BLW and cutlery

[albs]

So we've still got a couple of months to go before weaning, but I like to research stuff lots...

We really like the sound of baby led weaning, it just seems to make sense! and the fact that you don't really have to buy/cook different food is a bonus.

what i was wondering is how/when do you introduce cutlery? i'm guessing it's all just fingers and mess to begin with, but eventually he'll need to use a spoon especially for things like yoghurt?

sorry to sound like a clueless first time mum!

 

[libbylou]

We've only been doing solids/BLW for a week and a half. LO is pretty good at getting a spoon into her mouth but I have to load it for her, so if we're having something that needs a spoon I just load it up and help her get it in her hands and she'll get it in her mouth (she spills lots, but it's all about learning!)

 

[Button#]

With Ashley I gave him spoons to play with in his highchair while we ate before I started weaning him. He used to copy us and when we did start weaning and gave him a preloaded spoon of yogurt he put it straight in his mouth.

 

[re10]

I did the same as Button and gave her a spoon to play with a couple of weeks before. She seemed to know what to do fairly quickly when there was food preloaded on it! I would suggest using something that will stick to it well like porridge at first rather that anything too runny. Weirdly my LO prefers to eat messy squishy things with a spoon than with her fists. If she has messy hands she wont put them to her mouth at all!

 

[ashley_gee89]

Hey hun,

With my son I introduced a spoon with his meal when he was around 8 months old.. At first he'd just bang it off his tray and play with it.. I never preloaded it but I did show him how. He started using it when he was about a year old, clumsy at first but by about 14 months he could use a knife, fork and spoon just like you or me!

Yes BLW is messy but it's SO worth it

 

[Mrs_T]

As others have said, we introduced a spoon and sippy cup to play with at dinner times from 5 months (she sat in her highchair) and now we'll preload spoons and hand them to her (only just started this week though). Her aim is so much better than when she first encountered a spoon so I'd definitely recommend the learning through play technique. She still ends up with it upside down in her mouth (it's easier for her to lick the contents off in this way) and sometimes puts it in too far and gags on in, but this is just her learning more about how to use it.

 

[albs]

thanks for the advice. he already has a sippy cup i let him play with sometimes, so letting him play with spoons makes total sense. i bought some baby spoons today so will let him have a go with them later.