Spooning

I have this beautiful post in my head, complete with a well-lit art photograph of the spoon Kolya carved today to feed his baby Calamity Jane.

We had been trying this baby-led weaning thing, wherein we don't offer any food besides breastmilk for the first six months (check. That was easy. Feeding a baby actual food is way more of a pain than just popping her on for some lunch.), and then offer her foods that she can pick up and feed herself, with the idea that she will develop habits and attitudes about eating food when she's hungry and having control of what she consumes, etc. etc. Sounds cool. And I'm always up for doing science experiments with my kid (of the harmless variety). So I gave it a shot. But anything she can gnaw on and actually ingest without teeth is just too hard for her to get a good grip on. And she seemed generally not very interested. So we let it go, and don't even bother to offer her foods for a day or two and then try again now and again. She's getting plenty of nutrients and calories from breastmilk, so she's fine. We'll wait.

But Kolya decided we should try some mashed up food, trad-style, and I said okay, but I want to get a wooden spoon, because I see no reason for her to have plastic in her mouth (or in our house) if there's an alternative. So Kolya decided to make one. He pulled a piece of board out of the closet this morning and started cutting it down. I was skeptical and vocal about it. I wondered whether that kind of wood would have splinters, or whether he'd be able to cut a spoon small enough without breaking it. Basically being a sucky partner and for no good reason.

When I came home from work, he showed me his handiwork. It's beautiful and smooth and I can't wait to try it. But hte food-grade oil needs to cure overnight. So we ran some nectarine through the grinder our friend Sara handed down to us and gave it to her in an iced tea spoon. (Do people not from the south call them that? You know, the long handled ones with small bowls?) She loved, loved, loved it. She made the most sour-puss face with each bite (it was kind of sour) and then ate more and more. And she grabbed the spoon and pushed it in herself, so she was in control of what went into her mouth, so there.