finger food choking

[Cheeseburger]

OK I gave Katherine a piece of canteloupe to chew on. Often I will give her a cucumber ring (center cut out) or something like that to gnaw on and she does fine with gnawing off little pieces, so I gave her a strip of canteloupe. Well she bit off a piece and choked & could not breathe. It totally freaked DH out (he was sitting w/ her). The piece she choked on was quite bite-sized and probably smaller than it is the pieces of food I cut up for her to feed herself...


Was it wrong for me to give her a piece of canteloupe that was not already bite-sized?

Everything I have read says a strip of canteloupe is ok.

http://www.health.gov.ab.ca/public/NT39Solids.html

"What are some examples of finger foods to give baby?

*

Soft, ripe, peeled fruit cut into bite-size pieces or strips (for example: bananas, pears, peaches, plums, cantaloupe, or kiwi). "

Anyhow we are probably overreacting but i wonder if i should be cutting EVERYTHING up into REALLY TINY bite sized pieces? Should I just stick with pureed food until she is older? :( I don't want to give her things that would cause her to choke...

[Jill]

That must have been so scary for you! We are not at the finger food stage, just starting solids, but I don't think you are overreacting. If you dd couldn't breathe, that's something to panic about! Sorry I don't have any advice. Good luck!

[4HisGlory]

I can't offer any advice because I really don't know...it sounds like it should be fine but I don't know for sure. But I do want to share with you that I was watching my nephew while my sister was resting and she had gave him some box mac & Cheese and he had one in his mouth and was choking on it. I was scared to death too, but he didn't have any trouble after that. I remember choking on pizza every time I ate it when I was little like 8 and under. I think sometimes kids just have a hard time swallowing. HTH

[jwright]

How many teeth does she have? I think cutting things up into smaller pieces would be the best way. Softer foods wouldn't need to be cut up as small because she can mash that up in her mouth. It depends on if the food is hard or soft. Some hard foods are great for chomping on especially if she is teething but obviously have to watch out for a piece that she might bite off that is too big for her. Hope this helps some. Might need to wait another month of so for some of the harder foods (depending on how well she can chew). Of course it's been 4 years since my boys were this age so I might not be remembering too well.

Janell

[ChamomileFriend]

I had the same problem with Alex when he was smaller - I ended up using one of these :

http://trus.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-3012963dt.jpg

So that he could have whole fruits and veggies w/o choking on them and then after using that for a while we tried again letting him do it all on his own when he was older.

[jen1981]

Our babies are the same age and Eleanne has 3 teeth. I think I would wait on any slippery fruits such as cantalope, grapes, oranges. Those are really easy for them to choke on even in tiny pieces. Bananas are great since they can just mash them with their gums. It is so scary when they choke and until they have their molars they can't really "grind" food. Do you have a baby food grinder? If not you can buy them pretty cheap and they are wonderful for making food easy for them to eat.

[kanaclark]

all of my kids have choked on cantaloupe the first time we gave it to them.

no advice, but I know all about the freaking out thing, LOL

[Cheeseburger]

Katherine has 5 1/2 teeth (well one is only poking halfway out LOL).

thanks for the advice. I didn't consider the fact that it was slippery might be the problem. I can't give her bananas b/c I am deathly allergic,. I don't know of any other kind of mushy food like bananas though.... she will have to be content with things like cucumbers or apples I guess, until she is older, and just feed her the other stuff mashed up.

[kanaclark]

have you tried avacodo? my kids love it.

they like guacamole too, but they're allergic to other ingredients in it. so can only have the avacodo.

also, if she's eating other things good, mango pieces and papaya pieces are good.
They're really sweet, though, so if she's not eating other foods well, yet, I'd wait. she may not want anything else.

[Madre]

I know how scary that is when your baby chokes on food. If you look up "finger foods choking" on Google, there are lots of suggestions as well as baby finger food recipes, just on the first page.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030400.asp

CHOKABLE FOODS

To minimize the risk of a baby or toddler choking, follow these safe feeding tips:

Be careful of big globs of food, such as golf ball-sized, pasty globs of white bread or spoonfuls of peanut butter. Even though these foods are soft, babies can choke on them. Don't spread peanut butter too thick, and monitor how quickly the bread gets packed into the mouth. The more whole grains in a bread, the less likely it is to form a pasty glob.
Check the chunks. Once baby's molars appear (usually around the middle of the second year), chunky soft fruits (such as fruit cocktail-type size and texture) are safe.

Allow toddlers finger foods only under supervision. Be sure they stay seated as they eat and are not lying down or running around. Choose snacks for the car carefully.

Hold the hot-dogs . Since hotdogs are neither nutritious nor safe for baby, you can scratch them from the diet. If you are fortunate enough to find a healthy hotdog (nitrite-free, low in salt), slice it lengthwise in thin, noodle-like strips. Don't let your toddler bite chunks off a hotdog, since a hotdog chunk is about the size of a baby's windpipe.

Avoid raw fruits and vegetables that snap into hard chunks, such as carrot and celery sticks and firm apples.

Peel and slice grapes. Whole grapes can cause choking.

CHOKABLE FOODS

cherries with pits
meat
chunks
candy, hard
nuts
hot dog, whole chunks
popcorn kernels
raisins
raw apples, pears, carrots, beans
stringy foods
whole olives
whole grapes


This dr. below says not to allow her to eat finger foods in the car:

http://www.verybestbaby.com/ExpertQA/Question.aspx?questionid=fbb32019-55fd-4e33-ac6f-c5d8ac1ba272

Stay close by when your child is eating table foods. Some foods may be difficult for her to eat and pose a choking hazard. It’s important to learn what to do if she begins to choke; ask your doctor to demonstrate what to do. Even better, sign up for a first-aid class at a local hospital.

To make sure baby doesn’t bite off more than she can chew, cut her food into very small pieces rather than giving her a large piece.

Avoid feeding foods that could be swallowed whole, such as nuts, grapes, hot dogs, and hard candy.

It's not safe to let her ride and dine. Avoid giving your toddler finger foods in the car.