Honesty is the best policy.

Today gets two posts. I had wanted to talk about dipping, but I also feel the need to post again about something that happened yesterday. I love the way that we're approaching solids with Chicken and I wouldn't do it any other way. With that said, I don't want to present it through rose-colored glasses. Aside from the fact that it's messy, which I've mentioned before, it can also be a bit nerve-wracking.

There is a lot of gagging involved, as babies explore food in their mouths and learn about swallowing something other than liquid. Many times people mistake gagging for choking. I suggest that anyone who has this concern should google for videos of BLW babies gagging, because otherwise the experience can be unsettling. The good news is that gagging is NOT choking and really prevents choking. Can a baby choke on "real" food like what I offer to Chicken? Yes. Granted, babies can (and do) choke on purees as well, but people are much more worried about choking on "real" food.

Am I worried that Chicken might choke on a piece of bread or meat? Yes, of course. I worry just as I do when Chicken lunges forward from her tush to her belly , face-first towards the ground, in an effort to crawl. It's scary! Just like crawling, eating (as opposed to being fed) is a learning process and learning often means taking risks. Here's where people raise their eyebrows..."You're willing to risk her choking just so she can eat real food??" Yup. It's important to me that Chicken develops her motor skills, confidence and independence, while learning about the world around her. That's why I hold my breath and let her dive forward, knowing that a face-plant is likely. Do I let her do that while sitting on a table? No. Do I let her do that near glass or other dangerous objects? No. Similarly, I give Chicken the safest possible conditions for learning to feed herself.

But, accidents still happen and that brings me to what happened yesterday. Sometimes Chicken's eats frozen slices of peach. Peach is good for the tummy and the frozen ones are food for swollen gums. Usually Chicken sucks on a piece until it thaws and then mushes it up or spits it out. Yesterday, she gummed the piece into halves and one half slipped past her gag reflex (all the way up at the middle of the tongue at her age) and back to her throat. Her dad and I both saw her panic. Her eyes watered and she seemed to be in some trouble. We whipped off the highchair tray and started unbuckling her instantly so that we could do the Heimlich Maneuver. Luckily for us, Chicken did her thing and worked the peach back up, coughing it out. She cried for a few seconds. We caught our breath and then she got back to eating.

So, everything was fine, for which we are very grateful. I learned a lesson about peaches. That's for sure!