Have you seen this FAQ, it's helpful to know about the difference between gagging and choking:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=241398.0As pp said gagging is the body's way of protecting itself. A baby's gag reflex is more sensitive and further forward than an adults.
Babies also have a great way to bring back up foods which they have swallowed which are too big - so it didn't block the airway but it was too big and they can look like they are vomiting or gagging but the food was swallowed. The whole chunk is then brought back up and out (and my DS would just pick it back up and have another go at it).
I agree on the paediatric first aid course giving greater confidence, find out if there is one in your area you can join. they are usually just one day or a couple of sessions and cover the basics including what to do in a choke situation.
A few things that helped me feel more confident about finger foods and the choke risk:
- a paedi first aid course, I only managed to attend half of it but it covered what to do if choking occurs so I knew what action to take
- one day I saw a button had fallen off an item of clothing, it was on the floor right by DS and he could have picked that up and choked and I might not even have been aware if I was distracted by something else (tidying up or whatever) whereas when I gave him food he had my full attention and was never left unattended. Food was safer than buttons.
- one day when he'd been on solids a little while there was a horrific story of a baby choking and dying when being fed mushed food at nursery. Choking can happen with puree, mush and lumps just as easily. The key to any weaning is vigilance.
- one day my DS was happily munching on a big piece of kiwi and I just licked my finger which had a piece of kiwi the size of a grain of rice on it. Unbelievably it semi-blocked my airway and I was instantly gasping for air trying to cough the tiny bit of fruit out, eyes streaming, one of those moments when I really feared I might not be okay and I was alone with DS. Scary. Tiny bits of food which are harder to manipulate in the mouth can be just as dangerous or even more dangerous than big chunks which are more easily manipulated and pushed out by the tongue.
It can be scary. I avoided any small round foods for quite some time, no cherry tomatoes or grapes even if cut in half (at the paedi first aid course I met parents of a child who had choked on half a grape), never cut sausages or carrots into rounds always batons. I avoided foods which I felt could be claggy and stick to the roof of the mouth such as regular bread (I gave toasted crusts which are harder and less claggy). I offered everything in big wedges, fingers or batons, never cut up into small pieces.
And always make sure LO is sitting fully upright, if anything more leaning forward over the tray/table and never leaning backwards. Not all high chairs make this position easy so you can check on this, and some very small babies need a folded towel behind them if the chair is big but the LO can otherwise sit up well.
There are lots of benefits to introducing finger foods, eating lots isn't one of them at this point.
