27: 3 Ways to Reduce Choking with Solids
Hey Mama, happy Tuesday! Before we dive in I want to say that this episode is a little out of order. I haven’t nearly covered all the topics related to newborn feeding I’d like to, and here I am popping in an episode about choking. Well it’s such a frequent question, I don’t want to wait to address it. So today I’m giving you three simple ways to reduce the risk of your child choking at mealtimes.
I think we can agree that fear of choking is a pretty serious point of anxiety for any parent who worries about this, but showing up to meals all anxious and jumpy and slapping large bites of food out of your child’s hand… is not the best solution.
Instead, take control of the things you can, reduce the risk of choking, and educate yourself on what to do if, God forbid, it happens.
Today we are going to review 3 safe feeding strategies that you can adapt for your child.
Number 1: Do they have good alignment?
This is not only important for feeding from day one at the breast or bottle but continues to be important throughout our lifetime. Good alignment means their ear, shoulder, and hip are in a general line, they have good postural stability, and are actually ready for what you are giving them. If they are slumping over, sliding down, or can’t even hold their head up- this is a sign they are not ready.
Number 2: Reduce distractions.
A child, especially one learning to eat, needs to be focused on the food in front of them and the food in their mouth. When the T.V. is on, exciting toys in sight, you are running around while they are expected to sit and eat (or worse, they are running around with food in their hands or mouth); their attention is constantly being pulled away from the meal.
I know what you are thinking- oh crap my baby is in a high chair and I’m trying to feed them while getting ready for work and doing the dishes and the laundry and 10 million other things. I hear you. I understand that some meals are busier than others. I understand that children have older siblings that are distracting and make perfection difficult. But fret not, I am not suggesting perfection. I’m suggesting you set the environment up to be as distraction free as possible and begging you not to let your kid run around with food. Do a little mouth check before you get them down from the chair. (For those responding right now that your child does not eat any other way than walking around with food- we need to speak 1:1 about this.)
Okay number 3: Offer appropriate textures and amounts.
Whether you are going for a texture hierarchy of smooth puree and gradually building up to chewables, trying baby led weaning, or going for a hybrid approach- please offer appropriate textures. I have seen moms in the clinic terrified of choking because they wanted to do baby led weaning and their “cousin’s 7 month old eats hamburgers” and now they are putting bites of steak in their 6 month old’s mouth… guys this is not baby led weaning. If this is you, don’t feel bad, but stop it.
Baby led weaning is a very specific approach that follows your baby’s developmental milestones, follows their lead, and relies on cutting and presenting foods in a certain way so it is safe for your baby to explore and build oral sensory and motor skills.
And my puree mamas, you too must avoid the trap of shoveling large scoops of food into your 3-4 month old baby’s mouth who can’t truly sit up yet. No matter what approach you take, make sure your baby is ready and accepting.
When it comes to the amount presented on a tray, plate, or bowl- less is more. You can always add more, but if it is being shoveled into their mouth too quickly it’s hard to recover. And then you are left waiting for them to hopefully clear their packed little mouth without choking🤞.
If you make sure your child is in good alignment, reduce unnecessary distractions, and offer appropriate textures and amounts, you will be setting up safer mealtimes and reduce the risk of your child choking.
If you are super anxious about this (actually for anyone feeding a child) I highly recommend you take a first response class for infants. They have them online now which makes it so easy and they give you a clear plan as to what to do and what not to do given an emergency situation including choking. They also give clearer guidelines on the difference between gagging, coughing, and choking.
The American Red Cross website has an online version which is currently around $37. Of course there are tons of other options both in person and virtual but knowing your action plan in an emergency is a great skill to have. I’ll put a link in the show description if you’re interested.
And hey one more thing, if this episode left you with questions or concerns unique to your situation. Please email me, I can cover your question in a show or we can schedule a 1:1 session.
And as always, I’ll be here next week!
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