This is the way we Eat!

I am often asked, "So how does this baby led weaning thing really work?"  I have posted blogs about certain techniques and tricks that work well for us.  There are also many great resources for information and recipes online.  But the thing that works the best, and that stuck with me when I was first learning about it, was seeing photos and stories of infants feeding themselves and enjoying whole foods in a way that we rarely see.

Today is the story of C, a bowl of oatmeal and a spoon.  Offering an infant a spoon to eat with, or even just to hold as they are eating, gives them the opportunity to use it, feel spoon-ness and for me to help her learn techniques.  The floor of the kitchen is often where we take our meals.  C, 9 months old, has just recently began eating in a seated position.  She has always excelled at feeding her self, so today I prepared some plain oatmeal and offered a spoon while eating.
I began by scooping some oatmeal and holding it out for her to take a bite.  She first reached for the spoon with her hand.  I allowed her to take it from me and she turned it around and up and down.  The oatmeal dropped all around her, so she grabbed it off of her pants and ate it.  We tried again, I scooped a bit more and this time she leaned forward, took a bite and grabbed the spoon as I offered it.  We smiled at the success and she flung the spoon around with joy. 
By the end there was oatmeal ever where.  There was success getting oatmeal in her mouth both by her own self feeding via spoon and hand.  But there was a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from both of us.   By giving C the opportunity to figure out spoon-ness she felt confident and trusted by me.