Teaching your baby to use a spoon is a big transition in infant feeding. Have you ever wondered if it is okay to skip the spoon and put solid foods, such as infant cereal, in your baby's bottle?
Giving your baby solid foods from a bottle isn't wise. Possible problems with this technique are:
- It can cause a delay in learning feeding skills.
- Cereal of other foods from a bottle can be a choking hazard.
- It may encourage your baby to eat too much.
Spoon-feeding, with rests between each bite, gives your baby time to feel full and learn to self-regulate. And despite a popular misconception, putting cereal in your baby's bottle won't help him sleep through the night.