My little Nibbler

 

When it comes to weaning, one of the things that all parents worry about is choking on pieces of food. Some babies seem better able to cope with lumpy textures and learning to chew than others as I remember when Josh was a baby constantly having to clear up his stomach contents as the gag reflex would kick in and he would bring up everything he had eaten during that meal just from not managing to properly chew one piece of food.

Thankfully, Trinity seems to be managing better but the one food that she does tend to cough and splutter a lot with is pieces of pear. So when Nuby sent me the Nuby Nibbler to try out, I knew exactly which food I was going to put it to the test with.

That's right...pear. It was simple to use. Just open the nibbler, fill the net with some pieces of fruit (they even suggest that you can use frozen fruit to help with baby's sore gums whilst teething), pop it back together and away you go.

I had really been looking forward to trying this product out as it seems like such a good idea in theory. When I opened the packet, I suddenly had doubts...what if Trinity isn't able to hold the nibbler or drops it? What if she doesn't like having the texture of the net in her mouth?

But I needn't have worried. She was an extremely happy baby using the nibbler. The chunky handle made it really very easy for her to hold. She loved the taste of the pear so she actually held onto the nibbler very hard so no chance of dropping it! And as babies of this age often use their mouths to explore texture anyway, the net was no issue for her either.

So Trinity loved the Nuby Nibbler...but you haven't heard the best part yet. I don't like innovation for innovations sake...so this is why mummy loves the Nuby nibbler too... I was having a particulalry rushed day and I had the two boys waiting for their lunch, and Trinity getting grumpy and hungry.

Should I get the boys their lunch ready first and have baby screaming with hunger, or do I feed baby which means I'll be tied up spoon-feeding her whilst the boys (whose lunch was already running very late) are left to wait even longer?

Here's what we did. Trinity got her pear in the Nuby Nibbler, and was able to have my hands free to get lunch ready for the boys too. I just feel it is obvious but important to mention NEVER LEAVE BABIES UNATTENDED WHILST EATING, so I was able to keep an eye on Trinity, she was able to begin the journey of self-feeding with the help of the nibbler and the boys got their lunch quickly too.

After using the Nuby Nibbler, I took it apart and gave it a quick rinse under the tap until I had time to wash it properly later on. This way there wasn't the chance of getting bits of dried pear stuck on it. You can actually buy spare nets for the Nibbler so should you need to replace them over time, it is great to know these are available.

Although it is important for babies to learn to chew food of different tastes and textures, we found that using the Nuby Nibbler helped Trinity with those very first steps towards independent feeding and allowed her to have fruits that she normally struggles with. There is something just so satisfying about the whole family being able to enjoy the same food together and thanks to the Nuby Nibbler, we can now do that without Trinity being left out or having to have her own 'pureed' version.