TTM about choking vs gagging.

[kam3100]

Hi all - dd has been doing BLW for about 3 weeks now. The last couple of days she has had gagging so bad that she stops breathing for a couple seconds and her eyes water and then she spits out the food. I figure that's normal, but last night she was eating and started to gag and it seemed like forever but she starting gagging, her eyes watered and turned bright red and she eventually vomited what she was gagging on and everything else that she had swallowed. This is not choking right? And it's normal right?

I am needing reassurance because I love BLW but I'm feeling a little hesitant now.

[rm2013]

First let me say I'm NOT an expert.
However, what you are describing does not sound like normal gagging, IMHO your baby is choking. I never had DD stop breathing or vomit. I'd suspect your food pieces are a little too small or the food isn't cooked soft enough, so that her airway is getting blocked. My rule of thumb was that for firmer foods the pieces were long and chunky so that she could only gum/break off in little parts, and that soft foods (baked sweet potato /zucchini ) could be smaller (think a steak fry cut in half lengthwise) but should be very soft.

When DD gagged it would only be for a second and she would spit it right out. We'd also pat her on the back to help her get it back out. I've never experienced anything as severe as you describe.

Also, please take an infant CPR class. that will help you recognize when she needs immediate help and the best way to clear her airway. In the meantime please be very careful, try adjusting the food size, and assist her right away if something appears to be stuck like that.

[kam3100]

Thank you for your feedback! Rest assured, I have taken infant CPR and choking class. She threw up again last night, and what happened was she was holding her breath while she was trying to push the food back to the front of her mouth. It turns out that she wasn't swallowing her food and just kept putting more and more in. So I will be limiting the amount of food she can have until I verify that her mouth is clear. I love the BLW but just had this issue the last two days so hopefully I found the culprit.