Spoons & Utensils when Introducing Baby to Food

As a Speech Pathologist that works A LOT with babies and children that find the introduction of solid foods challenging, I am often asked what spoons I would recommend. While I have my "go to" spoons and utensils I think the features of the spoon is more important. When introducing solids it is important not to just "shove" the spoon into a baby's face and expect them to eat. It is important to let them look and hold the spoons, so have a few spoons so that if the baby reaches for the spoon wanting to hold it, you can use another one. It is expected that the baby will be interested in spoon.  

Spoons when first introducing solids to a baby should have a very shallow bowl. This makes it easier for the baby to take the food off the spoon with their lips. As they mature you can increase the size and how the deep the bowl of the spoon gets. There are so many different spoons out on the market. At times I may recommend particular features of spoons depending on the baby's oral & physical skills and their sensory reaction to goods. I particularly like the baby "dip feeding spoons" that do not look like spoons at all. These can be good if children are developing an aversion to the spoon. The "stick" like spoon is easily coated with food, but the baby is less likely to feel overwhelmed by the food as small amounts enter their mouths at time.  Plastic spoon and plastic coated spoons feel less cold and gentler on their mouths than metal spoons. Spoons such as the Maroon spoons are strong and can be good for children with bite reflexes. Young babies and those that find bringing the spoon to their mouths may benefit with the bendable spoons. You can bend the spoon to an angle that assists the child.  Spoons with wide handles or looped handles can also make it easier for the young child to grasp the spoons.

Bowls  for Introducing Solid food to Baby 

There are SO many bowls for babies when introducing solid foods to babies and children. From the practical to the too cute to be true.  Again, it is more about matching the features of the bowls to the needs of the individual child - their physical capabilities (e.g., easy scoop bowls), sensory preferences (e.g., needing to keep foods separate from each other) or simply linking a high interest to meal-times. Novel plates that match a child's high interest, whether's that is dinosaurs, super heroes or princesses, can keep them engaged while consuming enough food for their nutritional needs.    Of course we should also consider mum when deciding on plates and bowls: are they microwaveable, dishwasher safe, can the stick to the table top so they don't go flying? 

Transitioning from Breast/ Bottle  to Straw & Cup Drinking.

Whether you are breast or bottle feeding, offering babies from 6-7 months of age sips of water from your open cup is a great way to being the transition from bottle to cup drinking. While there is no age limit for breast feeding, it is often a good idea to transition bottle feeding to cup options at about 12 months of age. Breast fed children should also be offered a range of cup options.

Why is it important to move to cup drinking?

Children use different tongue, lip and sucking motions when breast/ bottle drinking to cup and straw use. Sucking needs to transition to controlled drinking skills. Transitioning from bottle to cup (for all liquids other than directly from the breast) will allow your baby to exercise face muscles (lips and jaw), tongue, and soft palate, all of which are connected to speech and feeding. Oral skills built during cup drinking are important for effective chewing and for speech production. 

You will notice I will not put in examples of spout cups. Why? Spout cups encourages the tongue to move forward into the mouth and sit on or near the spout; in a similar position as to sucking or suckling on a breast or bottle. The ongoing forward tongue position is thought to encourage tongue thrust and even possibly "lisping" (eg The /s/ sound is said with the tongue coming between the teeth).   

Going from bottle to straw drinking can be a good option.  Children often can instinctively use a straw from 12 months, while other may need a lot of "practise" mastering it more at the 18 months age. Children with some oro-motor difficulties may need some assistance with straw drinking options with valves the hold the liquid up so that they do not have to suck the liquid up as much. Below I have put in links to some of example of these. These can be great for children struggling to breast or bottle feed. They can be used for all types of liquids from expressed milk to formulas. Remember you need to expose a child to these new drinking techniques before they can master them. SO offering just 10-20 mls then finishing with their "old" way (bottle/breast) can help them transition without the stress of worrying if the are "getting enough"

Using both straw and open cups at similar times is OK for a lot of babies from 6-7 months. Some children will show early preferences, while others will take whatever is offered. There are a number of cups shown below that can assist children to successfully learn to drink from cups (easy to hold, cut away cups, large handled cups, stable cups).  If spillage is a real issue, the 360 cups are good non-spill options without the spout. They may be more likely to encourage the tongue to say in the back of the mouth for drinking as you want to see with on open cup.

Open cup drinking is messy at first! 

When you first offer cups to young babies or those with oral motor difficulties, expect a mess. At first they try to suck at it like a breast or bottle. The tongue may dart into the cup, they might try to bite down on the edge to stabilise their jaws. Continue to offer, tilting the cup to encourage good drinking oral postures.

Oral Sensory Issues and introducing solids to Baby

Even new borns will often suck on their fingers. Babies typically are born with a suck reflex. They need this reflex to to feed from day one. Babies  however do not only suck to fill their tummies. Babies also do what is called “non-nutritive” sucking; this kind that rhythmic suck acts to soothe them. This is why many young babies will suck on their fingers or a dummy! If you introduce a dummy it is important to considered the type of dummy and deciding on a dummy that suits your baby - size, shape, length of teat so not to trigger gags if you have an oral sensitive child. If a child is tube fed, a dummy or mouthing toys may be recommended as they receive a feed. This can allow the child to make a connection between oral feelings and the sensation of their tummies being filled. All children with tube feeding should be linked to a feeding clinic or health professional team for a Tube Feeding plan in order to reduce tube feeding dependency issues.

As Babies get more hand control they begin putting things in their mouths, otherwise known as mouthing. This is typical behavour and signals a growing interest in the world around them. In fact if a baby between 6 & 9 month that is NOT mouthing things may need to be monitored. It can be a red flag to take a closer look at their development! 

In the first year, children explore their surroundings through their senses -- seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, and tasting. The more they explore, the more they learn how things can vary - soft vs hard? Yummy vs yukky? Food or not food? What shape is it? What  texture is it? Can I eat it? Does it make a sound or does it light up?. To get all of this information a baby is going to want to put the object /food in their mouth. Mouthing helps babies learn all about different shapes and textures. Their lips and tongues are the most sensitive parts of their bodies! It is a key way children learn about the world....so if a baby is not mouthing or is not allowed to mouth things, learning can be impacted upon.  Children with physical difficulties that reduce their ability to get their hands or objects to their mouths, often are placed on an oral sensory programmes.

Mouthing is also important for introducing baby to solid foods. Mouthing toys and objects with different shapes and textures encourages children to move their lips round the shapes and their tongues move and prod the shapes and textures. This oral "exercising" gets baby ready for when foods are introduced. Early solid foods introduced to children will have varying flavours, smooth textures, grainy textures, lumps of various firmness and shapes. Mouthing before and during the introduction of solid foods helps the child to cope with the bombardment of sensations that occurs when new foods are offered. Some "fussy eaters" find the sensations of foods overwhelming and need support at feeding and /or developmental clinics to help them process sensory inputs.

​Allowing and encouraging oral mouthing of safe toys is vital to reduce this risk. 

​Oral Sensory Exploration - Safety is KEY

Infants may typically continue to mouth things even up to 2 years of age. The mouthing phase will vary for different children. It can be a dangerous phase! If something is in reach of your baby or toddler it is likely to go their mouths! We must be on constant watch about what is in our children's reach to keep them safe. It is natural for them to put ANYTHING in their mouths. Offering a range of mouthing and teething toys can help children to engage in oral exploration safely. These oral sensory toys have all different shapes and have lots of different textures for little tongues and lips to explore (bumps, ridges, raised circles). For older children that continue to show oral sensory seeking behaviours, there are options like chewy tubes and chew necklaces. 

Dummy ->

Match Child's oral and sensory needs

Orthodontic dummies vary in size and teat shape - they can provided good oral positioning. 

Buy

A Teething Dummy!

For front molars & the textured surfaces can massage sore gums. Water filled chambers can be cooled in the fridge.

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Sensory Teething Mitten.

the variation of shapes & ridges allows their tongue & lips to explore new sensations. Strap means baby can't drop the teething toy.

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Make teething toys varied for new shapes & texture exploration.

Mouthing toys of all shapes & sizes.

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Other Potentially Useful Food & Sensory Items to help the introduction of solids to baby easier

Add fruit, ice chips, & more to the pacifier teat section

Good for encouraging mouthing, can help soothe sore gums & can help introduce tastes for children that find lumps in their mouths difficult.

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Fresh Food Feeders

The fresh food feeders can also act as a teething ring. Won't matter which end goes in their mouths - new sensations ++

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A First Toothbrush can help with sensory acceptance.

Fun toothbrush that is great to encourage new sensations with the baby's mouth + introduce tooth brushing early!

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Chewy Tube Oral Motor Stix - Chocolate Flavour!

Good for older children - oral sensations but without the food - good for fussy and fearful eaters.

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Other Items:

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