[blparent] Techniques for Feeding Baby Food to a Child

[Bernadetta]

Robert,
What a coincidence that I'm going through the same thing with my son 
right about now. As a matter of fact, I just asked for the same advice 
from people on this  list, so you're certainly not alone with this 
particular struggle.
I've figured out what works for me, so I thought I'd share. The high 
chair doesn't work for me at all. I like having control of my son's 
head and there's no way that I can get food into his mouth efficiently 
that way if he;s sitting opposite me.
At first, I used to sit him on my left knee, set the jar on a nearby 
table, use my left hand to touch his chin so that I could determine 
where his face was, and with the right hand I'd feed him. This worked 
for a while, but my son didn't like that position very much, so I came 
up with a new method. Nowadays, I sit him on my lap or directly between 
my knees; He's facing away from me. I use my left hand to hold the jar 
right under his chin, touching his chin with one finger to determine 
where his mouth is, then with the other I feed him. I don't use a Boone 
Spoon though it probably would have been useful. I just got used to my 
plastic spoons now, so I didnt' bother to get one after I heard about 
it. Remember to use the spoons that have an indent instead of the flat 
rubber ones. Even sighted people have trouble withthe the flatter spoons.
Holding the jar directly under his chin works wonders for me because it 
prevents a lot of the spillage that might happen otherwise. Keep in 
mind that my boy still gets pretty dirty, though reasonably so, and I 
do need to use a bib and a paper towel or washcloth to contain the 
mess. Also, my boy is very very good about keeping his hands down and 
allowing me to do the feeding; If your boy is a more rambunctious baby 
who refuses to eat, or often would rather stick his hand in the jar, 
the under-the-chin method might not work for you. That being said, My 
boy also has his moments where he'd like to stick his hands in the jar 
and/or throw it, but he was able to  do that more often when i used to 
keep the jar on the table next to me. Now that I have control of it in 
my hand, he's less likely to make a mess of his own. My boy does the 
side to side head toss thing too; It drives me nuts sometimes, but you 
just gotta grin and bare it. lol
Hope that helps.

Bernadetta