Its so hard to battle your primal fear isn' t it!!!
As the other wise women have suggested above, it is entirely normal and is not a concern to your DD. I would suggest repeating that to yourself as a mantra to help you get through the moment!
Keep in mind that she can most possibly sense your ugency and panic when she does gag so it may influence the way she reacts to it, so trrryyy (I know its hard) to remain as calm as you can.
What I did that really helped me was to go and read up on what to do with a choking infant and I practiced (crazy maybe!) on a doll so that I really felt I would know what to do if my DD got into a real choke. I wanted to know I had 'procedural knowledge' of what to do so would be automatic. Once I was armed with that knowledge, I felt so much calmer when I was feeding her. Maybe that will help you too, try doing a google image search for some good pics of what to do in a choking infant scenario.
Lastly, remember
babies do grow out of this gagging phase
DD is learning how to eat in a safe environment
babies can gag on soft mushy food, not just finger foods
And most importantly:
if it makes you feel really really uncomfortable, you are entirely justified in backing off BLS for the moment and possibly trying again later.
You have to feel good about what you are doing and at 6 months you have plenty of time to get into the finger foods
ETA:
Oh and Arimeh, glad to hear things are going so well at your house! Excellent!
Last edited by jackrose; February 4th, 2009 at 10:09 PM.
Thanks for your comments guys.... I have done a childsafe first aid course so I kind of know what to do for choking. I just worry that every meal is going to end up with me grabbing her out of the chair and smacking her on the back!
I think I'm going to go with the bit-of-both approach I have been using so far, bit of BLS and some fork-mashed stuff. fortunately she is a bit of a pro with a spoon and can grab it and feed herself so I don't feel like I'm shoveling. I guess it's just a matter of being a little anxious until she has it worked out.
and at 6 months you have plenty of time to get into the finger foods
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