[blparent] tips on feeding a baby

[Bernadetta]

Hi Tatyana,
First of all, don't worry, this is a frustrating issue for most blind 
parents. I remember I was there myself. Everyone has methods that work 
well for them, but here's what worked best for me.
I sat my baby in my lap, holding him with one arm, and with the same 
hand, I'd find his chin and put the bowl under it. Then with the other 
hand, I used the spoon to gauge exactly where his mouth was in 
proximity to the bowl and I was able to feed him fairly accurately that way.
Keep in mind that most babies dont' take in a lot of solids at that age 
anyway, and even sighted parents can't help but dirty their kids' faces 
a lot of the time.
I'd also put a plastic bib over him during the solid feedings. They're 
much easier to clean than the cloth bibs, and they're usually much 
bigger. You can get them at Ikea, if not at any other store.
One other reassuring thing is that your baby will learn to adapt to 
your blindness even before he knows it's there. So he'll open his mouth 
when he's ready to receive the next spoonful soon enough, if he's not 
already doing that. By the time my son was six months old, he  would 
find the spoon I held out to him with his mouth, so I didnt' have to do 
all the work. Soon after, he would actually delight in helping me guide 
the spoon into his mouth. It made him happy, and caused less of a mess 
for me. He also learned not to make a mess with his food. I know this 
may seem a bit unorthadox to most parents, but my partner and I taught 
him not to touch his food with his hands unless he was going to take it 
and put it in his mouth right away. To this day, he knows not to grab 
fistfulls of food and just play with it. I guess some parents delight 
in allowing their kids to play with their food, but I'm a bit 
compulsive about huge messes, especially about food, and I figure if he 
gets into the habit of eating his food now instead of playing with it, 
it's one thing I dont' have to unteach him in the future.
My son is fourteen months old now and he's been using a fork and spoon 
by himself for about a month now. He's become quite good at it.
So this often-frustrating feeding phase will be over sooner than you 
know. Just when you think you've figured out a way that works perfectly 
for you, your son will be on his next stage of feeding. So hang tight, 
and I hope that at least some of this might help you . Feel free to ask 
more questions, and I'd be happy to answer either on here or off-list. 
If you need any further explanations, feel free to drop me a message off-list.

HTH,
Bernadetta