Exploration And Taste Approach to Early Feeding (Baby led EATing)

10 months old baby, 4 teeth.  Loving chicken, lentils, bell pepper, and fish roe!

Eating at ten months is still all about Exploration And Tastes (EAT), not quantity consumed. Calories and nutrition come from breastmilk or formula while your baby learns to use their mouth muscles in a coordinated way! The more varied and fun the textures and flavors are, the more your baby learns. 

5 signs your baby is ready to start solids (not age based!)

Pretty much across the board pediatricians encourage parents to start solid foods at a certain age (some say 4-6 months, others suggest around 6 months, others 6 months and older.) Between 4 to 6 months is the most common time frame, but this is a HUGE spread in baby time.

Major skills and maturation occurs between 4 to 6 months, such as the ability to sit independently. While we can't see it as obviously, your baby's body is also maturing and growing on the inside (the stomach, reflex patterns, and immune system for example are all changing during this time.)

Age is a vaguely helpful guideline but each baby is SO different that age is an unreliable indicator and should actually be low on our list of check offs that help you decide if your baby is ready to transition to solid foods. The primary indicators of readiness are developmental skills and interest. That means, your baby should have the following skills/signs to show you that she or he is ready to start eating solid foods:

1. Head and neck control- not wobbly at all. Your baby should be able to hold his head up while sitting, by himself for at least 15-20 minutes. 

2. Trunk control/sitting independently- possibly a bit wobbly but at least sitting for a few minutes by herself if placed in a sitting position without toppling over. Even better if she can get into and out of a sitting position by herself. 

3. Fine motor coordination- to reach for and grab items and bring to the mouth. This can be toys, a spoon, or food. Your baby should have enough eye/hand coordination to at least reach towards objects and push them around the table while trying to pick them up. 

4. An emerging pincer grasp (picking a smaller item up with the pads of the thumb and index finger)- around the same time that your baby is ready to begin solid foods, she will also be starting to try to pick up smaller and smaller items that she comes across (lint on the floor, stray dog food, anything gross and small will probably catch your baby's attention.) 

5. An active interest in food, watching you eat, being a part of the meal, and touching/exploring food-the motor skills I mentioned above will generally coincide with your baby's overall interest in food and  eating. Your baby will go from being fairly content to sit in your lap or in a sling while you're at the table and maybe even nap through a meal, to wanting to be a part of it all. He will try to grab food from your hands and off your plate. He will intently watch you bring food to your mouth. If you let your baby be a part of your mealtimes, around the time he or she is ready to start solids you'll see a distinct interest as though your baby is asking for you to let him/her eat!

Baby Led Spoon Feeding

Babies are born learners and explorers. They find joy in exploring and mastering a skill. Babies are driven to do this and will learn and explore with food if we give them the opportunity to do so at their own pace. If we let this joy flourish and let them feel confident and successful, they will have a positive relationship with food that will last a lifetime. This is especially true for the more reticent feeder, who may never eat vigorously for the sheer love of it, but who will learn to eat what she or he needs and enjoy it. It holds true for all babies. Often the more we push them to eat or stop eating, the less likely they are to do so.

With this in mind, I'll offer my tips for baby led spoon feeding. Spoon feeding is primarily an adult let activity and can easily lead to a disconnect between patent and child's communication if we aren't  proactive about being "tuned-in". These tips are focused on making spoon feeding an interactive dance or a conversation. 

- Let your baby take the lead by giving him or her a spoon to hold from the very beginning. 

- Expect the activity to get messy and be ok with that. Mess is fun and it enriches the sensory experience. Your baby is learning a new skill and she can't do it perfectly from the start. If your baby isn't getting messy that means you're controlling the activity and doing it for them, which means your baby is not learning as much and probably not enjoying it as much. 

- Forget about quantity. Let the focus be on exploration and discovery, even if that means that zero amounts of food is actually swallowed or even tasted.

- Try loading the spoon for your baby at first, then just set it on the table, handle towards your baby. Let your baby pick it up and do whatever she or he wants with it!

- If your baby is struggling and appears interested, hold and offer the spoon directly to your baby. Keep the spoon near your baby's mouth and wait. Do not touch your baby's lips or try to put it in his or her mouth. Just wait until your baby opens his or her mouth or leans towards the food. If that never happens, eat the food yourself and let your baby just watch or touch the food if interested. 

- At all meals, try to have your own spoon and bowl of food to eat. Model eating and enjoy a meal with your baby. Babies and children learn best from watching you. They want to do what you're doing. If he is eating applesauce, you should eat applesauce. 

- If your baby is into the food and the activity, re-load the spoon and offer it again. 

- If not, let him or her enjoy time at the table, touching and playing with the food with his or her hands while you eat. Do not stress or worry. Offer a milk feed (breastmilk or formula) instead.