Starting Solids Utensils
The following are links to my favorite starting solids utensils. I do not receive commission for the links— just a pure recommendation from a mama and a feeding therapist! Each item will include a description of why I like it so feel free to find something similar and link it in the comments.
Open Cups
You can start practicing with open cups at 6 months! This is a great way to advance baby’s oral-motor skills. The training cups I love are 2 oz, which make cleaning up spills much easier while still being easy for baby to hold. You can use purées to help slow down the flow. Consider letting baby practice with water, breastmilk/formula, kefir, and fruit/veggie smoothies.
Nuby 2 oz training cup
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The Ola cup is weighted at the bottom to help prevent easy tipping.
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The grooves on this cup can help keep it from slipping on messy hands. It is also weighted for tipping.
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If your baby has mobility issues the cut out cup will help them get all the liquid without having to tilt their head back.
Straw cups
Cups that allow you to squeeze liquid to the top are a great way to teach your baby how to drink from a straw. Soft, short straws help babies learn the correct tongue movements to manage the liquid. I generally avoid straws with a no-spill valve as they aren’t optimal for lip closure and jaw movement development— however if your baby doesn’t have diagnosed difficulties with these, feel free to use a valve/sippy while in the car or for other short durations— just make sure to give baby the most practice with open cups and valve-free straw cups!
Honey bear cup
Ola Baby Training Cup
Plates and bowls
I love plates and bowls that have a suction so that they are not likely to slip around— this makes learning to grab and scoop easier while minimizing the likelihood baby will tip their plate (they will still figure this out sometimes— thank you developing motor skills!)
Plates with dividers can help you recognize how much to offer— we typically start with 1-2 Tb of a food and increase if baby wants more. Bowls with a lip at the top are helpful when your little one is learning to scoop up foods.
Ezpz happy plate
Ola Baby suction bowl
Spoons and Forks
These utensils are great for responsively spoon feeding your baby. Watch their cues when feeding them (do they lean over and open their mouth) or preload the spoon and let them practice feeding themselves! The short handles make it easier for baby to self-feed and the shallow bowl makes sure baby doesn’t get too big of a bite.
NumNum baby spoons
PandaEar spoon and fork set
