Mine is around the same age as Babybear, Aitch, and I've always had cutlery lying on the high chair - one of the nice little fork and spoon sets from Whittards. Haven't bothered with the knife yet. She does use it by default, but it's often abandoned in favour of hands before the end of the meal. We can do a whole bowl of rice crispies or porridge by spoon, and a load of baked beans with her fork, but for some reason savoury spoonables such as soup don't really appeal - still prefers the chunks of veg and bread. Mashed up food not really popular either. I've often wondered if this has been the down side of BLW in our house - there's still a preference for stuff that can be more neatly picked up - one piece in each hand!
Nursery are very impressed with her cutlery skills though.... or it might just be they are impressed with her self-feeding, which always amuses me, since she's never really done anything else!

I'm new here but Ashy has been BLW since 7months old and at 10months old was using a full set of cutlery, now at 18months old she is proficient with spoon and fork and uses her knife to butter bread and cut up softer foods, i guess she really likes to copy mummy and daddy.
I'm suprised as it seems even by BLW standards this is early.
She was using a spoon at 7months old and pretty much had it sussed by the time she hit 10 months.
i got several sets of MINI cutlery from a 99p store i think they have garfield on them and they come in Ashy's favourite colour.

Someone meantioned the possibility that it could go in their eyes which reminded me of a lady who tryed to pry a screwdriver away from my daughter because-"as a professional in the childcare industry" she could see it going straight into the eye- i guess my daughter doesn't care much for putting things into her eyes as it has never been an issue. needless to say she was given the screwdriver right back after the lady walked away and she continued to help her daddy fix his boat

blimey, it does indeed sound like she's a prodigy in the cutlery department. welcome to the site, i hope you'll be able to stick around so that the newbie BLWing mums can benefit from your experiences (and pick up tips on how to get their babies onto knives and forks). perhaps she'll be a surgeon when she grows up?

I just wanted to mention that where I am, eating with our fingers is the norm! But right hand, of course.. although ds has shown a left-hand tendency.. phew.
But he feeds himself quite well with a loaded spoon, atlhough there are times he just wants to use his fingers.. I do wonder when he'll get the hang of cutlery..
it is normal practice here that babies get spoonfed, all the way to toddlerhood..

you are a trailblazer, raylis. i can't imagine Babybear being compliant enough to be spoonfed until now, that would be wild...

The Pupster was 1 last week and uses a spoon for yogurt, albeit in an astonishingly messy way. I hold the bowl for him (otherwise he tips it straight over his head) and he pokes the spoon in and then moves it in the general direction of his mouth. About 90 per cent of the time it gets all the way there, and sometimes it's even still the right way up and containing yogurt. He can't manage to spear things with a fork himself yet, but if I do it for him it turns out he'll eat anything that's on it - including stuff he won't eat with his fingers. No doubt it's just the novelty so I'm expecting that to wear off.

Minky is also really starting to enjoy a bit of cutlery now. At the pub on Saturday, she had most of her sausage and chips (one step away from turkey twizzlers) with her hands and was then presented with a fork when she got bored. She kept stabbing chips for a good while longer.

This morning, she managed rice krispies with a spoon and then asked for a fork with which to eat her toast.

Have managed yogurt etc.. for a while with a spoon but doesn't tend to get frustrated at the slow pacing at which it gets into her mouth!

Wait a minute, I forgot to ask, where did you purchase tiny, metal forks? Plastic ones are, indeed, crap for stabbing. She uses grown up ones but they are a little unwieldy. My mum had a proper metal one which was my sister's when she was young. Where can I buy them?

i don't really know where mine came from but my mum got some in tesco, they've got a plastic handle but metal prongs. tommee tippee do ones as well, which are identical in absolutely every regard but cost one pound more, naturally.

The Pickle is 15 months old and we've had cutlery lying around since the start, and have always loaded spoons for her to feed herself. She is now really quite proficient with her fork, in fact prefers to eat EVERYTHING with her fork even yoghurt (quite entertaining and keeps her occupied....excellent in my opinion). Her spoon technique is okay with certain foods but she still tips it a little too early sometimes and ends up wearing most of the food, doesn't seem to dampen her spirits though.

We got our metal cutlery from Tesco (own brand) - it's a little set that comes in a handy travel holder thing.

There's small metal cutlery (plastic handles) in Woolworth's. The spoon says 'spoon' on it, etc. I think it was @2.99 for a set of spoon, fork and knife but might have been £3.99.

I've been giving P things on a spoon since 10-11 months (before then the spoon was just a distraction). She's just over a year now and can get stuff into her mouth from a pre-loaded spoon pretty accurately, and is trying to spoon things up off the plate for herself - with zero success so far but it doesn't stop her trying! I occasionally give her things pronged on a little fork but she is still too inclined to wave it around near her eyes...

At 13 months, Lottie hasn't reached Babybear's venerable age, and, much as she asks for a fork (asks as in 'uh! uh! uh!' with lunging), I wouldn't let her anywhere near one yet. But she is keen on feeding herself yogurt, spoon in one hand, pot in the other, and soup if it's something she really likes. Otherwise it's mainly fingers. I think her motivation for self-feeding yogurt, which she's pretty good at now, mainly comes from having two big brothers - a bit like Babybear with the ice cream, I can see her brain ticking over - here's something I really like. Here's a spoon. There are my brothers eating the same thing with their spoons... Right - to work.

Well, the Weeble is a bit crap with forks - I am feeling very depressed after reading all your tales of fabulous cutlery prowess! However, he has a very fine grasp of how a well placed piece of cheese can act as an excellent fulcrum for a yoghurt-laden spoon... does anyone know how to get yoghurt off curtains?

Seriously, he does do some spoon work, but is too impatient really. Your comments about metals forks have given me a Homer Simpson moment ("D'oh!") and I shall nip out and buy him some today. Those plastic forks are rubbish, aren't they!

LittleE is almost 15 months old and is pretty proficient with a spoon and fork now. She has been using a spoon for months for things like yoghurt, initially I'd load it up and hand it to her but recently she's decided she prefers to do it herself which works pretty well as long as I hold the pot and sort of angle it for her!

With forks, she much much prefers using mine if she can get away with it, but otherwise a metal one is much better than plastic ones. We got a set with knife, fork and spoon from boots, they were selling some off half-price plus the additional 20% off at the moment!

She's not so good at stabbing things with the fork yet, but she likes to give it a go then will hand the fork to me with a squeak that means 'load it up, mummy'.

Catherine is pretty good with spoon, still learning with fork, but she consistently asks for both, and also now wants a knife (phew we got a super-expensive set which comes with a knife). She still needs to be reminded to use them most days, and sometimes, it's just easier to shovel with your hands.. She's really good with yoghurt and can even scrape the bottom bits off. Yes, her cutlery skills and eating is far advanced compared to her classmates at daycare, but then she's advanced in a few areas, so it could just be maturity. OK, it's because she's had a year's practice at feeding herself..

Ooh, ooh - we've had a cutlery breakthrough at 13 months.

Small seized a stray teaspoon from the tabletop and proceeded to scoop up her pasta and feed herself. It took dogged determination and a Very Long Time - more got shovelled up and over the edge of the plate than went in her mouth. The mess levels are comparable to the early days. However, she stuck to it, diving in for a fistful whenever the frustration got too much but kept coming back to the spoon.

After a repeat preformance at breakfast, I dashed to Woolies to purchase cutlery as recommended on this thread and now she is getting a spoon and fork with every meal. (Although we don't aknowledge the fork - its Too Strange). She does really want to practice the new skill - I gave her a ladle and the colendar as amusement whilst I cooked supper and she (awkwardly) used them to feed herself imaginary food.

aaaaawwww...

Minimoo's had a fork from about one - he's 15 months now - (spoons whole other messy issue which I'm just putting off), he's now pretty good with it and if the food is stabbable the whole meal will be eaten with the fork otherwise it's a bit of both. But annoyingly has gone right off veg and become a protein and carbs man, oh the disdainful look he'll give a carrot. Have had to resort to hiding it. Please tell me it's just a phase . . .

Hurrah!

The Weeble had a large bowl of Shreddies and Rice Krispies this morning and... fed himself the WHOLE THING with his spoon!!!!

I am so proud! ;-)

Of course, he tilted the spoon through 90 degrees as it got to his mouth, so whilst the cereal went in, the milk sort of cascaded down his front... but who cares about that!

We've also just had quite good results with his new fork and some rice with meatballs - it definitely makes a big difference having a metal fork.

At 15 months DS is really starting to use cutlery, but apparently only proper metal ones will do - the ones designed for babies seem pathetically blunt. We have been just giving him teaspoons and dessert forks, but MIL produced a fruit fork at the weekend which is perfectly sized. He ate his entire breakfast of scrambled egg and sausage (she'd cut it up for some reason) with it, but in the evening demonstrated exactly how much mess someone with a spoon and slightly runny jelly can make....

A fruit fork! of course... perfect. clever grandma.

I am feeling quite triumphant today as Wiggles ate absolutely loads of pesto pasta off her new Woolies fork (thanks for the tips on where to buy metal ones ladies, the girl behind the counter did find it necessary to mention to me that the cutlery set was only for sale to over 16s though hee hee).

She is 11 months and loves trying to feed herself with a spoon but always gets it upside down so it's empty when it gets to her mouth - but this thread inspired me to try a fork and now she hands it to me to load up (or puts it in her bowl) then takes it back and happily chomps away. It's taking advantage of the 'copy mummy' factor. which started with her copying me doing an exaggerated 'ah!' after a sip of tea and now she goes 'ah!' after most mouthfuls and after her milk.

aaw, how sweet. Babybear shouts 'and SPIT!' after she's cleaned her teeth, despite the fact that she can't spit at all and it merely pointing her mouth at the sink.

As I mentioned, Minky is getting on very well with cutlery. She did ask for a fork to eat her Oatibix with this morning, but never mind. She has developed a tendancy to get half way through her yogurt/fruit pot/cereal and then yell "Mummy do". Not the point of BLW.

not so much led as insisted...

IzzyMouse has always had a cutlery fetish, in fact she grabbed and chewed on metal (oh no! she'll cut her gums! Actually, that would help as she's a teething 6 month old...) teaspoons from 5 months or so, and we also loaded yoghurt and some cereal up for her from the beginning. So she's a pretty good spoon weilder, and her fork stabbing skills are coming on a treat - she nabbed a chip from my plate today, excellent aim though I say it myself.

She also tried yoghurt with a fork today, but it was chunky enough, and the yoghurt set enough, for it to work quite well.

The downside to this 15 month old's cutlery skills are that she uses them to scoop and eat other stuff, like sand, very well into her mouth and other available recepticles.

Hi, I've not posted on here much...but have been using this brilliant blog as a much needed resource over the last 5 months....however, my LO, Hari has been BLW from 6 months...and was going great guns....yes we had off days...and a couple of times...he didn't eat properly for a whole week....but this time it's been 3 weeks.....and he's hardly eating a thing. He seems happy enough and is no hungrier at night...so all my logic tells me not to worry.....but I can't help it....anyone else experiencing the same? He was exc. BF until 10months....and now he drinks around 30oz formula a day. Any advice?
Sheela

why don't you post over here as well, Sheela?

thing is, what do you want to do? you must be getting a bit stressed (even if your brain tells you that 30oz formula is good going every day, i imagine your heart must be saying something else).

i've got to say that Babybear went right off food when she was ill or teething, do you think it might be that?

if not, then as i say it's totally up to you. have you given him a bit of food off a spoon yet? how's he taking it? oh, and how old is Hari, i can't remember...

It is stressful....although oddly enough....just to put it on this blog and get a response helps more than I realised! I do yell at DH too but ho is soooo laidback that his lack of reaction drives me insane....I guess I'm just feeling a bit lost at the moment as my family & friends all think I'm nuts doing BLW anyway...

I keep trying to be cool about it.....especially when he looks at the food and then windscreen wipers it off the table without so much as tasting it! Hari is 11 months old.....and yes it could be teeth.....I have attempted loading up a spoon....but he aslmost laughs at me when he sees one...

I guess I'm just concerned that he'll be one in a few weeks.....and still mainly surviving on milk......and I know that I can't rely on anyone here to tell me what to do.....but it's just kind of nice knowing that others are in the same boat.....and now I know I'm just waffling on........rather than clean up the food that has been flung around the dining room!
Ps...tried to post on the other place....but looked a bit complicated....so I'll have another look later on, when I've got a bit more time! I have turned into such a slow coach with anything new since giving birth!

Thanks
Sheela

LittleE was much like that and to be honest although sh e ahs always eaten ok it is only really since she turned 1 that her milk intake has dropped and her food intake has increased to a similar level to other friend's children. She still has off days and when I went back to work at 13.5 months she upped her milk intake loads (she is still BF). I guess what I'm trying to say is each child is different so try not to worry and as long as they are healthy, happy and thriving they are doing ok xxx

i don't think it's complicated, it's just a wee form and then you get sent a code (assuming your junk mail thingybob doesn't swallow it) and then you're away. i think you're an Oldie, like me... we've got lots of Newbies, so we could do with some more people who've been doiing it a while. especially, to be honest, people that have encountered a few blips along the way.

i'd forget about your pals thinking BLW is nuts anyway, as by 11 months all babies should be on finger food - even Annabel Karmel thinks so and you don't get much more mainstream than that!
so you're firmly back in the normal run of things, i think.

if it's not teething, perhaps he's just hating the highchair (or actually perhaps he's enjoying it, cos he gets to swipe things from a height?) also do you use teething gel? i occasionally put that on dd's teeth before teatime, just to see if it was pain that was stopping her, and judging by the way she ate, it was.

i certainly found that when the swiping phase started, i couldn't really put more than one piece of food onto her table at a time, she seemed to have a compulsion to 'tidy up' that actually outweighed her desire to eat.

also, maybe you could try a bit of a picnic on the ground? i actually know someone who weaned her son traditionally and he was so reluctant to do it that she eventually left food lying on plates on the floor so that he could absent-mindedly pick it up. that worked for her, albeit revoltingly...

if he's not eating anything, then you've nothing to lose, in a way. you may as well go back to basics and sit him on your lap while lasciviously enjoying a juicy peach or somesuch, see if that piques his interest.

anyway, just some thoughts off the top of my head. i remember approaching that whole 12 months thing with real dread, it felt ike such a deadline. but i'd definitely say that dd didn't start cutting back on her milk until she was 13-14 months. plus i think it's also a bit freaky because they stop eating so much anyway after the massive growth spurts of those first few months, so that takes a bit of getting used to.

there's a GREAT book called 'my child won't eat' i've read. he basically explains that children don't grow because they eat... they eat because they grow. so there will be periods where they're not growing so they don't need so much.

he also makes a great poiint about genetics, that if you feed up a wee poodle you don't end off with a great big alsatian, you get a fat poodle. so he's a big fan of your dh's laidback approach.

Longest Post Ever. ;-D

Thanks so much......I feel better reading all that....I did laugh about the poodle thing....and my DH just stood here....shaking his head and saying 'I told you so!!' Smug so & so.

THanks loads....I will def try to picnic/lap thing.........will also try to get to grips with the new site!!

oh my DH is unbearably smug about BLW...