I've decided that if I ever have any more children - which is a highly unlikely, unless I want to be sharing my room with two babies for the rest of my days (small house issues!) - I will, without a doubt try my hand at baby led weaning.
When Charlie was born in 2005 the whole concept wasn't something that was around all that much - I know that I certainly hadn't heard of it anyway - and then with Willow, I'll be totally honest, just the thought of it terrified me a little bit.
Letting my teeny tiny child loose with a spoon and food was something that was totally out of my comfort zone and I just couldn't get my head around how to do it at all.
Willow took to weaning so easily though and I think if I had been that little bit more confident then she would have managed just fine - I remember the day I introduced her to baby rice - she ate from the spoon with zero issues from the very first mouthful and by the third, well she had actually taken the spoon from me and was having a good go herself.
I've actually heard stories of babies keeping up with this and feeding themselves from being young, never having to actually be fed by anyone else ever and I find it very impressive - so yes, if I ever do this again, I would 100% give it a try.
Luckily, even without baby led weaning, Willow does feed herself brilliantly, however I always have a bowl of food on hand to feed her in between her picking up her "picky bits" which suits me fine, however she hasn't been all too cutlery friendly up until recently, much preferring her hands, but since we had a fab little bundle sent over from OXO tot...
...she has been having a real go at the whole fork and spoon thing.
And I think the design of this cute little pink set has made all the difference to her progress.
The handles are lovely and chunky and are easy for her to grasp and keep a hold of...
...but the metal part of the spoon is the game changer really - rather than being flat (I mean why on earth have a flat spoon design for weaning?!) it is curved at the sides and shaped to actually help keep food on whilst it makes the massively long journey from plate to mouth...
It has been a huge help and Willow loves it...and if she's not eating with it she's using it as a drumstick - win win situation for her really.
But sometimes, even with the smart spoon design, things don't always make their destination so this super soft around the neck, very easy to clean, silicone and bendy, food catcher bib has really helped us out...
I'm a fan of the colour too - it goes with everything (which is very important I'll have you know!) and the fact that it rolls up fairly small too is great as it makes taking it with us for meals out really easy.
Now another favourite is this different-to-anything-I've-ever-seen-before Training Cup...
Willow has always been a big water drinker and now that she is beginning to "ask" for drinks out of our beakers at meal times I'm jumping on this and looking to start moving her away from sippy cups - not entirely of course, but whilst she's showing an interest I thought why not push it a little bit - and the design of this OXO tot training cup is perfect to help this transition...
The top has small holes all around the inner rim which allow the water to seep out without the whole lot pouring everywhere...
Obviously I wouldn't be able to just leave Willow with this right now though as the water is still free to flow out - we did have a few wet tops the first few times we tried it - but it is a nice little step up to allow her to get used to a big girl's cup...
And it is easy to hold too.
As is the Flip Top Snack Cup which is of a similar size to the training cup - another very handy little contraption helping encourage independence.
The container can be filled with small, grab-sized snacks and is compact enough to fit in most bags - the lid then pops up and the opening is just the right size for Willow's little hands...
Obviously if she was left to her own devices the whole lot would be tipped up everywhere but that happens with a "normal" bowl anyway.
This is just perfect for keeping food handy, contained and in easy reach for when it is needed the most
(supermarket shopping is a perfect example)
I really like this little set - the items are the perfect introduction to grown up eating - just what we need now that Willow is weaned and eating pritty much everything we eat.
Everything is handy, practical, visually pleasing (gotta love the pink) and I like that they are all just a little bit different to anything I've seen before.
What's not to like.
Thanks lots OXO tot
I really like this little set - the items are the perfect introduction to grown up eating - just what we need now that Willow is weaned and eating pritty much everything we eat.
Everything is handy, practical, visually pleasing (gotta love the pink) and I like that they are all just a little bit different to anything I've seen before.
What's not to like.
Thanks lots OXO tot
* items sent free of charge for review purposes - all words, thoughts & images 100% my own
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