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For hours I stood in the aisle at Babies R Us it felt like looking for the perfect spoon. Much to my surprise, apparently I was standing in the wrong store! For Christmas this past year, my mother found these unbelievable BEABA spoons at Williams-Sonoma and purchased them for Gavin. I know this is strange but by far, these were my most favorite gift.

Last year I attended a feeding conference in Las Vegas, where one of the speakers, speech pathologist Erin Sundseth Ross, stressed the importance for young babies to use appropriate teether toys to improve their feeding skills. Unfortunately, though, most teethers these days are round to reduce the hazard of choking. In order for the tongue to gain the skills it needs to eventually chew, children need to mouthe something safe with a really long handle to work on the tongues ability to move from side to side, and at the conference encouraging parents to use regular, long-handled spoons to do this was discussed.

So my first use for these spoons with Gavin was to allow him to use it as a teether starting just before he turned 4 months. We started pureed foods with him just after he turned 4 months, so by allowing him to hold, chew, and mouthe it first, he was already familiar with the actual spoon we were going to use and believe me — he LOVED gnawing on this.

I loved them even more when I began to feed him puree’s with these. They are made of a soft silicone and have a long handle, so first of all, your hands can stay quite clean with these during feeding. I sent one to daycare with Gavin and my provider, with 20 years under her childcare belt, has proclaimed this the best spoon she’s EVER fed a child with.

I’ve been taught that when introducing purees a side spoon method is helpful, rather than placing the food directly into the child’s mouth and scraping it off the gums. Using a side spoon method, eventually the children learn to use their lips to remove the food, which allows for better oral motor skill. I’ve had great luck with the BEABA spoon using this method because of the width of the spoon and depth of the bowl. (Thank you Lori Overland for teaching this technique!)

Here are some other suggestions of things to try when spoon feeding:

People I know that it would be easier to feed your child on the run, while you try to multitask. (Believe me I have tried it!) Make it a point to sit down, directly across from your child when eating. If you stand, they will look up at you and tilt their head back, which puts their neck in extension and this does not put them in a safe position to accept food.

Make sure that they are well positioned in a high chair or booster seat. (See my recent post on the SVAN High Chair for more positioning information when feeding)

At the end of meals I put food on the end of the spoon and encourage Gavin to bring the spoon to his mouth practicing the start of self-feeding. I know, you are thinking, MESSY! It is, but if you strip them down and head to the tub right after, what’s the harm?

I certainly can’t live without these, and have recommended them to all my friends who are mommies and mommies to be, do the same! They are a unique gift, not typically found on a baby registry, that I guarantee any recipient will be sure to love!

I received these BEABA spoons as a gift and decided to write a review based on my fabulous experience. The opinions in this blog are purely the bloggers own, except where techniques used in therapy are reported and given credit those individuals who presented the skills at conferences I have attended.

Photo credits to Derek Wilmot, www.derekwilmot.com