Cups, Straws, and Spoons, Oh My!

This past month has been a huge leap in independence for 11-mo-old D. Now that she can navigate our house quickly and efficiently, she wants to do everything on her own! Namely, eating and drinking. Whether it's the bottle or the spoon, she wants control. And while messes are made and patience (mine) is tested, I'm all for giving her this independence. By giving D her own table, or a place at our table, and the same tools we use to eat and drink, she feels respected, trusted, and like an equal member of our family! 

When we introduced the weaning cup around 8 months, D enjoyed drinking from it but not holding it. Around 10 months, she began to show interest in using it independently - reaching for it on the table or whining when I tried to do it for her. I modeled how we use two hands to bring it to our mouth and set it back down. Gradually, she figured it out herself. While she still struggles with setting it back down upright, she has really gotten the hang of bringing it to her mouth and drinking from it. We just put water in the cup for now, but eventually she'll drink milk from it too. When she starts dipping her fingers or food in the cup, or tosses it, we just take a break from the cup and try again later. While she can play with her food on her plate, the cup is for drinking.

Around the same time D showed interest in drinking from the cup herself (10 months), she began to figure out how to use the spoon. Puree or not, she likes to hold the spoon and "dip" it in her food. When she does have a puree, yogurt, or chia pudding, she has actually figured out the sequence of dipping the spoon, bringing it to her mouth, and slurping - repeat. Video below. As you can see, it's not always a smooth sequence, or super effective. ;) The important thing is to let her practice, because she gets better every time. And it is obvious how much she enjoys feeding herself! There is nothing that makes me happier than her feeling proud of herself for something she has really worked hard on.

Side note: Though D consumes most of her liquids via breastfeeding or bottles, I also give her a water cup with a straw when we are on the go. We have avoided sippy cups based on recommendations from feeding and speech therapists. (For a good article about straw cups vs. sippy cups, check this out: http://noahsdad.com/cup/.) I was also surprised how easy it was for D to learn how to drink from a straw. I introduced the straw at 9 months with these take and toss cups. These simple, inexpensive cups were great because they allowed me to squeeze the cup, causing water to come out, showing her how the straw works. We recently graduated to this water bottle that we can take on the go. That being said, we mostly focus on the weaning cup for water at home, because it gives her a chance to learn how to drink with care, like we do! 

Lastly, at 11 months, we introduced the placemat, so that she would have a place to set her cup back down. I expected her to toss this off the table, but she actually does quite well with leaving it be. These handmade Montessori placemats are great because they have outlines for where to put the silverware, cup, and plate. When I worked in the toddler class, a favorite part of the day was setting their place for lunch! All she's missing is the fork, but to be continued...