- Avoid putting food into your baby's mouth
- Only feed your baby in a sitting up position - not in a reclined bouncer or on a reclined high chair. Rolled up towels can be used to prop your baby further forward if needed in the high chair, or alternatively sit your baby on your lap.
It is likely in the early days of BLW that the baby will occasionally gag, which is quite different from choking. The gag reflex in a young baby is quite far forward on the tongue, so it can be set off quite easily .If an item of food does go further back than the baby can manage, the gag reflex will be set off, and the baby will gag to move the food away from the airway and out of their mouth. This is a natural reflex that is designed to prevent a baby from choking on small items. As the baby gets a bit older, the gag reflex moves further towards the back of the tongue and by this stage the baby is able to use their mouths more effectively to move the food around their mouths, chew and swallow.
Of course all the other safety precautions apply as with any method of introducing solids:
- Never leave your baby alone with food
- Don't give your baby whole nuts
- Cut small, round fruits up into halves or wedges and remove any pits or large seeds
