The Pre-Loaded SPOON

We weren't sure how we were going to tackle food that needs to be eaten with a spoon.  I had been keen to try to spoon feed SOME things to MiniMe in the hopes that when we are out and about (or on a 13 hour plane journey) she will happily let me feed her.  Most of my friends who have  gone down the Baby Led Weaning route have combined it with spoon feeding, in fact it seems to be pretty common in parents who aren't hard core BLW-ers. 

How do those BLW babies eat soup you ask? off toast...and yogurt? off apple slices...or off a pre-loaded spoon.  A SPOON THAT YOU "LOAD" with whatever the spoonable food is and hand over to your baby.  

Combination feeding was the route I was sure we were going to go down. I wasn't too keen on the idea of handing MiniMe a spoon "pre-loaded" with anything...it sounded like I was handing her some automatic weapon.  A messy soup flinging weapon. 

MiniMe had other ideas.  During our first week weaning we offered her some soup with toast fingers, but tried spoon feeding her the soup first.  That little mouth stayed clamped shut...no amount of silly faces pulled by Dad could make it open.  So we dipped her toasts and those made their way to her mouth...like immediately. 

Week 2 we introduced yogurt and tried spoon feeding her again...again that little mouth was cemented closed.  I couldn't stomach the idea of dipping her toast in the yogurt (gag gag gag) so I decided to give the pre-loaded spoon a try.  

All I did was smear a bit of yoghurt on the back and front of the spoon and hand it to her.  She started banging it around on the tray and then tried to get it into her mouth.  She was holding it far too far down the handle, so the yogurt ended up all over her face...her expression was priceless WHO PUT THIS MUCK ON MY PLASTIC TOY??? But, after loading it again and helping her to hold it closer up the handle the yogurt made its way into her mouth.

We tried a few spoonfuls and she obligingly tasted it every time.  It was messy, more was smeared across the tray and up and down her arms...but it worked. And the best bit, she was happily trying it, unlike when we tried to do it for her.

I'd still like her to let me feed her, just so that I know I can if I feel the need to, and maybe that will come in time when she begins to understand what the MUCK on the end of the spoon is.  For now, though, I'm a convert to the pre-loaded spoon.