Teaching Your Baby How to Eat
As you wean your baby, one of the things you will have to do is teach your baby how to eat. Up until your baby's first encounter with solid food, all they've known how to do is suck and swallow. With solid food, they have to learn how to move their mouth to take the food, move the food to the back of their mouth, and then swallow. This is something we do involuntarily, but we all once had to learn it as babies.
It is important that you be patient with your baby. They are likely to make a mess during their first few solid feedings. It may look like they're spitting out food when all they're trying to do is move their mouths correctly. To help your baby along, you can start practicing their oral muscles earlier than you intend to wean them. Give your baby a chew toy that they can move their mouth on, this may help them learn how to work their jaw.
The more they practice, the better because the better your baby is able to work their jaw, the better they will be able to manage bigger pieces of food. One way you can help strengthen your baby's jaw is to slowly add texture to their food. Start with very smooth foods then slowly add texture so they can learn to chew by moving their jaw up and down. This movement will also move the food to the back of their mouths, making them ready to swallow.
After introducing textures, you can begin to add small pieces or bits of food, but make sure these are soft. For example, beans are a food that can come in small pieces, which will help your baby practice chewing, but they are still soft enough for your baby's gums to mush and move to the back of their mouths to swallow.
While introducing new textures, encourage your baby to eat by also introducing new tastes. This will also give your baby a better palate and ensure that they not become fussy eaters. Babies prefer sweeter flavors so stick to sweeter fruit and vegetables like carrots, pumpkin, butternut, squash, apricots, bananas, and mangoes.
As your baby gets older, keep them interested in food by introducing them to even more types of food and even more types of texture. It is important that you introduce them to a lot of variety before the age of two because by the time they are two years old, their tastes and preferences will be solidified and stay till they're about the age of eight.
Finally, as soon as your baby is able to hold a spoon and control it, show them how to feed themselves. Many babies are eager to control the spoon as early as eight months of age, though they are unlikely to be able to feed themselves till they're about a year or so old. Try giving them a spoon at every feeding session so they become accustomed to holding it and moving it around.
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