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Weaning

I think spoon feeding is GREAT actually

35 replies

WellieMum · 12/07/2006 01:11

...and I don't understand why everyone is being so horrible about spoons!

I thought my lentil weaving credentials were impeccable, AND I thought that weaning dd1 was very much baby-led.

BUT we did puree some foods and feed her with a spoon, the horror, the horror Will I have to hand back my hand-crocheted certificate??

OK, more seriously, I simply don't see spoons as evil. I eat loads of stuff off a spoon after all and regard it as a fairly useful life skill.

We weaned dd1 at 6 months and she enjoyed the whole thing immensely. However, there were quite a few things that she loved the taste of but found difficult to manage unless finely chopped or pureed. Broccoli for instance - in fact any lightly steamed or crisp stir-fried veg.

Pretty much from the off, we loaded the spoon and handed it to her and she did the rest herself. So accusations of evil parents forcing food down baby's throat won't wash I'm afraid....

She also did get frustrated with sloppy stuff like porridge and hummous, finding it hard to get the food in fast enough as a finger food. (Nowadays, at 22 months, her hands are that much bigger and she scoops up her porridge very competently with her fingers .)

The thing is, IMO it's terribly important that babies eat real food but real food does come in lots of different shapes and textures. Surely you do whatever works best and have to be prepared to use a range of eating strategies (as indeed an adult would).

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threebob · 12/07/2006 01:26

Ds couldn't manage to get anything to his mouth at all until he was over a year old, and so I am fond of spoons too.

Coming to Wellington on Friday BTW.

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Toby72 · 12/07/2006 01:28

hey there WellieMum well I have always spoon fed and it has not done my lot any harm.........although now they either eat with a spoon or their fingers!!! In my house anything goes.....and I like to let my little ones when they can make their own decision on how how they eat...........when they are old enough then I introduce the table and a small knife and fork.......it has worked well so far with my four.......so u keep going WellieMum

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WellieMum · 12/07/2006 11:14

Thanks Toby72!

Threebob, welcome to sunny Wellington... not. I supoose it will seem tropical to you though! It would be good to meet up sometime - either here or when I'm in chch - what do you think?

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Iklboo · 12/07/2006 11:17

I'm a little confused - what's wrong with spoon feeding? [puzzled emoticon]

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jessicaandrebeccasmummy · 12/07/2006 11:18

im with you

my becky is 8 months and is spoon fed a lot - she ill finger feed a bit, but if i left her totally to her own devices she would starve - im not gonna starve my baby!!!

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Iklboo · 12/07/2006 11:21

DS is 8 months old & spoon fed, but he eats finger food OK & shows interest in feeding himself with spoon. "Fed" me with his spoon the other day when he was playing with it - so he knows what it's supposed to do

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warthog · 12/07/2006 19:01

i think the thing is to be flexible and not totally dogmatic about blw or spoon feeding. and they don't have to be mutually exclusive either! each baby is different and will prefer different things. don't think anyone's really got their knickers in a twist have they?

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threebob · 12/07/2006 20:28

I'd like to meet up - but could be interesting on this trip as I have my mum and dad and it's getting hard to explain all these people that I know but I don't know what they look like...

Next time!

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WellieMum · 13/07/2006 20:34

threebob - I've also struggled to explain about the imaginary friends.... another time maybe.

warthog, my post was tongue in cheek but there are people here and in real life who get terribly sniffy about purees. I'll try and find a thread to link but have 3 week old dd2 and hence limited computer time at the moment. You might have to take my word for it for now!

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CaptainFlameSparrow · 13/07/2006 20:52

"I simply don't see spoons as evil. I eat loads of stuff off a spoon after all and regard it as a fairly useful life skill"

pmsl!!! Images of killer spoons coming out to mug old ladies

I plan to do both - DS is trying to swipe every bloody thing in my hands at the moment though, so soon he will be weaning himself on doritos!

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Thomcat · 13/07/2006 20:58

Do people really think pureeing food up and mixing home grown veg together and given on a weaning spoon is evil?????? Really?????? I really had no idea. Oh well whatever. I do a bit of both and mine loves nothing more than to be fed by me but is perfectly happy to give it a go herself as well.

Spoon feeding being evil reminds me of an article in junior mag where mothers toilet trained their kids from birth!!!!!!!!

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WellieMum · 14/07/2006 23:53

Yes, they do, thomcat, and I've met them!

It's all about Baby-Led Weaning.

One of the big principles of BLW, as I understand it, is that babies feed themselves and thus can't eat anything before they're developmentally ready to do so.

This gets interpreted by some people as "purees and spoons are the work of the devil" and it seems there are huge Smug Parent Points to be gained if you give your child only finger foods and never purees.

Just the usual situation where a sensible idea gets taken to extremes.

I'm very keen on BLW as it happens, but not going to throw the spoons away just yet....

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WellieMum · 14/07/2006 23:55

forgot to say, toilet training from birth!!

I'm struggling to repress a mental image of a tiny baby perching on the edge of the toilet seat, losing its balance and toppling in....

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Thomcat · 15/07/2006 08:11

Oh well let em think it's evil. A big fat whatever to that.
I'll continue to do both.
I don't really get how you can offer fish and spinach for eg, esp when on the move and out and about, without a spoon.

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Twiglett · 15/07/2006 08:17

that's patently bollocks .. mothers will chew up and give their child food from their mouths (Puree) with their fingers (spoons)

gawd lentil-weavers have extremists too don't they

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Pruni · 15/07/2006 08:35

Message withdrawn

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MadamePlatypus · 15/07/2006 08:47

Don't see why you can't do both, but think of the opportunities to wind up overfussy grandparents by telling them that you won't be spoonfeeding.

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FrannyandZooey · 15/07/2006 09:00

Not quite sure how anyone thinks an 8 month old baby is going to starve if you don't spoon feed her. Do you not give her milk, JARM?

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oops · 15/07/2006 09:25

Message withdrawn

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Pruni · 15/07/2006 09:36

Message withdrawn

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Thomcat · 15/07/2006 09:37

Slices of porridge???????

So canI ask how you would give white fish and spinach to a 7 month old? I'm making it later today and if you can give me some tips I'll give it a go.

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Thomcat · 15/07/2006 09:37

Slices of porridge???????

So canI ask how you would give white fish and spinach to a 7 month old? I'm making it later today and if you can give me some tips I'll give it a go.

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oops · 15/07/2006 09:40

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Thomcat · 15/07/2006 09:42

I just made spinach & sweet potato puree. I siced off larger pieces of potato and saved them for her to feed herself but how would she eat the spinach herself?

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oops · 15/07/2006 09:42

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