Quote:
Originally Posted by ErinYay  The grains thing is perfectly valid, but babies don't chew with their front teeth- they just nomnomnom everything until it's soft enough to swallow.
V does well with pretty much everything given- lately she's been enjoying some flatbread-type crackers, which are hard and crispy, but she liquefies them quickly. I give her little bits of meat which she'd never be able to chew without molars, but in such tiny bits that she can swallow without choking.
I think relying on teeth to give potential choking hazards is false comfort, as infants make up only 1/3rd of choking episodes, according to a 2001 analysis. In fact, the average age for choking deaths is 4.5ish. |
I know. I mean, logically, I know the facts. I just happen to be married to a man who FREAKS out at the least little gagging/coughing/I-have-something -tickling-my-throat sound that my babies make.
Traditional babyled weaning (where you give the baby an entire piece of fruit/veggie, whatever) almost sent the poor man into an early grave. He just can't get over his fear of the kids "choking." I've shown him the information, tried to explain difference between gagging and choking, all of it to no avail. He still sits on pins in needles, ready to leap into superhero mode, grab the baby, flip em over and start infant CPR anytime there is the least little gagging sound. DH gets all antsy when I give DS1 a raw carrot, not cut-up. He's almost 4.
So I've learned to balance the natural needs of my babes to feed themselves non-pureed food with the needs of my husband to not have a panic attack.
If he had given the baby a Joe's O, you can guarantee that he would have broken it into at least 2 or 3 pieces first. So it's just easier to stick with softer, meltable, less stressful food.
