Self Feeding
Babies show an inclination towards self feeding around the eighth month. Self feeding is a very slow and messy process but it is a big stepin your baby's life. The main advantage of self feeding is that all his sense organs are alerted and he gains a wonderful learning experience. He smells and tastes the food that he chews and swallows. If he uses his hands to reach out for the food, he can feel the texture and temperature of the food. He may find the differently coloured foods quite attractive.
Your baby will start showing signs he is interested in self feeding. When you try to take the spoon towards him, he may try to hold the spoon and put it into his mouth himself. Sometimes if he finds a bowl of cereal within his reach, he puts his hand into the bowl and makes a mess. But he may not put anything into his mouth. This process is quite common among babies and you should encourage your little one into the world of self feeding.
How to encourage self feeding in baby?
- When you feed your baby from a bowl with a spoon, offer him a spoon too. He may initially just keep playing with the spoon but he will slowly learn the trick.
- Fill his spoon with sticky food such as thick cereal so that they don't fall off the spoon.
- Give him finger foods that he can pick with his spoon. He will enjoy trying to get the food onto the spoon.
- Some babies prefer to feed themselves. Your baby may not enjoy you trying to feed him. Encourage him to feed himself as you keep a watch on him. After sometime if you feel your little one has only been playing with the food without eating anything, you can start feeding him.
- Offer him liquids after meals using baby cups or sippy cups.
- Slowly move from pureed food to chunkier food. This helps in teaching him to balance food in his hand or spoon without dropping.
- Choose a spoon with a shallow bowl and short handle initially to help baby feed himself easily.
- Don’t worry about the mess and spilled food which are all too common in the early days of self feeding. You can put newspapers or a plastic sheet on the floor round the highchair to make clean-up easier. Remember practice makes perfect!
Buying essentials for a self feeding baby in India
That’s Cute has vacuumed feeding plates with anti-slip grip for safe feeding of solids for your baby. They also have sippers with straws and handles or without handles. Kid Studio has non-spill cups and cups with handles and straws in attractive shapes, sizes and colours. Sunbaby an online Indian store provides a whole lot of feeding accessories such as feeding bowls with spoons and lids, moulded plates and bowls to make solid feeding exciting. Bonne sippers are also available in the market. They are made of food grade polycarbonate and are available in different sizes and designs depending on the age of the baby. Sippers with spout cap are also available.
