the cw project: ready, sit, go

“sharing mealtimes has a positive impact on family relationships, social skills, language development and healthy eating”

I knew I wanted to get her a new high chair that attached directly to our kitchen table, so we’d have a more cohesive dining experience. that is, WHEN we can actually coordinate everyone’s sleeping, feeding, school and work schedules to dine together. anyway, this chicco 360 is easy to install and clean, and even useful when we aren’t eating. but, I quickly learned to keep plenty of wet wipes and bibs on hand, because this method (baby-led weaning) can be rather messy.

in just a few weeks, she went from just moving food around her tray to actually getting it into her mouth. hasn’t quite mastered the swallow, but she has a good grasp and tastes everything. thus far, she’s tried oranges, bananas, green beans, asparagus (loved!), pancakes, nutri-grain bars (messy!), cucumbers, broccoli (no thanks!), strawberries, turkey sticks, cheese, teething biscuit (mistake!), waffles, pears, tomatoes, apples and cheerios.  

the only problem we had was [several weeks ago] when I gave her a teething cookie. because one of us is ALWAYS right next to her through this experimental phase (I’m usually photographing – shocking, I know), we were right there to assist when she got a big piece in her mouth and didn’t know what to do. unfortunately, she gagged herself to vomit. we were alarmed at first and naturally questioned the method, but no harm, no foul and I think we all learned at little from the experience.

“babies never just play, they are always learning”