BLS and choking?

So I read a little on BLS and sounded interesting so I gave it a go... I cut a piece of apple and gave it to LO. She gummed and sucked it for a while (seemed really happy) then she snapped a chunk of it into her mouth :yikes I couldn't help but freak and stuck my fingers in her mouth to get it out -- bad response? I know the website says babies won't choke but I couldn't help it. For those that are doing BLS or did it, did LO ever choke? Can you describe how you first introduced it?

Also, I have started purees and she's actually been eating it! Well, like a teaspoon probably makes it to her belly :) She takes hold of the spoon and puts it to her mouth. I feel like I should continue w/ the purees since she seems to like it, could I combine the two types of feedings?

Yes, you can combine BLS and purees in any way that works for you and your LO!

I personally don't like apple chunks or slices as a first food. Unless they're steamed, they are too hard for a baby to chew, but a baby can nip off a fairly large piece and choke. I don't care what the website says. Choking is a risk, and you need to offer foods that are the right size- which means that they are either small enough to slide down baby's throat or too large to swallow. If you're going to offer apple, I suggest giving baby a bit of grated apple or a whole peeled apple to lick and play with.

There are different schools of thought on combining feeding. All the research I did suggests that you shouldn't. But I was a BLS purist in that I was of the belief that my child who was exclusively breastfed should be allowed to continue to control and navigate his own intake. And to that end the BLS research showed that a child was MORE likely to choke being spoonfed because if a spoon is placed back in a child mouth that will automatically suck it down. Which is more of a choking hazard and for ME it meant that my child wasn't controlling his intake.
Now in terms of choking, your child isn't choking unless they are turning blue. So no my baby never choked. He GAGGED. AND a few time he puked. But those things in combination with a tongue thrust are natures defenses against choking. I was VERY VERY afraid of it before I started. But I took an infant CPR class before my child was born and that helped me feel better. AND when I read the BLS research it made sense because the human species survived forever before gerber. How is that? It's because of these built in defenses against choking.
And I think that with BLS you can really really see the difference between when a baby is ready to eat vs where the parents expect it. IME a child who has food put in front of them at 6months isn't usually ready to actually SWALLOW any food for a month or 2. And it's another 2-3 months before baby realizes that he/she tasted with their tongue and it's not until WELL after the 1st B-day that a child begins to associate solid food with hunger. So at this point it's all just about exploration. And to that end if you are breastfeeding, it's seems to me like having your baby do that at the pace they set is best.

I disagree with Mommal about this. While it wasn't my son's FIRST food (Which was watermelon) By 8 months old my son was happily nawing on apple slices/wedges all the time. They were one of my favorite foods because they kept him busy and didn't make a mess. I never peeled or boiled anything ever. I did cut things into french fry shaped things (PER THE WEBSITE) so he could grab them. But not apple. I wedged those just like your normally would.

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Originally Posted by @llli*djs.mom

the human species survived forever before gerber. How is that?

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I'm not totally convinced by this argument. One way babies have been traditionally fed is with purees made using nature's blender: mom chewing up and spitting out food for baby to eat. From nature's spoon: mom's finger.

I am all for baby-led weaning, but I have to assume that humans have mashed or pureed food in one way or another for their babies for all of history. I feel a pretty strong instinct to prepare food in a way that my baby can handle without gagging or vomiting, so I do! And I don't need Gerber jars or even a modern device to do it--two rocks to mash together or even just my own teeth and jaws can achieve it. On days that I don't feel like doing it this way (which, for me, would be every day) I get the same result with a food mill.

I feel like a lot of what I've read presents baby-led weaning and purees as mutually exclusive, but for us, purees fit in really well. I don't puree every food, but there are foods that I want to offer my baby that I don't feel comfortable with unless they are smashed or mashed or pureed, and when I put a blob of pureed food on my finger or on a spoon and her eyes zero in on it, and then she uses her hand to reach for it and guide it into her mouth, and then I see her swallow and smile and reach for more, I don't think it gets much more 'baby-led' than that!

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Originally Posted by @llli*sprocket

I am all for baby-led weaning, but I have to assume that humans have mashed or pureed food in one way or another for their babies for all of history.

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Why? Based on what?

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Originally Posted by @llli*sprocket

and when I put a blob of pureed food on my finger or on a spoon and her eyes zero in on it, and then she uses her hand to reach for it and guide it into her mouth, and then I see her swallow and smile and reach for more, I don't think it gets much more 'baby-led' than that!

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Well you are completely projecting if you think her reaction to this is the same as yours or mine would be. I don't know how old your baby is but it's not because she is like "FOOD YUM." It's because babies mouth everything and it's very possible that her happiness is in relation to texture or temperature. In other words she make react much the same way to a teething ring or keys. So no I wouldn't call that "Baby Led" at all. And in fact MOST babies who are fed purees 1st STILL Have to deal with the issue of gagging and sometime puking. The issue with BLS is that by putting food in front of them and letting them navigate it on their own, they on their own decide when they want more and more importantly when it's time to actually begin weaning baby to solid foods for nutrition the learning curve is over and they are able to comfortably navigate how much and tons of flavors and don't have the added issue of texture when they are toddlers and NEED to eat.

Humans have been grinding and pureeing foods since at least the dawn of agriculture. There is plenty of archaeological evidence in support of this. I just can't imagine that modern Western societies were the first to think of adapting this 'technology' to food for babies. I agree, for a baby, grabbing at a spoonful of applesauce and putting it into her mouth seems to be triggered by the same impulse as grabbing a teething ring. But then, so is grabbing at an apple slice, isn't it?

I'm just offering my point of view and explaining what works for us. I would love to see some scientific research on the health/developmental benefits of completely avoiding offering babies any pureed foods.

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Originally Posted by @llli*sprocket

Humans have been grinding and pureeing foods since at least the dawn of agriculture. There is plenty of archaeological evidence in support of this. I just can't imagine that modern Western societies were the first to think of adapting this 'technology' to food for babies. I agree, for a baby, grabbing at a spoonful of applesauce and putting it into her mouth seems to be triggered by the same impulse as grabbing a teething ring. But then, so is grabbing at an apple slice, isn't it?

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Yes. And that is why I let him keep it and mouth it. He got to decide when to BITE and SWALLOW which was NOT at the same point. Children don't do that with purees. The are placed in their mouths and they suck in. And comparatively it's usually MONTHS before a child would actually BITE AND SWALLOW food. Which biting usually comes about 4-8weeks BEFORE swallowing. And in the interim they just push food around their mouth and back out.

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Originally Posted by @llli*sprocket

I'm just offering my point of view and explaining what works for us. I would love to see some scientific research on the health/developmental benefits of completely avoiding offering babies any pureed foods.

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You don't think the Rapley's research is science based or that she didn't do any research? When I was practicing this it was a just a report BASED on her research. And a list of do's and don'ts. She has since written the book based on her research. Which IIRC was based on 6years of research on the subject.

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Originally Posted by @llli*sprocket

I just can't imagine that modern Western societies were the first to think of adapting this 'technology' to food for babies.

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Why not? Modern societies came up with Formula, cribs, strollers and diapers, why not purees?