diff --git a/bamt/nodes/conditional_mixture_gaussian_node.py b/bamt/nodes/conditional_mixture_gaussian_node.py
index ed2e32e..11d1df2 100644
--- a/bamt/nodes/conditional_mixture_gaussian_node.py
+++ b/bamt/nodes/conditional_mixture_gaussian_node.py
@@ -163,8 +163,9 @@ def choose(
         pvals: parent values
         """
         mean, covariance, w = self.get_dist(node_info, pvals)
-        
-        if np.isnan(w):
+
+        # check if w is nan or list of weights
+        if not isinstance(w, list):
             return np.nan
             
         n_comp = len(w)