Baby-led weaning (BLW) takes patience, practice and repetition! In order to achieve feeding milestones, it is critical to support baby with the right tools. For cup drinking, spoon-feeding and self-feeding milestones parents need a cup, spoon and bowl combo that will help baby become a successful eater and drinker.
Introducing the ezpz Tiny Collection, which includes the Tiny Cup, Tiny Spoon and Tiny Bowl. Below we have outlined how each product increases safety and supports BLW.
Tiny Spoon
Mouthing – Developmentally, baby should want to hold and mouth their spoon. Since the Tiny Spoon is made of soft, 100% food grade silicone, parents don’t have to worry about baby hurting their developing teeth or gums (as they can with hard plastic or metal spoons).
Lip Closure – Lip closure is necessary for baby to learn how to safely eat and swallow solid foods. The sensory bumps on the spoon bowl activate lip closure.
Decrease Gagging – The appropriately sized Tiny Spoon helps baby properly move their jaw, cheeks, tongue and upper lip while feeding. This decreases gagging associated with starting solids.
Fine Motor Skills – The Tiny Spoon’s non-slip grip and short, fat, round handle helps baby improve their fine motor skills and complete movements to the mouth more successfully.
Transferring Objects – Moving objects from one hand to another is a cognitive developmental milestone that is essential for BLW success. The Tiny Spoon’s non-slip grip and short, fat, round handle help baby to grasp and transfer their spoon.
Dipping + Scooping – The Tiny Spoon is designed to help baby learn how to use a utensil independently and be successful with fine motor milestones like dipping and scooping.
Texture Transitions – The soft sensory bumps on the Tiny Spoon can help baby overcome texture transitions associated with early eating.
Tiny Cup
Drinking Milestones – Feeding milestones for baby-led weaning start at 6 months of age, which is the same time for cup drinking milestones! Most parents believe they should transition their baby from breast or bottle to a Sippy cup. Unfortunately, this is false feeding advice. Developmentally, baby should transition from breast/bottle to sips from an open cup held by an adult.
Lip Closure / Sensory Protection – Having baby learn how to close their lips around a cup is an important feeding milestone (strong lip closure is critical for baby to have a safe swallow). Babies tend to gum/bite the cup as they learn this skill. The Tiny Cup’s soft silicone, smooth rim and flexible shape protect baby’s developing teeth and gums.
Texture Transitions – The sensory-friendly silicone can help baby overcome texture transitions (e.g., thin and thick liquids) associated with weaning.
Oral Development – Drinking from an open cup allows baby’s mouth and swallow pattern to develop in more mature ways, which improves safety with self-feeding and BLW.
Teething – Help baby ease those swollen, tender gums by letting them gum the edge of the cup and drink from it. This strategy can help decrease food refusal during teething as well.
Preventing Tooth Decay – The American Dental Association recommends transitioning from a bottle to an infant cup by baby’s first birthday. The Tiny Cup is specifically designed to help baby learn how to drink from an open cup!
Tiny Bowl
Balance – The Tiny Bowl’s suction technology keeps the bowl at midline for a safer BLW experience. With a stable base, baby can focus on feeding themselves with their dominant hand while using their non-dominant hand to hold on to the edge of the Tiny Bowl.
Decrease Frustration – Baby’s first solids should be on a bowl or plate, not scattered all over a highchair tray. Presenting foods that are easy to reach and pick up is key in decreasing frustration and making mealtime enjoyable!
Eye-Hand Coordination – The unique oval shape of the Tiny Bowl allows infants to easily see inside the bowl, making eye-hand coordination and finger feeding more successful.
Raking Grasp – Learning how to eat takes stability and skill. Since the Tiny Bowl says put, baby can more easily rake up foods, making self-feeding more productive.
New Tastes – Use the sides of the mat as a place to offer a few morsels of new food. Or, use the rim of the bowl as another novel place to introduce a new taste. Babies love to lick and gum the edge of the bowl, so start rimming the bowl (like a cocktail drink) with an orange slice, kiwi or other new flavours.
Small Highchair Trays – If you are introducing solids on a highchair tray, then the Tiny Bowl is the perfect size. It fits on the tiniest of highchairs, which means that no matter where you go (grandma’s house, restaurants, etc.) you can rest assured that it will fit on the tray.
Travel – The Tiny Bowl is packaged in a reusable wet bag so you can carry your mat (clean or dirty) in your diaper bag. And guess what?! The Tiny Cup + Tiny Spoon fit in the bag too!
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