Taking food from a spoon is a totally new experience for your baby that they gradually need to get accustomed to!
- Patience really is the key as are lots of smiles and encouragement
- Don’t worry when bits escape out as they practise. Up until this point, your baby has only had to suck liquid from a nipple or teat; now they have to learn to close their lip over a spoon and to move food around their mouths with their tongue, which is quite a different eating technique for them
- Don’t be surprised if your baby doesn’t open their mouth straight away for the first few spoonfuls, they have to learn this too. So smile and encourage them and show them what to do by tasting yourself
- Similarly, your baby may well be quite expressive about the new sensations in their mouths, so be prepared to have some funny faces pulled at you. Don’t let this put you off though!