One of the biggest worries of a mum or dad thinking about baby led weaning is "what if my baby chokes?" I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it when I first looked into it... so i looked into it some more!

The best thing to know is the difference between choking and gagging. 99% of the time we mistake gagging for choking and panic, so this is me just trying to reassure anyone thinking about it. 

Gagging

Gagging is a life long natural reflex that prevents us from choking. It is a very noisey... rather unattractive reflex to say the least!

When we first started to BLW, my daughter would often hack up a bit of roast veg and give it another chew. This is a process babies go through and it is all about learning to eat. A baby can gag on their own fingers or toys until they realise how far down their throat things can go. So until your baby learns how much food they can stuff in their cheeks expect a fair bit of this... probably not the best dinner dates!

Don't forget your babies will have to go through this learning to eat (other than slop) process at some point whether puree fed or not. Eating without gagging is a skill your baby will only learn with practice.

Choking

Choking can happen with anything. Just because you are BLW does not mean your baby will choke. Toys, coins anything else wandering babies hands can sneak in their mouths!

Choking is a clear obstruction of the airway that can prevent breathing. You will know if a child is choking as they will be silent unlike the noisyness of gagging. They will look panicky.

It is important to try and stay calm when trying to deal with choking. My daughter has choked once on a piece of apple (which I later found out is a very common offender) I managed to dislodge it by leaning her forward in her chair and patting her back, however if it had not of dislodged I would have then lifted her out of the highchair.... PLEASE NOTE I AM NOT A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL. If you are seriously concerned about it then I would suggest taking a course in first aid for babies.

So to summarise....

Let them carry on regardless of gagging... if you "help" the food out of their mouth because they gag you will prolong the process of them learning how to chew and swallow efficiently and effectively.

Relax and don't panic... they will learn and get better... Practice makes Perfect!!

Good Luck x