choking a bit and apple is so stiff, there is no "give" to it- some foods like chocolate etc can be squashed with the throat if one were to choke- or melt- but not apple it would just stick. and it dont help that my dad told me about a 2-yr-old boy who had died choking on uncooked apple

my HV said as long as they got good head control there is minimum risk of choking.

had a few scares with melissa when she's started choking, and we've quickly put her over our knee tipped her head forward and slapped her back! ALWAYS the offending article falls out onto the floor. HV also said if in the event that doesnt work, just try and remove the food with your fingers- drastic measure if tipping up and slapping fails!

i understand how scarey it is. pure blended mush with no lumps should be fine when first weaning though. mush cannot get stuck, it can be coughed and spluttered up. try not to worry

 

[ella]

I think some babies are more likely to gag than others - Darragh is well able to eat certain foods now but every now and again he chokes - coughing and vomiting, but I have never had a scare in that something got stuck and he couldn't cough.

Like Trix says I avoid certain foods that Id be afraid would just stick like apple, raw carrot etc. and just give him foods that disintegrate in his mouth like rice cakes and small bits of toast

Dont worry though your baby will guide you and it will be a while before you will be moving onto lumpier food.