Self-feeding like a pro

Today my mum informed me that Alby insisted on feeding himself his morning porridge.  Displaying more grace than he did this afternoon for me (shovelling rice into his mouth by the fist full) he used his spoon to scoop up the oaty deliciousness and then shovel into his mouth.

A bit of egg noodle before bed

Whilst almost everything Alby does impresses me, this isn’t actually a new skill.  Alby has been involved with spoon feeding himself from day one and seven months on he's proving to be very good at it (when he chooses to be). 

Finally a spoon on par with Alby's appetite

I decided fairly early on to go the finger food route.  I’m not at all a fan of the Baby-led weaning book, which I personally found incredibly patronising, but I do support the notion of meal times being as much about exploration as they are about nourishment. 

Yes this involves a great deal of mess – in my most lax state Alby’s exploration has been allowed to include scooping runny yoghurt out of the pot, flinging noodles across the living room and patting cheese sandwiches into the table top.  My curtains have been baptized with pasta sauce, my bar cemented with avocado cheese spread and Percy has never known it so good.

But mealtimes have been fun – no trenches dug or enforcements called in at our house.  They’ve involved play, fine motor skills, not so fine motor skills and discovery – not just by way of taste but sight, touch and smell too.