Is there no spoon?
Friday, October 06, 2006
I know that the spoon issue causes a lot of talk from time to time on the Yahoo B-LW forum. I've never taken part in the conversation there because I don't feel that other people should share my views, but I thought I'd let you in an approach, that have worked for us.
For us, baby-led weaning does not equal finger foods only. At first I too was sceptical about using a spoon to give Lukas what we had, but this was before the Health Visitor interfered to our routine. 2 weeks of intermittent spoon feeding as prescribed by the HV) taught us one good lesson, and it was that the baby can be in charge of the amount he eats, even if we are using a spoon to give it to him.
At present, the only things we give to him with a spoon are porridges, soups and other stuff we would eat with spoons ourselves. I don't see any problem with that, and neither does my baby. Mind you, Gill Rapley says in the IWMM web chat that she has heard it said that people were not meant to have foods with watery consistency in the first place (or something to that effect). Since she didn't state her sources, I keep the pureed veggie soup in my recipe book. The alteration of finger food and the occasional spooned meal does not seem to confuse him the slightest: he is still fully in charge of how much spoon-fed food he has.
If he opens his mouth, he will get a spoonful of porridge, for example. When he doesn't want any more, he stops opening his mouth and shakes his head. If he's happy sitting in the chair for a while longer, we might offer him a couple of more times after a little break or a sip of water. Sometimes he changes his mind and goes for a little bit more, but if he's finished, he'll let us know.
This goes with my belief that baby-led weaning is not an exact science, nor should it be. I see no reason not to use a spoon every now and again when it's needed, but it's very important that the baby is still in control when the spoon comes out. It's not as easy when you give him food with a spoon, but I just try to think myself as his extended hand. Would his hand put food in his mouth if his tummy didn't want it? You have to be tuned in to your baby's messages to do this, but that's not so complicated. Just stop, look and listen and they will tell you – and spoon-feeding becomes baby-led weaning.
For us, baby-led weaning does not equal finger foods only. At first I too was sceptical about using a spoon to give Lukas what we had, but this was before the Health Visitor interfered to our routine. 2 weeks of intermittent spoon feeding as prescribed by the HV) taught us one good lesson, and it was that the baby can be in charge of the amount he eats, even if we are using a spoon to give it to him.
At present, the only things we give to him with a spoon are porridges, soups and other stuff we would eat with spoons ourselves. I don't see any problem with that, and neither does my baby. Mind you, Gill Rapley says in the IWMM web chat that she has heard it said that people were not meant to have foods with watery consistency in the first place (or something to that effect). Since she didn't state her sources, I keep the pureed veggie soup in my recipe book. The alteration of finger food and the occasional spooned meal does not seem to confuse him the slightest: he is still fully in charge of how much spoon-fed food he has.
If he opens his mouth, he will get a spoonful of porridge, for example. When he doesn't want any more, he stops opening his mouth and shakes his head. If he's happy sitting in the chair for a while longer, we might offer him a couple of more times after a little break or a sip of water. Sometimes he changes his mind and goes for a little bit more, but if he's finished, he'll let us know.
This goes with my belief that baby-led weaning is not an exact science, nor should it be. I see no reason not to use a spoon every now and again when it's needed, but it's very important that the baby is still in control when the spoon comes out. It's not as easy when you give him food with a spoon, but I just try to think myself as his extended hand. Would his hand put food in his mouth if his tummy didn't want it? You have to be tuned in to your baby's messages to do this, but that's not so complicated. Just stop, look and listen and they will tell you – and spoon-feeding becomes baby-led weaning.
