Food Time!

I am finally giving this handsome boy real food.  He gets it once a day when mommy and daddy are eating together, be that lunch or dinner. 

Minus the licks I give him sometimes of my food, he has tried bananas and sweet potatoes.  I am trying to skip baby food all together but am open to it if he doesn't progress with table food.

Because he is just starting out, he gets more on himself and the floor than he does in his mouth.  Part of the learning process, since we aren't feeding him ourselves, is learning how to handle the food.  In the process of learning to feed himself, he will also be developing his fine motor skills. 

I was giving him a lot of food at once knowing most of it would end up on the balcony and going to waste but, in the end, I decided I would just give him a piece or two at a time.  This has significantly helped cut down on the waste.  Speaking of which, I swear it sometimes seems like he is throwing the food onto the floor on purpose but he has to be too young for this, right???

I am not sure how much he actually enjoys eating the food but he sure does enjoy making a mess. 

 The first day I gave him a spoon as well but he focused more on it than the food so I have decided to start with just food and then add in a spoon later.  Now I think we just need to teach him some table manners.  He was smashing the banana all over his bib and then licking his bib. 

Thankfully he doesn't need table food to be healthy right now so it gives us time to allow him to learn how to eat on his own without rushing him.  If things don't go according to plan then we will just have to change our game plan and move on from there.  But for now, despite the mess, it sure is fun to see him try to eat.